Brussels, 25 March 2009
The European Commission has today adopted two proposals for new rules to step up the fight against trafficking in human beings and child sexual abuse, sexual exploitation and child pornography. These new proposals replace existing legislation which has been in place since respectively 2002 and 2004. The new proposals will guarantee full alignment with the highest European standards, provide better assistance for victims and tougher action against criminals responsible for child sexual abuse and trafficking. The proposals also deal with the rapidly changing technologies in the cyberspace.
Vice President Barrot, in charge of Justice, Freedom and Security said : "We want to build an EU that is truly able to protect the most vulnerable citizens against the most terrible crimes. When we say trafficking in human beings we are talking about women and girls reduced to sexual slavery, children beaten and mistreated, forced to beg and to steal, young adults compelled to work in appalling conditions for hunger wages. When we speak about child sexual abuse and sexual exploitation, we are speaking about horrendous crimes against children that leave deep scars and suffering for their whole lives."
Key facts and figures
According to International Labour Organisation globally 1.225 million people are trafficked transnationally or within their own countries. Most victims of trafficking are exploited for prostitution (43%) or for labour (32%). Regarding forced commercial sexual exploitation, an overwhelming majority (98%) are women and girls. It is reasonable to estimate from the available figures that several hundred thousand people are trafficked into the EU or within the EU every year.
Studies suggest that a significant minority of children in Europe, between 10% and 20% as an informed scientific estimate, will be sexually assaulted during their childhood.
In 2008 more than 1000 commercial and about 500 non-commercial child abuse content websites were found, of which 71% in the US. It is estimated that about 20% of child porn websites are non-commercial (mostly Peer-to-Peer (P2P)).
It is estimated that some 20% of sex offenders on average (with big differences between different profiles of offenders) go on to commit new offences after conviction.
The new proposals
The two proposals for Council Framework Decisions would oblige EU countries to act on the three fronts of prosecuting criminals, protecting victims and preventing the offences.
The proposal to fight trafficking in human beings approximates national legislations and penalties, makes sure that offenders are brought to justice even if they commit crimes abroad. It will allow police to use phone tapping, eavesdropping and other similar tools used to fight organised crime. Victims will receive accommodation and medical care and if necessary police protection so that they recover from their plight and are not afraid to testify against their perpetrators. They will be protected from further traumatisation during criminal proceedings, deriving for example from probing questions about the experience related to their forced sexual exploitation. Victims will receive free legal aid throughout the proceedings including for the purpose of claiming financial compensation. The proposal encourages sanctions against clients of people forced to offer sexual services and against employers exploiting trafficked people. The proposal also establishes independent bodies to monitor implementation of these actions.
The proposal to fight the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children makes it easier to punish those who abuse children by providing criminal sanctions for new forms of abuse like 'grooming' - luring children through internet and abusing them, viewing child pornography without downloading files or making children pose sexually in front of webcams. "Sex tourists" travelling abroad to abuse children will face prosecution when they come home. Child victims will be able to testify without having to face the offender at court to spare them from additional trauma and will be helped by a free lawyer. Every offender should be assessed individually and have access to tailor made treatment so that they don't abuse again. The prohibitions from activities involving contact with children imposed on offenders should be effective not just in the country where they were convicted but across the EU. Systems to block access to websites containing child pornography will be developed
The proposals will be discussed in the EU Council of Ministers and once approved should be translated into national legislations.
VP Barrot concluded: "Our message is clear. These crimes which know no borders are unacceptable. Europe will continue to set the highest and most ambitious standards in fighting them".
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/472&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
Monday 30 March 2009
Saturday 28 March 2009
Ain’t I a woman? Sex workers’ rights are women’s rights
From AWID: http://awid.org/eng/Issues-and-Analysis/Issues-and-Analysis/Ain-t-I-a-woman-Sex-workers-rights-are-women-s-rights
Between March 12-14, 2009, a dialogue between sex workers and violence against women advocates took place in Bangkok, Thailand. The ‘Ain’t I a Woman?’ meeting aimed to forge stronger connections between sex workers’ and violence against women’s movements.
