PH Ambassador Discusses with UAE Foreign Ministry Heightened Cooperation for Welfare of Filipinos and to Combat Human Trafficking

ABU DHABI 30 March 2023 — Philippine Ambassador to the UAE Alfonso A. Ver called on H.E. Saeed Alhebsi, Director, Department of Human Rights, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFAIC) to discuss Philippines-UAE collaboration in combatting human trafficking on 28 March 2023.

In 2018, the Philippines and the UAE signed an MOU on Cooperation in Combatting Human Trafficking, which had its first PH-UAE Joint Committee Meeting (JCM) on November 2021. For the Philippines, the Inter-Agency Council Against Human Trafficking (IACAT) is the focal entity for the MOU while for the UAE, it is the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking (NCCHT).

Both Amb. Ver and Dir. Alhebsi were part of the first JCM, and they committed to working closely to ensure that the two countries' efforts to eradicate trafficking in persons are sustained.

The PH-UAE MOU signing in 2019 and the ongoing efforts of the two countries to combat trafficking were cited by the United Nations Migration Network as an example of a best policy practice that should be emulated.

According to Amb. Ver, "The cooperation between the Philippines and the UAE continue to expand and deepen, but at the heart of it is due to the fact that the two countries deeply care for its nationals. It is but natural that the Philippines and the UAE work hand in hand to eradicate human trafficking and remove illegal recruitment. With the UN Migration Network taking note of the success of PH-UAE collaboration through the years, both countries will continue to find ways and mechanisms to help protect our people from nefarious elements." END

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