Egypt on Wednesday rejected the findings of a newly-issued US State Department report on human trafficking, which contained criticisms of the country's efforts to combat the phenomenon. Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said in a statement today that the report failed to deliver the "full picture" and lacked accuracy and objectivity. "Egypt does not recognize the methodology of such reports, drastically disagrees with their basics, and does not believe in the idea of categorically sorting human rights issues of a complex nature," Zaki stated. He went on to say that the report included "unfounded" and "undocumented" allegations made by NGOs, which, he asserted, the authors knew to be untrue. "Official investigations found these claims to be corrupt, which puts the credibility of the report in question," Zaki said. He went on to stress that Egypt was not obliged to recognize reports issued by "unauthorized organizations," and that the country's only commitment was to the international agreements to which it was a formal signatory. "Many of the internationally-adopted mechanisms praised Egypt's leading role in combating the phenomenon, either at the governmental or non-governmental level. This is due not only to Egypt's commitment to international obligations, but also to Egypt's awareness of the seriousness of this international crime and the need to encounter it," Zaki said. He went on to emphasize that Egypt was working diligently on dealing with any deficiencies in this respect through the continued upgrade of its laws and institutions. The Trafficking in Persons Report describes Egypt as "a source, transit and destination country for women and children who are subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution," accusing the government of not exerting sufficient effort to eliminate the problem or prosecute perpetrators. It also discusses "temporary marriages" of wealthy visitors from the Gulf to underage Egyptian females. The report also asserts that Egyptian children are often recruited for domestic and agricultural labor, many of whom often face inhumane conditions, such as restrictions on movement, non-payment of wages, intimidation, and physical or sexual abuse, the report found. It concedes, however, that some "minimal" progress had been achieved by Egypt in this regard, manifested in certain actions and court procedures taken against individuals involved in crimes of this kind. These included the arrest of 27 marriage registrars who were found to have registered "commercial" marriage contracts for underage females. The US report concludes with a number of recommendations, including stepped-up law enforcement aimed at countering trafficking-related offenses, offering protection to victims and potential victims--especially migrants working in industrial zones--and promoting public awareness about the phenomenon.