By Kathambi Kinoti
Women’s movements have constantly been challenged to be more inclusive and embracing of diversity. In 1851, Sojourner Truth, an African American former slave and anti-slavery activist delivered her famous ‘Ain’t I a Woman?’ speech to an audience at the Women’s Convention in the United States of America’s state of Ohio. In those times, as she alluded in her speech, genteel men helped women – white, not black - over ditches and into carriages. Sojourner pondered why her strong arms, ability to work in the fields, bear the lash, and survive the sale of her children into slavery should make her less of a woman.[1] Feminist ideas about what women are entitled to have progressed since then, but marginalisation of certain categories of women continues within feminist movements.
From March 12-14 this year, a unique dialogue named ‘Ain’t I a Woman?’ was held between sex workers and activists working to eliminate violence against women. The meeting, which was held in Bangkok, Thailand drew thirty participants from all over the world including Nigeria, Poland, the Philippines, India, Pakistan, Myanmar, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Australia, Indonesia, Canada, the Netherlands and Malaysia. It was organised by CREA (Creating Resources for Empowerment in Action, India) and CASAM (SANGRAM’s [2] Centre for Advocacy on Stigma and Marginalisation, India).
‘Ain’t I a Woman?’ helped violence against women activists to track the continuum of violence in the life of a woman in sex work. It traced the violence perpetrated by the state and society, which marginalise people in sex work. It also highlighted the fact that sex workers include men and transgender people.
The idea for the meeting’s name came from Shabana Kazi of the organisation VAMP,[3] who wondered why sex workers’ rights are not considered to be women’s rights and violence against sex workers is not considered to be violence against women. The refrain ‘Ain’t I a Woman?’ challenges mainstream women’s rights activists to pose the same question with regard to sex workers. In many feminist circles, prostitution is seen as violence against women, even though while violence against sex workers does exist, the exchange of money for sexual services does not per se constitute violence.
Some of the dominant themes during the meeting included the need to address the tendency to equate all sex work to trafficking, the widespread, routine abuse of the rights of sex workers and the need to decriminalise sex work.
Sex workers’ rights advocates contend that there is confusion and ambiguity when the umbrella of ‘sex trafficking’ is applied across the board as the plight of sex workers. It is true that some girls and women are victims of sex trafficking. However it must not be assumed that every person in sex work is a victim of trafficking. When commercial sex transactions are often regarded uniformly as exploitation, sex workers are seen as victims. On the contrary, the vast majority of sex workers see themselves in fact as independent, knowledgeable agents, and perceive ‘protective’ laws as restrictive and out of touch with their realities.
Trafficking, prostitution and sex work may have interconnections, but they cannot be considered as one and the same thing. The ‘victimhood’ perspective in prostitution emerged in a particular historical context and regarded all commercial sex transactions as falling within the offence of trafficking. Commercial sexual exploitation is conceptualised as a product of social, economic and political structures with no room for agency by the ‘victims.’ On the other hand sex workers perceive ‘protective’ laws as harassment and contributing to the perpetuation of unsafe working conditions and violation of their human rights.
As in the case of sex work, migration and trafficking are often conflated in the dominant discourse resulting in the restriction of the mobility of women in search of work. This view considers all migration of women in non-organized sectors ‘trafficking.’ The illegality of sex work and unsafe working conditions sometimes force sex workers to identify themselves as ‘trafficked victims.’ This creates a vicious cycle with more criminalisation leading to unsafe conditions and repetition of the process. Sex workers say that it is easier to address trafficking if sex work is not illegal and underground. Meena Saraswati Seshu of SANGRAM says ‘Women’s rights activists should stand for sex work as work, and help society accept this.’ She says that only then can the areas where sex work is practiced ‘be extracted from the dark and dingy spaces they now inhabit.’
According to the dialogue organisers, some of the rights and freedoms that sex workers are entitled to, but which are routinely abused are:
* The right to live in a clean and healthy environment;
* Freedom from exploitation;
* Freedom from societal violence;
* Freedom from discrimination and stigma;
* Freedom from the accusation of being traffickers or associates of traffickers;
* Freedom to walk into a police station and file a complaint against those who exploit them;
* Freedom to report abuse, sexual violence, exploitation, coercion, debt bondage and slavery-like practices; and
* Freedom to access health care and to ensure condom use.
