Abu Dhabi: The UAE was among the first countries that called on the international community and UN organisations to shoulder their full responsibility to protect civilians from human trafficking, a top official said.
Shaikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Ruler’s Representative in the Western Region and President of Emirates Red Crescent (ERC), said the international community and UN human rights bodies should take up their responsibility to protect civilians from wars and crimes against humanity.
“The UAE has managed, thanks to the guidance of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to implement active and vital initiatives to combat human trafficking,” Shaikh Hamdan said in his foreword carried in the annual book 2013, which was recently released by Ewaa Centre (shelter for women and children).
The UAE also succeeded in reducing the proliferation of human trafficking through partnerships and agreements it concluded with competent local, regional and international authorities to combat and eliminate such crimes, he added.
Shaikh Hamdan stressed that the UAE strongly supports international efforts to combat human trafficking, which he described as a “stigma” on humanity.
He emphasised that the UAE recognised the magnitude of the humanitarian tragedy facing victims of human trafficking early, and set up the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking and later established shelters for the victims as part of a comprehensive national strategy to battle this heinous crime.
