EU-UN Project to Combat Human Trafficking in the Middle East.

Vienna, 22 August 2019(Lana) The European Union in collaboration with the UN Office for Prevention of Narcotics and Crime has launched a 15 million Euro project to dismantle human trafficking networks in the Middle East and North Africa. The Vienna-based UN Office on Drugs and Crime in a statement the project was meant to provide assistance to Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Morocco and other Middle East and North African countries in a bid to dismantle trafficking and criminal networks. The 3 year project aims to improve capabilities of the afore-said countries to detect, confront and investigate cases of migrant smuggling and human trafficking, provide capacity-building programs and broaden knowledge of law-enforcement agencies and criminal justice to focus on regional and international cooperation, the UNODC said. It said it was seeking, in cooperation with the EU, to build a close partnership with the governments of the Middle East and North Africa, to help them combat migrant smuggling and human trafficking, and also to put an end to exploitation and abuse of migrants and refugees. =Lana=