Sex workers’ rights advocates say that decriminalisation of sex work would bring many benefits. While there are many injustices associated with sex work, and sex workers need to be strengthened to fight back. ‘Jailing a few unscrupulous persons is but patchwork,’ says Seshu. ‘We need to change from within, and a criminal space will not achieve this.’
One outcome of the meeting was the conceptualisation of a campaign titled ‘Ain’t I a Human? Where are We?’ The campaign aims to bring violence against women within the purview of human rights, labour rights and international organisations and donors. The campaign, which will be virtual, will involve:
* A secondary research study on violence against women initiatives to look for gaps in relation to sex workers’ rights and to make suggestions based on this research;
* The production of a briefing paper on sex workers’ rights that can be used as an advocacy tool nationally and globally;
* A petition and open letter on sex workers’ rights that can be sent to international organisations, donors and the media;
* The generation of greater awareness in the public sphere on sex workers’ rights through creative media such as film clips, print media and interactive websites.
The one-of-a-kind dialogue in Bangkok opened the door for greater understanding and collaboration between sex workers’ and violence against women’s movements. Geetanjali Misra of CREA says: ‘The dialogue was transformative for some, productive in terms of moving forward to work together across movements, insightful and an opportunity to learn. It was also challenging for many.’ Women’s movements may find it novel to embrace sex workers, but true freedom for all women will only be achieved when all marginalised groups are free.
Between March 12-14, 2009, a dialogue between sex workers and violence against women advocates took place in Bangkok, Thailand. The ‘Ain’t I a Woman?’ meeting aimed to forge stronger connections between sex workers’ and violence against women’s movements.
By Kathambi Kinoti
Women’s movements have constantly been challenged to be more inclusive and embracing of diversity. In 1851, Sojourner Truth, an African American former slave and anti-slavery activist delivered her famous ‘Ain’t I a Woman?’ speech to an audience at the Women’s Convention in the United States of America’s state of Ohio. In those times, as she alluded in her speech, genteel men helped women – white, not black - over ditches and into carriages. Sojourner pondered why her strong arms, ability to work in the fields, bear the lash, and survive the sale of her children into slavery should make her less of a woman.[1] Feminist ideas about what women are entitled to have progressed since then, but marginalisation of certain categories of women continues within feminist movements.
From March 12-14 this year, a unique dialogue named ‘Ain’t I a Woman?’ was held between sex workers and activists working to eliminate violence against women. The meeting, which was held in Bangkok, Thailand drew thirty participants from all over the world including Nigeria, Poland, the Philippines, India, Pakistan, Myanmar, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Australia, Indonesia, Canada, the Netherlands and Malaysia. It was organised by CREA (Creating Resources for Empowerment in Action, India) and CASAM (SANGRAM’s [2] Centre for Advocacy on Stigma and Marginalisation, India).
‘Ain’t I a Woman?’ helped violence against women activists to track the continuum of violence in the life of a woman in sex work. It traced the violence perpetrated by the state and society, which marginalise people in sex work. It also highlighted the fact that sex workers include men and transgender people.
The idea for the meeting’s name came from Shabana Kazi of the organisation VAMP,[3] who wondered why sex workers’ rights are not considered to be women’s rights and violence against sex workers is not considered to be violence against women. The refrain ‘Ain’t I a Woman?’ challenges mainstream women’s rights activists to pose the same question with regard to sex workers. In many feminist circles, prostitution is seen as violence against women, even though while violence against sex workers does exist, the exchange of money for sexual services does not per se constitute violence.
Some of the dominant themes during the meeting included the need to address the tendency to equate all sex work to trafficking, the widespread, routine abuse of the rights of sex workers and the need to decriminalise sex work.
