Bahrain FM attends key UN meeting

New York : Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa participated in a high-level meeting, that was chaired by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Theresa May, in the presence of President of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and a number of Presidents and senior officials.

The meeting, which was held at the United Nation’s headquarters in New York, discussed forced labor, modern slavery and human trafficking, for the purpose of enhancing regional and international cooperation to combat these phenomena and to ensure the implementation of the relevant international conventions and laws.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs expressed thanks to the UK Prime Minister for hosting this important meeting, stressing the need for immediate progress in combating these practices at the regional and international levels, in order to achieve the relevant sustainable development goals by 2030.

He highlighted the efforts exerted by the Kingdom of Bahrain in this regard, reflected in its ratification of the relevant international conventions, particularly the United Nations Convention on Transnational Organized Crime, as well as the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs affirmed that the Kingdom of Bahrain has implemented its law against human trafficking, Law No. (1) of 2008, which prohibits all forms of trafficking and provides for severe penalties for offenders.

He also noted the establishment of the National Committee to Combat Trafficking in Persons, which provided effective mechanisms to ensure the safety and protection of the victims.

The Minister also noted that the Kingdom has established the Migrant Workers Protection Centre, launched a hotline to report abuse of migrant workers in different languages, and applied the National Referral System to deal with human trafficking cases as well as organized several workshops to raise awareness of these important issues.