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'RI, UEA sign agreement against human trafficking
Foreign Minister Retno L
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Foreign Minister Retno L.P.Marsudi: (thejakartapost.com) (thejakartapost.com)
Foreign Minister Retno L.P.Marsudi: (thejakartapost.com)
The governments of Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates have signed an agreement to prevent human trafficking and protect its victims, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement in Jakarta on Monday.
Foreign Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi and her UEA counterpart, Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah, signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the sidelines of President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo's visit to Abu Dhabi, UEA, on Sunday.
The ministry said the agreement covered several areas of cooperation, one of which concerned law enforcement to prevent human trafficking through early detection, investigation and prosecution. The two countries also agreed to cooperate in providing protection, rehabilitation and assistance to human trafficking victims, including repatriating them back to their home towns.
The ministry further said the two governments would cooperate to increase capacity and preventive measures against human trafficking crimes. Governments of the two countries expected that the signing of the agreement could reduce the number of human trafficking victims, the ministry added. The main reason of the agreement was that there were an increasing number of Indonesian victims of human trafficking to Middle Eastern and North African countries.
'The MoU signed by Indonesia and the UEA, two countries known as the main flight hubs to Middle Eastern and North African countries, will help our government prevent and tackle human trafficking cases involving Indonesian citizens in those areas,' said Retno as quoted by Antara.
The minister further said the UEA was one of the countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which was very serious about handling human trafficking issues in an attempt implement the Palermo Protocol.
The Palermo Protocol is an agreement that contains a set of binding laws, which require all countries party to the protocol to prevent, suppress and prosecute human trafficking practices.
'As parties to the protocol, it is mandatory for the two countries [Indonesia and UEA] to strengthen international cooperation in various aspects of human trafficking prevention and control,' said Retno.
Based on Foreign Ministry data, the number of Indonesian citizens working in the UEA has reached around 80,000, 72,000 of which work in the informal sector. (ebf)
