Emirates reiterates commitment against human trafficking

Emirates has extended its support to the newest global movie “What is Human Trafficking by “It’s a Penalty” launched in collaboration with actor Liam Neeson. 

The short film is designed to educate the world about the misconceptions and the reality of human trafficking and exploitation happening globally.

Emirates hopes to shine a light on this global problem and help more people understand what human trafficking is by airing this special message on its ice inflight entertainment system on all flights from October. 

With greater awareness, more suspected cases can be identified and reported, thereby protecting and preventing those at risk from becoming victims, an Emirates press release says.

Human trafficking involves the movement of people within a country or across borders into conditions of exploitation against their will by means of force, threats, abduction, or deception. 

In 2017, the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimated that there were 24.9 million people trafficked globally, equivalent to the population of Australia, of which 75% are women and children.

Emirates, through its security division, works with government agencies and organisations, including the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the US Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC), and United Nations Office on Drug and Crimes (UNODC), on efforts to improve awareness of human trafficking and co-operate on effective response strategies within the air transport industry.

Recognizing that frontline employees at the airport and onboard flights are uniquely placed to look out for this type of crime, Emirates invested in training programmes for several years to help its airport and crew workforce to be aware of this crime, and give them the tools to identify and report suspected cases of human trafficking to the appropriate law enforcement organisations.

At Emirates’ hub in Dubai International Airport, a team of aviation security personnel receive special training from embassy partners on how to spot potential human traffickers while checking travel documents and conduct passenger profiling and behavioural analysis.

Since 2017, Emirates’ crew and customer-facing ground staff have been accessing an e-learning module specially developed with the UK Home Office on the ‘Prevention of on-board Crime’. Emirates is one of the first airlines to roll out this type of training that encourages employees to be more observant of customer behaviour. In particular, behaviours associated with someone who might be engaged in human trafficking or someone who could be a victim. 

The course provides scenarios of what crew might encounter onboard and guidance on how they should respond.

The Emirates Group has an anti-slavery and human trafficking policy and publishes transparency statements on the Modern Slavery Act annually as part of its ongoing commitment to combat this crime.

Since 2014, It’s a Penalty has been working to disrupt the fastest-growing and second-largest criminal industry in the world: human trafficking and exploitation. Its Penalty raises awareness and educates the community by providing a platform - equipping people with the tools to protect those who are being exploited or trafficked.