Dr Al Gafli was addressing a workshop organised by Dubai Police titled ?Human Trafficking, Reality and Hope.? The workshop was held at the Higher College of Technology for girls in Dubai to mark International Human Rights Day. It was announced during the event that the UAE will soon rope in international investigators drawn from police and other government agencies to combat human trafficking.

The UAE?s efforts to combat human trafficking started in 2005 and in 2006 the UAE enforced Federal Law No 51 to combat human trafficking and create a mechanism to implement this law. The National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking was established in 2007. The UAE government is aware of the challenges associated with human trafficking as criminal behaviour against humanity; we work not only to overcome exploitation of women, but to be trained in how to combat this trafficking of women,? Dr Al Gafli said.

The NCCHT is conducting several workshops and training courses as part of efforts to continuously improve the skills of law enforcement agents in the UAE in dealing with human trafficking cases and victims, he added.

?As part of the government?s efforts to overcome human trafficking crimes, the NCCHT cooperates with other countries and international agencies in this regard. Combating this crime is a goal and the UAE is part of international efforts,? he said.

Colonel Dr Mohammad Al Murr, head of the human rights department at Dubai Police, said: ?The UAE started its fight against human trafficking six years ago and is still going ahead in its fight. The Human Trafficking Crimes Control Centre in Dubai Police organised a number of training courses and meetings in order to train its members on how to identify human trafficking victims and support them, and how to discover such crimes.? he said.

Colonel Mohammad Ali Al Shehi, a NCCHT member highlighted the difficulties faced by law enforcement agencies tackling human traffickers. ?It was hard at the beginning to identify such crimes in the UAE because it is a global crime and it is difficult to track those involved. Trafficking is a thriving global business that generates billions of dollars and accounts for millions of victims every year. It is also linked to other organised crimes like human smuggling, drug trafficking and money laundering.?