Ambassador Dina El-Sayeh, Executive Director of the Fund for Assisting Victims of Human Trafficking, held a series of meetings over Monday and Tuesday, January 19–20, as part of her first official visit to Minya Governorate. The meetings aimed to explore avenues of joint cooperation with several entities to activate the Fund’s role in providing protection and prevention for all segments of society from exposure to any human trafficking crimes, as well as providing support to victims to facilitate their reintegration into society.
Ambassador Dina El-Sayeh discussed during the meeting the mechanism for providing training and awareness programs targeting various segments of society, particularly social pioneer women, in order to enhance their awareness of the dangers of human trafficking crimes, their different forms, and methods of prevention. The Minya Governorate affirmed its full support for all national efforts aimed at protecting human rights and strengthening cooperation with relevant entities to ensure integration in performance and effective implementation of these activities.
Ambassador Dina El-Sayeh also participated in a meeting organized by Dr. Fatma El-Zahraa Ali, Director of the Child Protection Committee and the Women, Motherhood and Childhood Administration at the Governorate’s General Office, in the presence of representatives of Human Rights Units, to discuss all aspects of cooperation between the Fund and the Unit. The meeting addressed partnership in several areas, most notably training protection committee officials on the concepts of human trafficking in all its forms, to enable them to properly understand cases they monitor and document under their judicial authority before referring them to law enforcement authorities.
During her visit, Ambassador Dina El-Sayeh highlighted the Fund’s upcoming plans, including the establishment of a Victim Support Unit to follow up and finance psychological, health, and legal assistance provided to victims in cooperation with relevant entities. She also announced the upcoming launch of the Fund’s hotline (17616) to report human trafficking crimes, emphasizing close cooperation with the National Council for Women, the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, and Human Rights Units, and the importance of coordination through their hotlines.
Ambassador Dina El-Sayeh also met with Dr. Nagah El-Telawy, Rapporteur of the National Council for Women’s branch in Minya, to discuss cooperation in organizing awareness campaigns targeting women, aiming to introduce them to the dangers and various forms of human trafficking. The meeting also emphasized continuing training programs for women and vulnerable groups, especially victims, to teach them various crafts for economic empowerment and helping them face life challenges.
The visit included a tour of the Minya Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency, where she met with the branch director Marwan Mohamed, in the presence of representatives of civil society organizations working in rehabilitation and project financing, to discuss financing projects for victims of human trafficking referred by the Fund.
During her tour, Ambassador Dina El-Sayeh visited the Directorate of Social Solidarity, where she met with the Director and Deputy Director to develop an action plan with the Fund in combating human trafficking crimes, aiming to strengthen the social protection system and ensure continued coordination. Officials expressed their desire to continue training programs targeting social pioneer women due to their significant impact in raising awareness of human trafficking risks.
Ambassador Dina El-Sayeh also met with the Director of the Minya Endowments Directorate, who affirmed readiness to cooperate with the Fund by incorporating awareness messages into sermons and lessons. The visit also included discussions on training approximately 100 imams and female preachers. The final stop was the Minya Coptic Orthodox Diocese, where she met with Bishop Makarios to discuss cooperation in raising awareness and providing educational materials explaining human trafficking and its various forms.
