Launching of the Egyptian Component of the regional project Dismantling human trafficking and migrant smuggling criminal networks in North Africa

Cairo, Egypt -   On the 22nd of July 2020, the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt, in cooperation and coordination with the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) launched the related activities to the Egyptian component under the regional project “Dismantling human trafficking and migrant smuggling criminal networks in North Africa.” The 15 million Euro project funded by the North Africa Window of the European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Africa will be implemented by the UNODC Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa (ROMENA) over a period of three years and will include regional activities bringing together all North African countries, as well as country-specific activities in Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia.

The project aims at achieving several objectives including strengthening the capacities of first responders to identify and investigate cases of migrant smuggling and human trafficking while protecting trafficking victims and vulnerable migrants.

Through the project, UNODC, with the funding and support of the European Union, will build on its long partnership with the Government of Egypt to strengthen the country’s holistic response to human trafficking and migrant smuggling and will aim to achieve sustainable results through supporting efforts to dismantle the criminal networks involved in these crimes.