Global Arab Network | Kuwait urges international community to combat human trafficking

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Kuwait urges international community to combat human trafficking

Global Arab Network - - Mohammed Almasri

Thursday, 28 January 2010 14:08

Kuwait urged international community to work on setting up joint coordinating frameworks in order to combat human trafficking crimes at the regional and international levels.

State general prosecutor Hamed Saleh Al-Othman said in his address here before a meeting of the UN working team on human trafficking that the state of Kuwait was keen,in its capacity as one of the most world countries attracting incoming foreign labor, on ratifying the United Nations Convention against transnational organized crime and other ensuing protocols.

Kuwait also ratified the ensuing protocols which include,in particular,the UN protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons and this ratification became an integral part of the national legal system of the state of Kuwait that goes in line with what is decreed by the Kuwaiti constitutional rules on this respect.

Al-Othman went on to say that Kuwait embarked on devising a special national law on fighting human trafficking and immigrants smuggling out of its appraisal of the international, regional and national hazards embedded in such crimes. Procedures are being carried out now for this draft law to be passed by the parliament and approved by His Highness the Amir of Kuwait.

Kuwaiti general prosecutor also pointed out that this bill tackles some topics including defining human trafficking and immigrant smuggling and the transnational crimes, besides imposing cruel penalties on the perpetrators of such crimes that may reach life imprisonment.

The penalties also include confiscating seized tools and things that are used in committing such crimes.

He also said that this bill documented the special guarantees and services related to the victims of human trafficking and the immigrant smuggling like providing medical and social care for them or putting them at one of the shelters earmarked by the state for such purposes.

Al-Othman also said that this bill represents a legislative addition for what is originally approved of constitutional and legal rules and penalties and organizational ministrial decisions that include a lot of articles that fight such crimes and organize the operations of importing, employing and caring of the incoming labor.

Kuwait takes some practical measures for protecting the human trafficking at the national level including allocating makeshift shelters equipped with all necessary means like health and recreational ones at an annual cost of USD 2 million, besides offering legal advice, Al-Othman said.

Further, the state of Kuwait is about to establish permanent shelters that accomodate more than 700 people.

The Kuwaiti general prosecutor added that fighting human trafficking, especially in women and children, represents today one of the most urgent challenges facing human societies at the national and international levels as the hazards of such crimes grow wilder day by day.

He called for devising mechanisms and regulations that may guide states party to of the protocol in their drive against such crimes and in their caring for the victims included.

He stressed the importance of reviewing and scrutinizing such close correlationship between the human trafficking crimes and other crimes including the corruption crimes as the legal and realistic link should be found out between the two with the aim of delving deeply at the factors behind the spread of such crimes.

In this respect, he also referred to the solidarity of Kuwait with other co-signers on the UN Convention against the transnational organized crime and the ensuing protocols. He also urged all countries that did not join the UN protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons yet to ratify it and put it into effect in their respective countries.

The Kuwaiti ranking legal figure lauded the key role played by the UN working team on trafficking in persons, especially concerning the processes of coordinating situations, unifying tendencies and spreading the culture of fighting the human trafficking crimes ,finding out the causes of such crimes and how to address them.
Kuwaiti general prosecutor hoped at the end of his address success for the works of Vienna meeting through achieving its goals, applying its recommendations and finding out effective visions that support the measures of fighting the human trafficking in order to help eliminate such crimes and protect the world against their repercussions.

The Kuwaiti official delegation included, in addition to Al-Othman, Sheikh Mazen Al-Jarah Al-Sabah, deputy director of the criminal investigations, Zakaria Al-Ansari, director of the international relations at the ministry of justice and Falah Al-Ardi,second secretary at the embassy of the state of Kuwait in Austria. (KUNA)

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