Marrakesh - The Kingdom of Morocco and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) organized the third annual meeting of the Arab Association for Prosecutors between November 30th and December 1st in Marrakesh, Morocco centered around the theme: "Fostering a Sustainable Arab Judicial Dialogue". 

The seminar provided a dedicated platform for meaningful discussions on fostering a judicial dialogue and enhancing communication between public prosecutions in Arab countries for effective criminal justice.
 
It also discussed strengthening technical capabilities of public prosecution members in combating crimes, particularly in the realm of corruption crimes: money laundering, migrant smuggling, and human trafficking.

“Not a single organization or nation can handle countering human trafficking alone,” said Mr. Othman Belbeisi, IOM’s Regional Director for the Middle east and North Africa region, during the international seminar held alongside the annual meeting of the Arab Association for Prosecutors addressing the topic: "Efforts of Public Prosecutions in Arab Countries in Combatting Corruption Crimes: Money Laundering, Migrant Smuggling, and Human Trafficking – Challenges and Constraints."
 
“These challenges require a coordinated and integrated approach among countries and stakeholders to respond accurately and timely to avoid more vulnerable individuals from becoming victims of traffickers,” he added.
 
The event brought together the highest level of public prosecutors from the KSA, Jordan, Yemen, Iraq, Egypt, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Palestine, Mauritania, Sudan and Morocco, In addition to the president of European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (EUROJUST), the president of the International Association of Prosecutors, dignitaries from different Moroccan ministries and experts from The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). 

“Countering human trafficking has also become one of the areas that IOM is highly specialized in. The organizations approach is born out of our accumulated expertise over the years in cooperating with governments, other international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and survivors of trafficking themselves.” said Mr. Othman Belbeisi. 

During the annual meeting of the Arab Association for Prosecutors and the international seminar held alongside the annual meeting, participants actively engaged in discussions covering a range of topics focused on enhancing cooperation, sharing experiences, and implementing best practices, all aimed at strengthening efforts to combat money laundering, migrant smuggling, and human trafficking.

This event was organized under the auspices of the Office of Prosecutor General of The Kingdom of Morocco and was generously funded by the Kingdom of Morocco and the The Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) in a collaboration between IOM Morocco and IOM’s Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa through the Africa Regional Migration Programme (ARMP) Sub-Regional hub in North Africa and MENA region based in Cairo.  

For more information please contact Tamim Elyan in Cairo: telyan@iom.int and Meryem Massaia in Rabat: mmassaia@iom.int