A Jordanian police officer has been commended as a “hero” by the US State Department for his efforts to eliminate human trafficking.
The Trafficking in Persons report, issued annually by the US to monitor and combat trafficking, also gave Bahrain the highest rank in its three-tier system for fighting and preventing the practice.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken presented a 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report Hero Award to Maj Mohammad Al Khlaifat in Washington on Tuesday.
“Maj Mohammad Al Khlaifat has striven to eliminate human trafficking in Jordan by leading the Public Security Directorate’s Counter Trafficking Unit, a police unit with embedded Ministry of Labour and Ministry of Health personnel, and also by proactively identifying and supporting trafficking victims,” the report said.
Since becoming acting head of the unit in 2020, Maj Al Khlaifat has led efforts to strengthen co-operation between Jordanian government agencies, civil society, and non-government organisations. These include the Jordanian Women’s Union, which helps provide shelter and services for abused women.
“He initiated new ways to collaborate with the Ministry of Social Development and the Jordanian Women’s Union to ensure trafficking victims received responsive and equitable protection and support services,” the report said.
The report is considered one of the most comprehensive of its kind, and a key reference for international human rights organisations.
It assesses how 188 countries and territories are performing in terms of preventing trafficking, protecting victims and prosecuting traffickers.
The hero award was also given to officials from Ukraine, Bangladesh, Poland, Thailand and Liberia.
Launching the report, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the scale of human trafficking today is terrifying.
“There are nearly 25 million people currently victims of trafficking,” he said.
“Trafficking in persons violates the rights of all people to be free: free to do what you want, be who you want, make the life that you wish."
Arab country in top tier for tackling trafficking
The report divides countries into three tiers based on their compliance with strict standards for combating human trafficking.
Tier one is dedicated to nations that fully comply with measures and are make significant efforts to eliminate it.
Bahrain is the only Arab country to receive a Tier 1 ranking this year, alongside countries and territories including the US, the UK, Sweden, Spain, France, Singapore and Taiwan.
It was praised for its efforts against forced labour.
“These efforts included convicting labour traffickers for the first time since 2018 and increasing forced labour investigations and prosecutions,” the report said.
The kingdom also has a police trafficking hotline that has helped expose cases.
“The government also identified and referred to care more victims overall and identified forced labour victims for the first time in two years,” the report said.
The UAE features in Tier 2 of the ranking. This is designated for countries whose governments and territories, the State Department says, do not fully comply with all standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance.
Legislation to combat all forms of human trafficking, including sexual exploitation and forced labour, has been introduced in the UAE.
The country's National Committee for Combating Human Trafficking was established in 2007 to support these efforts.
Last year, the Emirates took part in a major Interpol operation to tackle human trafficking around the world — leading to hundreds of arrests.
Other Tier 2 Middle Eastern countries include Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Iraq.
Syria and Iran ranked in Tier 3, for countries whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so.
A highlight of this year's report is the attention given to trafficking victims
It identifies and lists recommendations for world governments to combat traffickers, obstacles that survivors face and the support that can help them rebuild their lives.
Last week, British Olympic star Sir Mo Farah has said he continues to live with the “sadness and trauma” of being trafficked to the UK as a child to work as a slave.
The four-time Olympic champion long-distance runner recalls being taken away from his family in Somalia by a woman he had never met and told he was to live with relatives in the UK.
Somalia, Libya and Yemen are the only three countries in the “special case” rank — where civil conflict and humanitarian crises make obtaining information difficult.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'Midnights'
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
If you go
Flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh with a stop in Yangon from Dh3,075, and Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Phnom Penh with its partner Bangkok Airlines from Dh2,763. These trips take about nine hours each and both include taxes. From there, a road transfer takes at least four hours; airlines including KC Airlines (www.kcairlines.com) offer quick connecting flights from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from about $100 (Dh367) return including taxes. Air Asia, Malindo Air and Malaysian Airlines fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville from $54 each way. Next year, direct flights are due to launch between Bangkok and Sihanoukville, which will cut the journey time by a third.
The stay
Rooms at Alila Villas Koh Russey (www.alilahotels.com/ kohrussey) cost from $385 per night including taxes.
Honeymoonish
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
Players Selected for La Liga Trials
U18 Age Group
Name: Ahmed Salam (Malaga)
Position: Right Wing
Nationality: Jordanian
Name: Yahia Iraqi (Malaga)
Position: Left Wing
Nationality: Morocco
Name: Mohammed Bouherrafa (Almeria)
Position: Centre-Midfield
Nationality: French
Name: Mohammed Rajeh (Cadiz)
Position: Striker
Nationality: Jordanian
U16 Age Group
Name: Mehdi Elkhamlichi (Malaga)
Position: Lead Striker
Nationality: Morocco
LEAGUE CUP QUARTER-FINAL DRAW
Stoke City v Tottenham
Brentford v Newcastle United
Arsenal v Manchester City
Everton v Manchester United
All ties are to be played the week commencing December 21.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
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Director: Jesse Armstrong
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Aaron Finch (captain), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, David Warner, Adam Zampa
