Vienna, Austria 16 November 2021 – In the lead up to EU Anti-Trafficking in Human Beings Day, the Global Action against Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants- Asia and the Middle East (GLO.ACT – Asia and the Middle East), organized on 15 October 2021, a special event jointly with the European Commission.
EU Anti-Trafficking in Human Beings Day was first established to commemorate victims who have suffered from trafficking as well as to raise awareness of and advance the fight against this global crime. In observance of the Day this year, GLO.ACT, through their Woman Can campaign, held a webinar on the gendered dimension of human trafficking and its judicial response. The online event was attended by more than 130 people and provided a unique and insightful discussion on human trafficking.
The discussion was moderated by Loide Aryee, Chief of the Organized Crime and Illicit Trafficking Branch of the UNODC and included introductory remarks from the European Commission’s DG International Partnerships Deputy Director General, Martin Seychell, and IOM Deputy Director General, Ugochi Daniels. Furthermore, a Q & A was held with two prominent board members from the Women Can Campaign, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Judge of the Supreme Court Pakistan and Ohood Hamoody Al-Ta'an, Deputy Head of the Anti-Trafficking Unit, Iraqi Ministry of Interior.
In his statement, Seychell reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to combatting the heinous crime: “The EU will continue to support anti-trafficking actions through both political and financial means, both within our own Member States but also in partner countries around the globe. Let me also assure you that gender and human rights will play a central role in the implementation of these actions. The new EU Anti-Trafficking Strategy sets out the measures that will allow the EU and its Member States to continue strengthening our response capacity to the crime of trafficking.”
Reflecting on her personal experience working in male dominated environments, Ms. Daniels explained that she ensures that she is the best-informed person in the room on the topics she is presenting on. She said, “I recognize what technical competence I bring to the discussion and use that to navigate a conversation that, yes, is often dominated by males, but we should absolutely not feel dominated in terms of what we bring, say, or what we can do.”
During the interactive Q & A, the panellists were asked to reflect on their careers and describe some of the steps they have taken to create and strengthen the roles of women in the criminal justice sector.
In considering his experiences, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah shared some of the ways he has pushed to bring more gender equality to the justice system in Pakistan and shared anecdotal evidence of cases that presented seemingly sexist and unrelated evidence, rather than the facts and the implications that can have in a court of law. He furthermore stressed, “For a justice sector to be more progressive, more efficient, more robust, we need to ensure that the judge has no preconceived notions about gender and is sensitive to all genders and is out there to dispense justice according to our constitutional framework, which does not make any distinctions between one gender and the other. We’re supposed to extend the fundamental rights and human rights to everybody who comes before us.”
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah provided a strong example of how male allies can and must play a significant role in supporting women criminal justice practitioners and ensuring equal access to justice. Ms. Hamoody Al-Ta'an likewise shared a few key insights from her career and some of the challenges she has faced as a female in a male-dominated field. In addition to sharing their personal experiences, the panellists offered some concrete solutions to address the gendered dynamics within the criminal justice sector including institutional reforms and gender-sensitivity trainings for judges and prosecutors alike.
Showcasing mixed panels with practitioners and experts is just one of the ways Women Can aims to educate and highlight the challenges that still exist in various political and judicial systems around the world and share advice from women leaders and allied men for a successful career in the criminal justice sector. Through this practical insight, the campaign mobilizes current and aspiring leaders to promote institutional reform to ensure better representation and promotion of women.
The Global Action against Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants – Asia and the Middle East (GLO.ACT-Asia and the Middle East) is a four-year (2018-2022), €12 million joint initiative by the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) being implemented in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in up to five countries: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Afghanistan), Islamic Republic of Iran (I.R. of Iran), Republic of Iraq (Iraq), Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Pakistan). GLO.ACT-Bangladesh is a parallel initiative also financed by the EU and implemented with IOM.
The project builds on a global community of practice set in motion in GLO.ACT 2015-2019 and assists governmental authorities and civil society organizations in targeted, innovative, and demand-driven interventions: sustaining effective strategy and policy development, legislative review and harmonization, capability development, and regional and trans-regional cooperation. The project also provides direct assistance to victims of human trafficking and vulnerable migrants through the strengthening of identification, referral, and protection mechanisms. The project is fully committed to mainstreaming Human Rights and Gender Equality considerations across all of its activities.
This project is funded by the European Union.