Cairo, Egypt - 30 July 2018 - In collaboration with the National Coordinating Committee on Preventing and Combating Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling, the Egyptian Homeland Security and the Egyptian Ministry of Interior, UNODC under the framework of GLO.ACT organized a four-day training workshop from 9-19 July for 20 national police officers from different governorates across Egypt.
Egypt is a source, transit, and destination country for trafficking in persons (TIP) and the smuggling of migrants (SOM). Primary SOM routes are from the Horn of Africa and Eastern Africa, involving migrants seeking passage to Europe. In 2016, Egypt adopted Law No. 82/2016 on Combating Illegal Migration and the Smuggling of Migrants, which merged the National Coordinating Committee for Combating and Preventing Illegal Migration and the National Coordinating Committee for Combating and Preventing Trafficking in Persons (NCCPIM & TIP). Together with Law No. 64 of 2010 on trafficking in persons, Egypt has a comprehensive legal framework to combat TIP and SOM. UNODC supports the implementation of the legal framework with a training series for police officers, prosecutors and judges in order to strengthen national capacity to investigate, prosecute and adjudicate crimes of human trafficking and migrant smuggling.
Under the framework of GLO.ACT, this workshop is the first in a series of upcoming training events to be delivered to law enforcement officers.
During the opening ceremony, which was hosted by the Ministry of Interior, General Kahled Showeita commended the efforts by the European Union and UNODC in planning and organizing the series of training workshops specifically adapted to suit law enforcement officers. He also took the opportunity to suggest that additional collaboration would likely benefit national police officers and help in the fight against human trafficking and migrant smuggling. Speaking on behalf of UNODC, Ms. Cristina Albertin, UNODC Regional Representative, stressed that UNODC will continue in its efforts to assist all relevant institutions in Egypt to counter all types of organized crimes, including TIP and SOM.
The workshop took place in the police academy, and the training covered the following topics:
The workshop was very interactive in nature and lively discussions took place between the police officers and the trainers, especially when groups discussed real TIP and SOM cases from Egypt. Using real cases enabled the trainers to provide relevant feedback, tips and advice that the police officers found very useful. The police officers confirmed that they will now use what they have learnt in future TIP and SOM investigations.
After the workshop, participating police officers provided positive feedback in their post workshop evaluation questionnaires. They also highlighted the need to continue this training series and to increase the numbers of officers that can participate in this training. They also commented on the need for law enforcement officers to have solid insights in to national laws as well as relevant international conventions and protocols.
The Global Action to Prevent and Address Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants (GLO.ACT) is a four-year (2015-2019), €11 million joint initiative by the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The project is being implemented in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). GLO.ACT aims to provide assistance to governmental authorities and civil society organizations across 13 strategically selected countries: Belarus, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao PDR, Mali, Morocco, Nepal, Niger, Pakistan, South Africa, Ukraine. GLO.ACT works with the 13 countries to plan and implement strategic national counter-trafficking and counter smuggling efforts through a prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnerships approach. It supports the development of more effective responses to trafficking and smuggling, including providing assistance to victims of trafficking and vulnerable migrants through the strengthening of identification, referral, and direct support mechanisms.
For more information, please contact:
Mr. Faisal Hegazy
GLO.ACT National Programme Officer
faisal.hegazy@unodc.org
www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/glo-act/
Email: glo.act@un.org
Twitter: @glo_act