Mrs Mubarak used a two-day international forum against human trafficking in Luxor to announce Egypt's first national plan to tackle the phenomenon, reports Reem Leila End Human Trafficking Now, a two-day international forum, opened on 10 December in Luxor. A coordinated effort of the Suzanne Mubarak Women's International Peace Movement (SMWIPM) and the UN Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UNGIFHT), it brought together more than 500 representatives of governments, the UN, non-governmental and international organisations, the business community and civil society. On the first day of the conference Mrs Mubarak announced the launch of Egypt's first national plan to combat human trafficking. Prepared by the National Coordinating Committee for Combating Human Trafficking (NCCCHT), created in 2007 and headed by Naela Gabr, the plan promotes what it calls the four Ps, prevention, protection, participation and prosecution. It will initially cover the period between January 2011 and January 2013, after which progress will be evaluated and any necessary changes introduced. Although human trafficking is clearly defined, the lines of exploitation are so blurred between trafficking and child labour, migrant labour, exploitative labour and illegal labour that it is easy to lose sight of the issues involved, warned Mrs Mubarak. A total of 16 ministries and national specialised committees affiliated to the NCCCHT will help implement the committee's recommendations. "The committee spent a year and a half studying the anti- trafficking laws of more than 60 countries before drafting the comprehensive legislation that was passed by the People's Assembly in April this year," said Mrs Mubarak. The forum comprised four interactive sessions which discussed key challenges to the implementation of the Palermo Protocol to stop human trafficking, signed in Geneva 10 years ago. In addition, Mrs Mubarak met with young people from 39 countries who presented their personal testimonies. "Through working with young people I have come to realise how vital their role is in the peace and security process," said Mrs Mubarak. The SMWIPM is committed to ensuring that young people play an active role in finding innovative solutions to stamp out human trafficking. "Our youth network members have really spread their wings in the last couple of years. Some are working hard through our Culture of Peace Programme to raise awareness about human trafficking in schools, universities and community centres. Others are mobilising action through media campaigns and the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools," said Mrs Mubarak. SMWIPM launched a cyber peace initiative (CPI) in September 2007 to develop the ability of young leaders to use ICT to enhance peace and tolerance. "CPI works to mobilise young people to work alongside parents and educators to promote a culture of safety on the Internet," Mrs Mubarak argued. During the conference a feature-length documentary about global human trafficking was screened, illustrating the horrors of a phenomenon that affects millions of men, women and children across the globe. Millions of people around the world, primarily women and children, are bought, sold, resold, transported or held against their will to be sexually abused and exploited. "There is clear evidence that an even larger number are coerced into working in servitude under conditions tantamount to slavery," said Mrs Mubarak. Children and young people account for a substantial portion of human traffic. The sex market, in its search for more customers, is exploiting ever younger victims. Sexual exploitation accounts for an estimated 79 per cent of the traffic, and forced labour 18 per cent. Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), stressed the importance of the modular training programme for business leaders, managers and employees developed by UNGIFHT in cooperation with SMWIPM. The e- learning course "aims to help them understand what human trafficking is, identify where it might be a risk to their businesses and point to actions they can take to address the risk," said Fedotov. The tool has been developed and sponsored by Microsoft. Young people must be sensitised to the dangers of human trafficking and the risks they might encounter so that they are able to assume an active role in fending for themselves, said Princess Mathilda of Belgium, adding that they should be encouraged to use creative ways to inform and protect their peers and parents. Forum participants agreed efforts were needed to link the campaign against human trafficking with other campaigns, including human rights protection, violence against women and children, HIV/AIDS and the campaign against missing children. Following the forum Mrs Mubarak attended a ceremony at Luxor Temple to present awards to business leaders, including Samih Sawiris of Orascom Telecommunications, Ali Agan, CEO of Azerbaijan's Azercell Telecom and Gilles Pelisson, chairman and CEO of Accor, France, for their pivotal role in combating human trafficking. The award is jointly sponsored by UNODC, UN Global Compact and End Human Trafficking Now. (see p.14)
