More alike than I knew...

I woke up this morning to discover that there has been a storm here in UAE, not unlike what happens during the winter at home. Winds were high, people were having trouble getting around and the visibility was poor. Sound like something you have seen before? The big difference here in UAE was it was not snow causing those issues, it was sand being wipped around during a seasonal sand storm. All over now and in reality the problem were more severe over in Dubai than Abu Dhabi.

The other notable similarity between here and other IAWP events is how hard the conference co-directors, Amnah and Step (below) have been working to ensure everything goes as planned. Well...at least as close to the plan as possible (as most past and present IAWP conference can atest). I can assure you that everything has been perfect!

Myra and I took time out again today to pose with various officers from the Abu Dhabi police. Many women stopped by the IAWP display to fill out membership forms and ask questions about the type of work that women in policing in Canada do. Myra will be leading a group of IAWP members in a workshop tomorrow that will cover all that. Check back here for details on that.

I was able to take in a few of the presentations here. Translation services are offered so it was quite easy to follow this Lieutenant with the Abu Dhabi police as he discussed the challenges and success of the UAE to combat Human Trafficking. There were some striking similarities to issues I hear at home. For instance, organized crime has a strong foot hold in human trafficking here just like Canada. As well, inter agency cooperation and, in fact, international cooperation is not as coordinated as it should be. This officer made the point that the criminals sometimes are more adept and adapt to conditions faster than police. True sometimes but it made me stop and think of the achievement we at IAWP have made to create international in-roads...like this conference.

Abu Dhabi is proud of the fact that they are the first Arab State to create legislation around Human Trafficking. Federal Law 51 is intended to create services as well as investigative tools to combat this crime.

I am certainly looking forward to Day 2 at the First Women Police Conference 2012 in Abu Dhabi.