Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of the National Committee for Combating Trafficking in Persons, H.E. Mr. Jamal Abdulaziz AlAlawi, officially met with Mr. Ilias Chatzis, Chief of Human Trafficking and Migrants Smuggling Section (HTMSS) of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in efforts to further advance their ongoing partnership and exchange expertise. The meeting took place at the UNODC headquarters in Vienna in attendance of H.E. Dr. Hatem Aly, Regional Representative of UNODC Office for the Gulf Cooperation Council Region (OGCCR).
H.E. AlAlawi reiterated the commitment of Kingdom of Bahrain to promote partnerships and strategic collaborations, in addition to preventing trafficking in persons at large, and forced labour and labour exploitation in particular. H.E. AlAlawi also highlighted the key initiatives and projects launched in that regards, noting the significant role assumed by the Kingdom of Bahrain in sharing its expertise and the successful initiatives at the regional level, while establishing permanent communication channels to assume a consultative and guiding role to share Bahrain’s prominent experience.
Moreover, H.E. AlAlawi emphasized on the key partnership between the Kingdom of Bahrain and UNODC in combating trafficking in persons, and praised their support in mapping policies of prevention and protection, as well as developing the necessary mechanisms and tools to combat the crime. H.E. Alawi also expressed appreciation for the technical support provided by UNODC to the Regional Centre of Excellence and Capacity Building for Combatting Trafficking in Persons, through building the capacity of first responders in the identification of forced labour and labour exploitation, as well as developing training programmes. He added that the latter take into account the psychological state of victims and are localized and sensitive to the social and economic specificities of the Middle East on one hand, and the everchanging nature of the crime on the other.
On the same note, Mr. Chatzis reviewed the ongoing aspects of cooperation with the Kingdom of Bahrain, highlighting the Kingdom’s assistance and support to UN agencies in general and UNODC in particular. He also underlined the Kingdom of Bahrain’s prominent role in the implementation of anti-trafficking initiatives and programmes in line with the best international practices in efforts to prevent exploitation and forced labour, as well as raising social awareness of such practices. Mr. Chatzis commended Kingdom of Bahrain’s sustainable efforts, which resulted in a unique experience in this field at both the regional and international level.
H.E. AlAlawi, together with Mr. Chatzis, discussed prospects of developing other bilateral programs that ensure highlighting Kingdom of Bahrain’s experience in the of combating trafficking in persons, while serving as an international model in this field.