Washington D.C., U.S.A. - 27 June 2017 - According to the US Department of State website each year, the department honors individuals around the world who have devoted their lives to the fight against human trafficking. These individuals are NGO workers, lawmakers, police officers, and concerned citizens who are committed to ending human trafficking. They are recognized for their tireless efforts-despite resistance, opposition, and threats to their lives-to protect victims, punish offenders, and raise awareness of ongoing criminal practices in their countries and abroad.
We are delighted that this year, Judge Amina Oufroukhi, a judge within the Moroccan Ministry of Justice's Directorate of Criminal Affairs and Pardons, responsible for women's and children's issues, vulnerable populations, and trafficking in persons and the Department of Justice representative for GLO.ACT, has been honored as a 2017 TIP Report Hero.
The Department of State's summary points out that: "Judge Ourfroukhi played a critical role in drafting and encouraging the passage of Morocco's anti-trafficking law in 2016 and has been a driving force within the government to develop an implementation plan to ensure the protection of victims and the appropriate punishment of perpetrators. As the head of the central unit coordinating the care of women and children in the courts, Judge Oufroukhi established special protection units in Moroccan courts for women and children and later drafted new legal procedures to extend these protections to all trafficking victims. She helped establish a group of expert judges to train judicial and law enforcement personnel and prepared detailed legal guidance clarifying the provisions of the law for all Moroccan courts. She also assisted in the drafting of studies on human trafficking in Morocco, and worked to raise awareness and organize training for government officials, prosecutors, judges, social workers, and security service officers on protecting trafficking victims."
In addition, Judge Oufroukhi manages several international cooperative projects on combating trafficking in persons and we are delighted that she is one of our key partners for GLO.ACT in the country. We are delighted to be able to support Morocco in developing even more national expertise in this area, as well as helping to advance the setup of a network of magistrates in charge of bringing cases, related to trafficking in persons, to justice. We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Judge Oufroukhi on becoming a 2017 TIP Report Hero and look forward to working with her in the fight against human trafficking.
For further information, please contact:
www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/glo-act/
Email: glo.act@un.org
Twitter: @glo_act
