Official and civil society organizations reactions varied to the US State Department report on trafficking human beings, which was released last Wednesday, while the Egyptian Foreign Ministry criticized the report, rejecting the "focus of any country to rule on the status of human beings in other countries," according to Ambassador Hossam Zaki, the spokesman for the ministry. Two juristic militants expressing the view of civic organizations supported the report confirming that the information in it "is very sound."
The US report said that Egypt is still a source, a mediator and a destination for trafficking women and children due to forced labor and sexual exploitation, pointing out that the street children in Egypt are an estimated one million from both sexes. The report placed Egypt in the list of countries under observation for the fourth consecutive year. The two juristic militants agreed on the authenticity of the US report. Nejad Al Boraie, President of the Foundation for the Development of Democracy Board, confirmed that the information contained in the report was sound by a large margin. Boraie said: "The report monitored cases of trafficking human beings in Egypt, and that is a fact, which we have already complained about in the community. Gulf nationals come to Egypt and marry girls under the age of 20 for large sums of money; something which many families in rural areas approve of." This is a situation resulting from extreme poverty which many villagers in particular suffer from.
Boraie rejected what the report said regarding Egypt being a channel of sexual trafficking of women, pointing out this statement cannot be applied to Egypt, but rather it applies to a number of the European Union (EU) countries. He pointed out that the continuing situation of Egypt in the list of countries under observation, for the fourth year in a row, means that there are efforts being made by the Government in combating the trafficking of human beings, but these efforts have not affected Egypt's current standing.
Regarding the criticism of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the report, Boraie noted that the US Administration has stressed that any country has the right to criticize the situation of human rights and human trafficking in the United States and to blame the US administration. It is therefore the right of Washington to issue reports on the human rights situation in any country, pointing out that the Egyptian Foreign Ministry used to deny all these reports, and believed that the domestic situation of human rights is at its best.
For his part, Hafez Abu Seada, Secretary General of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, a member of the National Council for Human Rights, said that the majority of reports issued have correct numbers, pointing out that the spread of sex tourism in Egypt, during the recent period, has increased significantly, especially in some well-known areas. Abu Seada said Egypt receives sex tourism from Russia and other countries, adding: "But dealing with this subject is particularly sensitive, since it has a number of levels, and so any action we take must not adversely affect tourism flow in Egypt." Abu Seada refused the accusation of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry of the report saying that it is not based on international standards, noting that the report of course differs from the reports issued by the United Nations, but it reflected the reality we live in, calling for the need to "recognize the problems that confront us, so that we can resolve them."
