A three-day regional meeting bringing together representatives from
22 Arab countries, non-governmental organizations, civil society
and research institutes as well as representatives from United
Nations (UN) agencies will open on 14 December in Cairo to discuss
best international and regional practices in the field of direct
assistance to victims of trafficking.

The meeting, jointly organized by IOM and the Egyptian Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, will focus on a rights-based approach to
counter trafficking to ensure the rights and well-being of victims
are central to interventions carried out by policy makers,
legislators, law enforcement agencies and community workers.

The Arabic version of IOM's Handbook on Direct Assistance for
Victims of Trafficking will be launched during the inaugural
session in the presence of the Egyptian First Lady Suzanne Mubarak
and of IOM Director General William Lacy Swing.

The Handbook seeks to provide guidance and advice to
successfully provide comprehensive assistance to victims of
trafficking from the point of initial contact up to the effective
social reintegration of the individuals concerned.

While most countries in the region are signatories to the United
Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons,
limited capacity, lack of comprehensive national legislation
against human trafficking and a very high degree of mobility to,
from and through the region may make a significant number of people
vulnerable to trafficking.

This meeting therefore represents a milestone in the field of
counter-trafficking in the Middle East, a region that has recently
been taking steps to respond to the growing phenomenon of human
trafficking.

Although the global scale of human trafficking is difficult to
quantify, an estimated two million individuals every year may
become victims to a trafficking trade worth some USD 37 billion.
IOM's own database on victims the Organization has assisted shows a
steady increase in the number of people being trafficked for labour
exploitation in recent years.

IOM has carried out some 500 counter-trafficking projects in 85
countries and has provided direct assistance to approximately
20,000 trafficked persons over the past 15 years.

For further information, please contact:

Ms. Fiona El Assiuty

IOM Cairo

Tel: +20 227 3508 79

E-mail:  "mailto:felassiuty@iom.int">felassiuty@iom.int