Sex workers’ rights advocates contend that there is confusion and ambiguity when the umbrella of ‘sex trafficking’ is applied across the board as the plight of sex workers. It is true that some girls and women are victims of sex trafficking. However it must not be assumed that every person in sex work is a victim of trafficking. When commercial sex transactions are often regarded uniformly as exploitation, sex workers are seen as victims. On the contrary, the vast majority of sex workers see themselves in fact as independent, knowledgeable agents, and perceive ‘protective’ laws as restrictive and out of touch with their realities.
Trafficking, prostitution and sex work may have interconnections, but they cannot be considered as one and the same thing. The ‘victimhood’ perspective in prostitution emerged in a particular historical context and regarded all commercial sex transactions as falling within the offence of trafficking. Commercial sexual exploitation is conceptualised as a product of social, economic and political structures with no room for agency by the ‘victims.’ On the other hand sex workers perceive ‘protective’ laws as harassment and contributing to the perpetuation of unsafe working conditions and violation of their human rights.
As in the case of sex work, migration and trafficking are often conflated in the dominant discourse resulting in the restriction of the mobility of women in search of work. This view considers all migration of women in non-organized sectors ‘trafficking.’ The illegality of sex work and unsafe working conditions sometimes force sex workers to identify themselves as ‘trafficked victims.’ This creates a vicious cycle with more criminalisation leading to unsafe conditions and repetition of the process. Sex workers say that it is easier to address trafficking if sex work is not illegal and underground. Meena Saraswati Seshu of SANGRAM says ‘Women’s rights activists should stand for sex work as work, and help society accept this.’ She says that only then can the areas where sex work is practiced ‘be extracted from the dark and dingy spaces they now inhabit.’
According to the dialogue organisers, some of the rights and freedoms that sex workers are entitled to, but which are routinely abused are:
* The right to live in a clean and healthy environment;
* Freedom from exploitation;
* Freedom from societal violence;
* Freedom from discrimination and stigma;
* Freedom from the accusation of being traffickers or associates of traffickers;
* Freedom to walk into a police station and file a complaint against those who exploit them;
* Freedom to report abuse, sexual violence, exploitation, coercion, debt bondage and slavery-like practices; and
* Freedom to access health care and to ensure condom use.
Sex workers’ rights advocates say that decriminalisation of sex work would bring many benefits. While there are many injustices associated with sex work, and sex workers need to be strengthened to fight back. ‘Jailing a few unscrupulous persons is but patchwork,’ says Seshu. ‘We need to change from within, and a criminal space will not achieve this.’
One outcome of the meeting was the conceptualisation of a campaign titled ‘Ain’t I a Human? Where are We?’ The campaign aims to bring violence against women within the purview of human rights, labour rights and international organisations and donors. The campaign, which will be virtual, will involve:
* A secondary research study on violence against women initiatives to look for gaps in relation to sex workers’ rights and to make suggestions based on this research;
* The production of a briefing paper on sex workers’ rights that can be used as an advocacy tool nationally and globally;
* A petition and open letter on sex workers’ rights that can be sent to international organisations, donors and the media;
* The generation of greater awareness in the public sphere on sex workers’ rights through creative media such as film clips, print media and interactive websites.
The one-of-a-kind dialogue in Bangkok opened the door for greater understanding and collaboration between sex workers’ and violence against women’s movements. Geetanjali Misra of CREA says: ‘The dialogue was transformative for some, productive in terms of moving forward to work together across movements, insightful and an opportunity to learn. It was also challenging for many.’ Women’s movements may find it novel to embrace sex workers, but true freedom for all women will only be achieved when all marginalised groups are free.
Sunday 22 March 2009
SYRIA: First shelter for trafficked people opens in Damascus (IRIN)
DAMASCUS, 2 February 2009 (IRIN) - A shelter for people trafficking victims has just opened in an undisclosed location in Damascus. It is the first of its kind in Syria, which has only recently recognised human trafficking as a problem but still has no specific laws against it.
Human trafficking is only just starting to gain widespread public attention in the region: Jordan passed a law to penalise people trafficking only last week; a similar Egyptian law is still in draft form, and other countries like Lebanon still have no specific legislation against people traffickers.
