UNODC report shows decline in human trafficking cases in Egypt in 2017

CAIRO – 9 January 2019: Egypt witnessed a remarkable decline in the cases of human trafficking detected in 2017, compared to cases reported in 2014, according to a report released on Tuesday by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Only 23 cases of trafficking in persons have been recorded during the period from January to July 2017, compared to 52 cases in 2014, according to the Global Report on Trafficking in Persons. The number of reported cases of trafficking in the form of sexual exploitation dropped to zero in 2017, compared to 34 cases in 2014.

The report noted that Egypt's current legislation on trafficking in persons, introduced in 2010, covers all forms of trafficking indicated in the UN Trafficking in Persons Protocol.

Egypt's public prosecutor Nabil Ahmed Sadeq and Yuri Fedotov, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), have signed a memorandum of understanding in October with the aim to boost cooperation where criminal justice is concerned.

The MoU was also meant to enhance cooperation in collecting evidence and tracking perpetrators of terrorist and human trafficking crimes, as well as drug dealers and smugglers of cultural property, a statement by the public prosecutor's office here said Tuesday.

Under the deal, Egypt and the UNODC worked together to fight violence against women and children, the statement added.

UNODC was established in 1997 to assist the UN in better addressing a coordinated, comprehensive response to the interrelated issues of illicit trafficking in and abuse of drugs, crime prevention and criminal justice, international terrorism, and corruption.