Dubai: Emirates airline said it is airing a video on the issue of human trafficking featuring Hollywood actor Liam Neeson on its in-flight entertainment system.
The video titled ‘What is Human Trafficking?’ was launched by ‘It’s a Penalty’, an organisation that aims to tackle abuse, exploitation and trafficking by collaborating with sporting bodies, NGOs, and governments.
“The short film is designed to educate the world about the misconceptions and the reality of human trafficking and exploitation happening globally,” Emirates said in a statement on Wednesday. The airline said it “hopes to shine a light on this global problem and help more people understand what human trafficking is.” As one of world’s largest connector of people and places, Emirates is committed to play its part to help stem this crime against humanity, it added.
Human trafficking involves the movement of persons within a country or across borders into conditions of exploitation against their will by means of force, threats, abduction, or deception. In 2017, the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimated that there were 24.9 million people trafficked globally, of which 75 per cent are women and children.
Partnerships and training
Through its security division, Emirates works with government agencies and organisations including the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the US Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC), and United Nations Office on Drug and Crimes (UNODC) on efforts to improve awareness of human trafficking and cooperate on effective response strategies within the air transport industry.
Recognising that front line employees at the airport and on-board flights are uniquely placed to look out for this type of crime, Emirates has for several years invested in training programmes to help its airport and crew workforce to be aware of this crime, and give them the tools to identify and report suspected cases of human trafficking to the appropriate law enforcement organisations.
Special training
At Emirates’ hub at Dubai International Airport, a team of aviation security personnel receive special training from embassy partners on how to spot potential human traffickers while checking travel documents and conduct passenger profiling and behavioural analysis.
Since 2017, Emirates’ crew and customer facing ground staff have been accessing an e-learning module specially developed with the UK Home Office on the ‘Prevention of on-board Crime’. One of the first airlines to roll out this type of training, which encourages employees to be more observant of customer behaviour, in particular behaviours associated with someone who might be engaged in human trafficking or someone who could be a victim. The course provides scenarios of what crew might encounter on-board and guidance on how they should respond.
The Emirates Group has an anti-slavery and human trafficking policy, and publishes transparency statements on the Modern Slavery Act annually as part of its ongoing commitment to combat this crime