The new shelter has 20 beds, a communal area, a kitchen and a bathroom. Further rooms are for medical treatment, psychological care and legal advice. A second shelter is planned for the northern city of Aleppo.
The shelter is “pioneering work”, according to Laila Tomeh, national programme officer at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) office in Syria. “In 2005 Syria set up a national committee to draft a law on counter-trafficking and to look into establishing a shelter,” she said.
“Before then the Middle East did not talk about counter-trafficking as an issue relevant to it; you couldn’t sense a problem. A few years on and Syria has one shelter open, another under way, and a draft law in the cabinet,” Tomeh said.
The international nature of trafficking means it is no longer viable for any country to ignore, according to Ibrahim Daraji, professor of international law at Damascus University, who authored a recent study of the Syrian laws that could cover human trafficking in the absence of specific legislation. Syria’s geographical location, in the centre of the Middle East and close to conflict zones such as Iraq, makes it especially susceptible to traffickers, Daraji said in his report.
Syria has been slow to tackle human trafficking despite being party to relevant international conventions, according to the 2008 US State Department’s report on trafficking in persons. The report accuses the Syrian government of failing to implement the minimum required counter-trafficking protection. The Syrian Foreign Ministry said the report was “based on political considerations” and “not objective”.
UN definition of people trafficking
“The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.
"Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.” (Article 3, para (a) of the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children.)
A lack of research means the nature of Syria’s victims and whether it is predominantly a country of origin, transition or destination is unknown. The 2008 US report said Syria is “a destination and transit country for women and children trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labour”. Domestic workers, it said, came from southeast Asia and Africa, often lured under false promises of jobs and better living conditions. Some countries, such as the Philippines, have banned their citizens from seeking domestic work in Syria due to the lack of protection. Women from eastern Europe and Iraq are believed to be trafficked for sexual exploitation.
Influx of Iraqis
The influx of Iraqis following the war and sectarian strife in Iraq has been a huge impetus for the shelter in Syria. During interviews UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) officials identified refugees whom they suspected had been induced to enter the country under false pretences. Most were women and children.
“We will certainly be referring people,” said Carole Laleve, spokesperson for the UNHCR. “In 2008 we identified over 800 women who were victims of sexual gender-based violence. Some of those are thought to be victims of trafficking but we have no figures on how many. Anecdotal evidence suggests the victims in the Iraqi community are women, and the exploitation of a sexual nature.”
Evidence from other refugee organisations paints the same picture. The Good Shepherd Convent in Damascus has cared for Iraqi women who have been sold into prostitution by their own husbands, according to a report by syrian-news.com in 2005.
The Damascus shelter
Such agencies will refer victims to the Damascus shelter, which is run by the Association for Women’s Role Development (AWRD), a Syrian NGO.
“The shelter caters for residents’ daily needs - food, clothes and general care - as well as ongoing support,” says Tomeh. Victims of trafficking are frequently traumatised by their experience, compounded by being in a foreign country without family and friends and sometimes with no knowledge of the local language. The shelter, says Tomeh, will offer psychological support, medical and legal care.
Once more is known about the demographics of Syria’s share of the four million people the UN estimates to be the global figure of trafficked persons, more specific services can be put in place. “The Syrian government is very supportive,” says Tomeh. “Once the law is passed we will work to raise awareness and train judges and law enforcement officials.”
The current predicament of many victims, say NGOs who prefer anonymity, is to be stranded with few resources and even fewer rights, sometimes ending up in Syrian jails for lack of papers.
Workshops across the Middle East continue to raise awareness of people trafficking and counter-initiatives among NGOs and governments. The Arab League has also proposed an initiative to work towards an Arab convention against human trafficking, with ministers due to meet in Saudi Arabia later in 2009.
Copyright © IRIN 2009
The material contained on www.IRINnews.org comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian news and information service, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies.
All IRIN material may be reposted or reprinted free-of-charge; refer to the IRIN copyright page for conditions of use. IRIN is a project of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Human trafficking is only just starting to gain widespread public attention in the region: Jordan passed a law to penalise people trafficking only last week; a similar Egyptian law is still in draft form, and other countries like Lebanon still have no specific legislation against people traffickers.
