Al-Marri addressing the forum yesterday
By Ayman Adly/Staff Reporter

A comprehensive strategy with shared and solid legal foundations between the Arab countries should be implemented to combat human trafficking, experts said at the second Doha Forum for Combating Human Trafficking which opened yesterday.
Dr Ali bin Fetais al-Marri, Attorney-General of Qatar, stressed that human trafficking is a heinous crime that requires co-operation from multiple entities to combat it.
He said that Qatar was first in the region to adopt the anti- human trafficking law and has enacted legislation making it a crime punishable with severe penalties.
“However, this crime is not a phenomenon in Qatar and it rarely existed so far. In the worst case scenario, Qatar may be a spot for transit of human trafficking and the authorities deal with such cases strictly.”
Al-Marri pointed out that the experiences of others in the field should be incorporated to achieve better law enforcement.
“The forum has gained its great importance as it integrates and enhances a series of efforts and procedures, that began following the announcement of the “Arab Initiative for building national capacities for combating human trafficking in the Arab states”, through the Doha Constitutive Forum held in March 2010,” said Dr Abdullah al-Mal, chairman of Qatar Foundation for Combating Human Trafficking (QFCHT).
“This Forum shall be dedicated for the launch of the initiative, execute its plans, identify required scientific and practical actions, and on-the-ground monitoring. A co-operation agreement has already been signed with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which alongside the Arab League shall be active partners in the implementation of the initiative’s project,” he said.
Al-Mal added that Qatar is keen to actively participate in the international and regional efforts that aim at combating human trafficking so as to enforce the humanitarian principles and values that have been stated upon in the Qatar Constitution.”
Mohamed Radwan bin Khadra, legal adviser to the Secretary General and head of the Legal Department at the League of Arab States, said: “The Arab region, given its strategic location, has been subject to illegal activities such as human trafficking. Organised crime gangs have expanded their range to hunt new victims and to explore new markets for their activities which reached some Arab areas, especially after a fall in possibilities for legal immigration to Western countries. The growing poverty caused by the global financial crisis, as well as the unstable economic and security conditions in some Arab countries currently, have made their citizens, especially children and women, more vulnerable to trafficking.
“The League of Arab States, believing in the seriousness of the crimes of human trafficking and their repercussions, has intensified its efforts at all levels and participated actively in all stages of the preparation of the United Nations Protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children, and also participated in many international forums on combating human trafficking,” he added.
Khadra said: “We must always bear in mind that combating human trafficking in the Arab region cannot succeed in the absence of a comprehensive Arab system based on co-operation and active partnership among all actors in this area. And the Arab Initiative adopted and sponsored by Qatar is a good example of this Arab co-operation.”
The UNODC representative and head of office for GCC countries stressed that common and shared legal foundations should be adopted to maintain severe penalties for the traffickers and protect the vulnerable.
The Forum, jointly organised by QFCHT, the Arab League and UNODC concludes today.
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