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[Cairo, 11 November 2008] Deputy Chairman of the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) Kamal Abul Magd criticized the Arab regimes, saying that Arab rulers do not know much about human rights, which obstructs the work of human rights organizations. In the inauguration of a conference on "human trafficking", head of the NCHR Boutros Ghali said: "It is disgraceful while we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the world start of human rights to move back and discuss the phenomenon of human trafficking as if the world did not make any progress in human rights." For his part, the Ministry of Justice's Legislation Sector Undersecretary Yehia el-Banna said a joint ministerial committee is bent on preparing a draft law to criminalize human trafficking. The committee was formed under a decree from the prime minister and includes the foreign, justice and interior ministries. It started to prepare an initial draft for the bill in accordance with the international agreements signed by Egypt to combat human trafficking. The International Labor Organization said some 12 million citizens are victims of forced labor, and the International Organization for Migration said more than 500,000 girls are involved in forced prostitution. Dr. Nihal Fahmi, regional expert in combating human trafficking, said there are some 27 million victims of human trafficking in the world, and some 18-20 thousand victims enter the US yearly. In addition, some 40,000 children are sold and bought in the same way. Human rights activist Karima Hafez denied that Egypt is not involved in slave trade, as human organs trafficking has spread. In addition, a report by world human rights organizations said Egypt is involved in white slavery, as a number of young girls are married more than once in a month in some Egyptian villages. Further Information: ** Anti Trafficking Awareness Toolkit (Vital Voices Global Partnership)