The new shelter has 20 beds, a communal area, a kitchen and a bathroom. Further rooms are for medical treatment, psychological care and legal advice. A second shelter is planned for the northern city of Aleppo.
The shelter is “pioneering work”, according to Laila Tomeh, national programme officer at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) office in Syria. “In 2005 Syria set up a national committee to draft a law on counter-trafficking and to look into establishing a shelter,” she said.
“Before then the Middle East did not talk about counter-trafficking as an issue relevant to it; you couldn’t sense a problem. A few years on and Syria has one shelter open, another under way, and a draft law in the cabinet,” Tomeh said.
The international nature of trafficking means it is no longer viable for any country to ignore, according to Ibrahim Daraji, professor of international law at Damascus University, who authored a recent study of the Syrian laws that could cover human trafficking in the absence of specific legislation. Syria’s geographical location, in the centre of the Middle East and close to conflict zones such as Iraq, makes it especially susceptible to traffickers, Daraji said in his report.
Syria has been slow to tackle human trafficking despite being party to relevant international conventions, according to the 2008 US State Department’s report on trafficking in persons. The report accuses the Syrian government of failing to implement the minimum required counter-trafficking protection. The Syrian Foreign Ministry said the report was “based on political considerations” and “not objective”.
UN definition of people trafficking
“The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.
"Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.” (Article 3, para (a) of the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children.)
A lack of research means the nature of Syria’s victims and whether it is predominantly a country of origin, transition or destination is unknown. The 2008 US report said Syria is “a destination and transit country for women and children trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labour”. Domestic workers, it said, came from southeast Asia and Africa, often lured under false promises of jobs and better living conditions. Some countries, such as the Philippines, have banned their citizens from seeking domestic work in Syria due to the lack of protection. Women from eastern Europe and Iraq are believed to be trafficked for sexual exploitation.
Influx of Iraqis
The influx of Iraqis following the war and sectarian strife in Iraq has been a huge impetus for the shelter in Syria. During interviews UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) officials identified refugees whom they suspected had been induced to enter the country under false pretences. Most were women and children.
“We will certainly be referring people,” said Carole Laleve, spokesperson for the UNHCR. “In 2008 we identified over 800 women who were victims of sexual gender-based violence. Some of those are thought to be victims of trafficking but we have no figures on how many. Anecdotal evidence suggests the victims in the Iraqi community are women, and the exploitation of a sexual nature.”
Evidence from other refugee organisations paints the same picture. The Good Shepherd Convent in Damascus has cared for Iraqi women who have been sold into prostitution by their own husbands, according to a report by syrian-news.com in 2005.
The Damascus shelter
Such agencies will refer victims to the Damascus shelter, which is run by the Association for Women’s Role Development (AWRD), a Syrian NGO.
“The shelter caters for residents’ daily needs - food, clothes and general care - as well as ongoing support,” says Tomeh. Victims of trafficking are frequently traumatised by their experience, compounded by being in a foreign country without family and friends and sometimes with no knowledge of the local language. The shelter, says Tomeh, will offer psychological support, medical and legal care.
Once more is known about the demographics of Syria’s share of the four million people the UN estimates to be the global figure of trafficked persons, more specific services can be put in place. “The Syrian government is very supportive,” says Tomeh. “Once the law is passed we will work to raise awareness and train judges and law enforcement officials.”
The current predicament of many victims, say NGOs who prefer anonymity, is to be stranded with few resources and even fewer rights, sometimes ending up in Syrian jails for lack of papers.
Workshops across the Middle East continue to raise awareness of people trafficking and counter-initiatives among NGOs and governments. The Arab League has also proposed an initiative to work towards an Arab convention against human trafficking, with ministers due to meet in Saudi Arabia later in 2009.
Copyright © IRIN 2009
The material contained on www.IRINnews.org comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian news and information service, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies.
All IRIN material may be reposted or reprinted free-of-charge; refer to the IRIN copyright page for conditions of use. IRIN is a project of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
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