Cairo, Egypt - 16 December 2020
Under the regional project funded by the European Union (EU), “Dismantling Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Criminal Networks in North Africa”, UNODC ROMENA together with the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Coordinating Committee for Combating and Preventing Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Persons in Egypt (NCCPIM&TIP) organized the first workshop as part of the Egyptian country package of the project. The event was generously hosted and coordinated with the National Center for Judicial Studies (NCJS) within the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).
With 21 judges participating from different judicial courts across several governorates, the training was formally opened by Judge Hossam Sadek, Assistant Minister of Justice for International Cooperation, Ambassador Naela Gabr, Chairperson of NCCPIM&TIP, Ambassador Amr El Sherbiny, Deputy Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Migration, Refugees and Combating Human Trafficking, Ambassador Christian Berger, Head of the European Union Delegation to Egypt and Ms. Cristina Albertin, UNODC Regional Representative for the Middle East and North Africa.
During a session on the work of the NCCPIM&TIP, Ambassador Naela Gabr stated that “Some of the goals we work with our partners to achieve, are to raise awareness on trafficking in persons (TiP) and smuggling of migrants (SoM), to promote the effective implementation of laws already placed by the Egyptian Government, and to protect the most vulnerable groups at risk of exploitation.
“Dismantling human trafficking and migrant smuggling criminal networks in North Africa” project deals with a very important aspect of migration, the dark side of migration. It is not only about the criminal action but also about the exploitation of the most vulnerable groups of people,” Ambassador Christian Berger commented during the opening.
The workshop sessions covered key definitions and terminologies related to TiP and SoM, explaining the international legal framework for combating TiP and SoM, such as the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime with their supplementing protocols thereto, and the Egyptian legal framework in combating these criminal acts, protection of the rights of victims of human trafficking in accordance with international and national standards. The workshop discussed actual cases and provided opportunities for the active discussion among the participants.
Reflecting on the efforts, Ms. Cristina Albertin added that “our common effort against human trafficking must be a fight for justice and human rights of survivors. Criminal justice needs to be victim-centered, provide sufficient treatment, rehabilitation, reintegration, and restitution of rights.”
“Dismantling the criminal networks operating in North Africa and involved in migrant smuggling and human trafficking" is a three-year (2019-2022) €15 million regional joint initiative by the European Union and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) under the framework of the North Africa Window of the European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Africa. The project consists of a regional intervention covering Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia to support the effective dismantling of criminal networks involved in migrant smuggling and human trafficking, while at the same time upholding the rights of migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, and vulnerable groups.
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