Minister : The Need to Fight Organized Crime Resulted from Crisis

 DAMASCUS,(ST)_ Minister of the Interior  Maj. Gen. Muhammad al-Shaar  stressed that the crisis in Syria requires attaching  greater importance to fight organized crime, especially the crime of trafficking in persons as these crimes shifted  from “individual case to organized crime carried out by regional and international gangs.”

In  a meeting with members of the preparatory committee for the  national plan to combat trafficking crimes in persons  yesterday , the minister said that current conditions have led to the emergence of “organized gangs exploiting the situation of Syrian citizens in camps of neighboring countries, especially al- Zaatari and  other camps set up in Turkey where  all kinds of slavery are practiced .”

The minister explained  that Legislative Decree No. 3 for 2010 on combating trafficking crimes, provided for the establishment of  a specialized department in this area at the  Ministry and  for

Syria’s accession to international conventions against organized crime and the Protocol thereto on the preventing  trafficking in persons in 2000 will help to combat all forms and manifestations of this crime by Syrian citizens in Diaspora who are  exploited  to influence the stability of States or  get involved in prostitution networks or degrading acts that do not fit with the human rights and dignity.

The Minister continued that providing  terrorist groups in Syria with gunmen from many countries, is a type of crimes of trafficking in persons supported by certain countries, especially that these militants fed at an early age by extremist  ideas to fight in Syria, calling for greater efforts with international organizations to address this phenomenon

He called for  activating  cooperation between public and private actors to combat the crime of trafficking, reminding that this crime evolves and is experiencing different forms and practices , noting the  importance of the National Plan to Combat Trafficking in Persons in Syria, in  raising awareness among Syrian youths to this end.

Worthy mentioning that the  preparatory  Committee of the national plan to combat trafficking in persons crimes was formed on 23 November 2011 , including  representatives from the Ministries of Justice, Social Affairs and Labor and Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, media and endowments, health and the Interior and people and civil society organizations.

T. Fateh