Bahrain ‘willing to share’ anti-trafficking expertise

Bahrain is keen on sharing its expertise in the field of combatting trafficking in persons and modern slavery, Chief Executive of Bahrain’s Labour Market Regulatory Authority and Chairman of the National Committee to Combat Trafficking in Persons, Ausamah Al Absi, said yesterday. He also expressed his hope that this year would witness a concerted effort at international level to combat trafficking in persons, pointing to the Kingdom’s establishment of a training centre in the field of combating people trafficking, which is expected to be launched next year with the co-operation of the United Nations. 

Mr Al Absi pointed out that the National Committee to Combat Trafficking in Persons adopted at its last meeting last May, the general framework of the strategy to combat trafficking in persons. He said that he is currently being guided by the relevant United Nations organisations to draw on their opinions and accumulated experience in this field.

The plan for the strategy being prepared is clarification the role of relevant governmental bodies and agencies, to ensure they play the most effective role against trafficking in persons. The Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) chief executive is expected to approve the strategy and the executive plan at a future committee meeting later in 2019. It will then be submitted to the official channels to be issued as a comprehensive national plan.

Mr Al Absi said that the Kingdom of Bahrain has worked over the past five years to build a solid foundation and a strong legal and human rights framework that will work for the various agencies and institutions in order to hold the guilty accountable and protect the victim and society. He emphasised that Bahrain has been keen, through its projects and programs, to strengthen mechanisms of protection and preventive measures, which reduce the possibility of victims of trafficking in persons in the Kingdom.

“One of the most prominent new projects is a system of wage protection. This will ensure the commitment of enterprises and companies to pay the wages of workers in a timely manner, achieving job security and reducing the cases of conflict in the labour courts and complaints with the Ministry of Labour and Social Development.” It will be fully implemented early next year. Mr Al Absi reiterated the Kingdom’s commitment to participation in addressing the crime of trafficking in persons and increasing the world community’s awareness of this crime and ways of addressing it.