RIYADH — Saudi National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking, composed of members of seven governmental entities, is conducting a virtual training program in collaboration with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The training revolves around the application of the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), a national referral document that provides a collaborative framework for the coordination of Saudi ministries and authorities in trafficking-in-persons cases.

Seventy-three men and women from relevant ministries and authorities are participating in the two-day training program, alongside members of relevant civil society organizations.

The training program, led by the UNODC’s Dr. Muhanad Al-Duwaikat, outlined the fundamental tenets of anti-trafficking in both theory and practice, including the so-called “four Ps” of trafficking: prevention of incidents, prosecution of perpetrators, protection of victims and potential victims, and partnerships on the local, national, and international levels.

The program also provided an overview of the 2009 Saudi Anti-Trafficking in Persons Law and the numerous anti-trafficking conventions and protocols, which Saudi Arabia has signed.

According to the Chair of the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking and the President of the Human Rights Commission, Dr. Awwad Al Awwad, “There was no doubt that, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, this important training program must somehow continue — and it did. Its continuation, through virtual means, testifies to the importance of the task at hand.

“Through these virtual training sessions, we are building critical capacity and developing strong partnerships with our friends and colleagues at the UNODC to fight human trafficking hand in hand. Because the crime of human trafficking knows no borders, neither can we.” — SPA