UAE | Crime
Stiff penalties to combat crime
Ten human trafficking cases have been reported in the UAE, five of them are cases in which verdicts have been issued, while others are still with the judicial authorities, a senior official said.
- By Alia Al Theeb, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:28 April 10, 2008
- Image Credit: Gulf News Archive
- Maj Gen Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina (left) and Mohammad Saqr Al Za'abi.
Dubai: Ten human trafficking cases have been reported in the UAE, five of them are cases in which verdicts have been issued, while others are still with the judicial authorities, a senior official said.
Major General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Dubai Police's Deputy Commandant General, said eight of the cases were in Dubai. He said there are no Emiratis or Arabs involved in those cases. He pointed out that the number of cases is not a phenomenon at all compared to other countries where such crimes are common.
Major General Al Mazeina was speaking during a seminar organised at Dubai Police's Officers Club on the law of human trafficking.
Major General Al Mazeina pointed out that the intense efforts which the authorities in the UAE are putting into combating this kind of crime, have resulted in a decline in human trafficking cases in the country.
Legislation
He said the country has lately issued a number of legislations and laws, which contribute noticeably to reducing a number of crimes such as, money laundering and human trafficking. He said there is currently a draft law being prepared regarding weapons, explosives and firecrackers.
He stressed that the country is serious about firmly facing such crimes through laws and legislations and combating procedures.
He pointed out that laws such as money laundering legislation, has contributed in reducing the international classification of the country as a non-cooperative country.
Major General Al Mazeina denied that the policy of openness followed by the country is one of the reasons behind human trafficking crimes in light of countries exporting this crime. He said the legislation in the country has created a kind of specialisation in such crimes, which in turn have resulted in stiff punishments.
Major General Al Mazeina called on activating the efforts of executive and social parties to combat this crime and stiffen the procedures of combating the crime.
He also called on not mixing between human trafficking cases and labour cases, which result out of demands to revise salaries. He said labour cases should be dealt with according to labour laws.
Mohammad Saqr Al Za'abi, Chairman of Jurists Association, who gave the lecture, said the UAE is free of organised human trafficking crimes. He said a few cases are committed by individuals.
Violations
Al Za'abi said the UAE is the first Arab country to issue a law on combating human trafficking.
He said Islam had tackled this issue with a divine legislation when humanity was swamped by human rights violations.
Al Za'abi also gave some comments on the law, since he said that it comes without specification, which creates confusion when categorising or investigating the crime. He said there is a general lack of legislation that serves such crimes due to their international nature.
He called for the presence of a clear system for people coming into the country, which explains values, religion and traditions of the country to reduce such a phenomenon.
Al Za'abi also highlighted a number of issues related to federal law number 51 for the year 2006 regarding combating human trafficking.
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