Bahrain to establish regional anti-human trafficking centre

Bahrain, in co-operation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), will establish a Regional Centre of Excellence for capacity building in the field of combatting trafficking in persons. Dr Hatem Aly, the UNODC Representative for GCC, said that they have been working with the National Committee to Combat Trafficking in Persons (NCCTIPs) in the Kingdom for several years, and that the establishment of this centre will be a quantum leap in the field of combating trafficking in persons for the MENA Region.

The specifics of the co-operation was detailed in a Memorandum of Understanding, which was signed by CEO of the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) and Chairman of the NCCTIPs, Ausamah Al Absi, and Dr Aly. The centre, which will be housed at the LMRA’s Expat Protection Centre in Northern Sehla, will serve as a platform for the setting the standards of and training for all aspects of combating trafficking for the Middle East and North Africa.

Additionally, the centre will act as a forum allowing experts in the field of counter-trafficking to exchange their experiences and expertise. During the signing of the memorandum, Mr Al Absi stressed the invaluable efforts and measures taken by the Kingdom to combat trafficking in persons and to create a fair and safe working environment in Bahrain. Bahrain’s tireless efforts to combat trafficking resulted in sustaining its Tier 1 ranking in the US Department of State’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report for the second consecutive year as the only country in the region to reach this tier, as well as other reports issued by the United Nations and other governments around the world.

Mr Al Absi added that the centre will establish and document world-class standards in the practices of combating trafficking, victim identification and assistance, and capacity building for the Middle East and North Africa region. He went on to say that since Bahrain’s initial ranking as a Tier 1 country in the US Trafficking in Persons Report last year, there has been an increase of delegates from regional governments visiting Bahrain to have a first-hand look at how the Kingdom executes its anti-trafficking framework, and Bahraini officials have been sought out and invited abroad as trainers