Updated
New draft law to combat human trafficking brings hope in Morocco | UN Women
Morocco is working to address human trafficking by being open about the scope of the problem and reforming laws to better approach the issue:
At a seminar in May, the findings of a recent study on the trafficking of women and children in Morocco, led by the country’s Ministry of Justice and Liberties in partnership with UN Women and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation of Switzerland, were presented to more than 100 members of government, civil society and international organizations.
The study identifies human trafficking as both an internal as well as a transnational problem, with Morocco at the hub as a country of origin, destination and transit. It is described as “legally invisible,” because it is not clearly defined in domestic law. Moreover, when trafficking involving Moroccan nationals occurs abroad, it can often be impossible for Moroccan officials to intervene across borders.
The urgent need to prevent and address the needs of those trafficked has been in focus for a few years now. During a visit to Morocco in 2013, the UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons expressed concern about the lack of an adequate legal framework to effectively address the issue. Moroccan officials informed her that the adoption of a new anti-trafficking law would enable authorities to train police officials on the identification of victims.
A draft law against human trafficking was approved by the Moroccan Government just days before the joint UN Women study was released in May, and is expected to be debated and adopted as early as October…[FULL STORY]