Hundreds of thousands of human trafficking victims are recorded around the world. To deal with this phenomenon, the Ministry of Interior, the Cyprus Police, and the Social Welfare Services in collaboration with Hermes Airports have launched a joint campaign at Larnaka and Pafos airports to raise awareness to the travelling public and the front-line staff, to be in place to identify possible victims and how to handle such situations, always in collaboration with the relevant authorities.
The campaign aims to increase awareness around the despicable crime of human trafficking and to highlight the necessity for collaboration amongst the involved stakeholders to combat human trafficking. Tania Charalambidou, representative of the Ministry of Interior, the National Coordinator for combating human trafficking, stated that “Human trafficking is a downright violation of human rights, where victims, irrespective of their age, gender, and nationality, become modern day slaves. The proper awareness created at key information points such as the airports of Cyprus, can be lifesaving for many victims.”
Maria Kouroupi, Senior Manager of Aviation Development and Communication of Hermes Airports stated that “Our participation in the specific campaign in collaboration with other state stakeholders, highlights the sensitivity we demonstrate for such matters and is aligned with the broader goals which derive from our sustainability and social responsibility strategy”.