TUNIS - The number of human trafficking victims registered in 2019 in Tunisia by the National commission for the fight against human trafficking (InIctp) was 775, the organization's president Raoudha Laabidi said Friday. The cases included eight child trafficking attempts, 11 slavery cases, 348 cases of child exploitation and 361 instances of forced labor.
On the national day of the abolition of slavery and the presentation of the annual report on trafficking in Tunisia, Laabidi said that in 2019 a reported 841 people were involved in these crimes, including 346 women and 495 men. Laabidi said a case concerning ''children at the Koranic nursery of Regueb'' represents ''the most dangerous case registered last year''. He noted that 200 similar situations, which endanger the future of children, have been discovered in Tunisia after the school of Regueb was closed.
Social services took charge of 31 children aged 13 to 18.
Laabidi praised efforts made by public authorities to take care of the victims, stressing the role undertaken by the education and health ministries who took charge of 78 victims. About half of the trafficking cases concerned minors. Economic exploitation represented over 83.6% of all human trafficking cases, half of which concerned forced labor, followed by the economic exploitation of children, both in marginal economic activities and begging (32.4%), said the report.
Laabidi also said that the Inltp will open on February 13-14 distance learning courses to help fight human trafficking, presenting procedures for police officers to prevent and fight human trafficking.
The mayor of Tunis, Souad Abderrahim, stressed that her municipal administration is open to cooperation with the commission and is ready to support it in taking care of the victims, stressing the importance of including organ trafficking in Tunisia in statistics and reports, given the large number of complaints filed on this matter by associations representing civil society. Historian Ines Mourad Dal spoke about people of color in Tunisia while Saadia Mesbah, president of the association ''Mnamti'', said that the minority of people of color in Tunisia - estimated to be between 4,000 and 5,000 - ''suffers from racist practices that manifest themselves through the use of disparaging names referred skin color''.
The representative of the Council of Europe in Tunisia, Imen Khalifa, spoke about her organization's work in supporting Tunisia, which has ratified the Convention on the fight against the trafficking and sexual exploitation of children that will come into force on February 1. (ANSAmed)