For three days in Sharm El-Sheikh, the World Economic Forum on the Middle East cautiously projected a positive image of the future of the region. Dina Ezzat attended and listened Contemporary slavery A new anti-trafficking scheme targets trade in people In Sharm El-Sheikh this week, a group of anti-trafficking activists pledged to help millions of children, women and men who are forced each year into modern day effective slavery. They also pledged to work more effectively through concerned organisations and agencies, such as the International Labour Organisation and the International Migration Organisation, to eliminate human trafficking. A session of the World Economic Forum on the Middle East (WEF-ME) was dedicated to the issue. Participants in the session represented governments and legislators from rich and poor countries, along with international organisations, civil society actors and the business community. They included, among others, Mrs Suzanne Mubarak, founder and chair of the Suzanne Mubarak International Women's Peace Movement, Trade Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid, Abdul-Aziz Al-Khalifa, Bahraini assistant foreign minister, and John Kielty of New Scotland Yard. Consensus was underlined during the session that awareness is the most pressing challenge in the fight against human trafficking. Without sufficient awareness, it was agreed, no adequate legislations would be adopted and no effective implementation of existing anti-trafficking laws secured. As part of efforts to expand awareness of the magnitude of the problem, participants agreed that an annual prize would be formulated by the anti-trafficking campaign launched internationally in 2006 by the Suzanne Mubarak Women's Peace Movement. The prize would be afforded to companies or businesses that demonstrate maximal sensitivity against the recruitment of forced -- especially child -- labour. The prize, said Mrs Mubarak in a short intervention before the session, should alert all concerned that we are facing a huge problem that goes beyond the limits of forced prostitution. The prize, she added, should help promote best practices that could reduce, if not entirely eliminate, human trafficking. Human trafficking has reached epidemic proportions over the past decade, with a global annual market of about $42.5 billion. According to the US State Department, an estimated 600,000 to 820,000 men, women and children are trafficked across international borders each year, approximately 70 per cent of which are women and girls and up to 50 per cent are minors. The majority are trafficked into sexual exploitation. Shafik Gabr, representing the business community, argued a mere $15 million has been dedicated to the fight against human trafficking. "$15 million against $42 billion is not a fair game at all," he said. He added that more funds needed to be found, either through concerned international bodies or via civil society. According to other interventions, combating poverty was underlined as a top priority in stemming human trafficking. Lack of job opportunities and strict immigration restrictions force women, children and men to succumb to different forms of "modern slavery", some argued. Another priority, it was agreed, is the adoption of adequate legislation to combat trade in humans. Participants from the US, Europe, Asia, the Gulf states and other areas acknowledged the limitations of current legislation while underlining that the introduction of effective laws would not be easy given the scant attention currently paid to the issue of human trafficking. Promoting socio-economic equity, capacity building and jobs generation, were also listed as essential tools in the fight against human trafficking. If societies were to provide sufficient protection and opportunities, the volume of human trafficking would be reduced, participants agreed. The WEF-ME session on human trafficking also highlighted the need to rehabilitate victims of human trafficking and better train law enforcement agents to fulfil their duties of stopping the practice and rescuing its victims.
