Commission on human trafficking starts working

KABUL): A commission set up by the Ministry of Justice to curb human trafficking and kidnappings on Sunday started working by holding its maiden session.

The commission had been set up in an effort to control human trafficking and kidnappings, Minister of Justice Habibullah Ghalib told media reporters after the meeting in Kabul.

The panel is comprised of representatives from several ministries, the Attorney General Office, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission and the National Directorate of Security.

With cooperation from relevant ministries, the commission could prevent human trafficking, the minister hoped, saying the scourge was not confined to one particular country; it was a global problem.

Most of victims were women and children, according to Ghalib, who said a draft law on the commission’s mandate had been prepared and would be finalised in a month.

Deputy Information and Culture Minister Ghulam Nabi Farahi urged commission members to deal with the problem in a determined manner. “If criminals are allowed to go unpunished, the commission’s existence will be meaningless.”

Ninety traders were kidnapped across the country last year, the deputy minister said, without giving details.

But the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) deputy head, Khan Jan Alokozay, said 10 of the kidnap victims were killed and the rest freed after the payment of ransom.

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