Welcome Uae As A Member Of The Vgt

31 March 2010
Media Release

Welcome UAE as a member of the VGT

The chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT), Australian Federal Police
(AFP) Assistant Commissioner Neil Gaughan, would like to welcome the
United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a member of the VGT.

"I welcome the UAE as a new member of the VGT and look forward to
building on this relationship with the support of all VGT members to
ensure ongoing collaboration in the pursuit of combating online sexual
exploitation involving children worldwide," Assistant Commissioner
Gaughan said.

The UAE officially became a member of the VGT on Tuesday,
9 March 2010, where the AFP chaired its inaugural VGT meeting in
Seattle.
"The VGT will continue to use its successes as a foundation to expand its
membership and to develop further some of groundbreaking work which is
already underway.

"Since its inception in 2003, the VGT has significantly changed the way in
which countries work together to protect children," he said.

The dismantling of global paedophile networks, the coordination of covert
internet investigations, the sharing and developing of intelligence and the
targeting of travelling sex offenders are among the global activities of the
VGT in recent years.

Secretary General to the office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Ministry
of Interior, Major General Nasser Al Nuaimi, will represent the UAE on the
VGT and he believes the partnership will reinforce the Emirates position to
protect the rights of children.

"His Highness Shiekh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyah, Deputy Prime Minister
and Ministry of Interior, is determined that the UAE becomes a centre of
excellence to protect children and raise awareness of the new high-tech
risks that they may face, including through the internet," Major General Al
Nuaimi said.

"Our participation in the VGT will help us to adopt international best
practices and be further bolstered by the introduction of appropriate
legislation and regulations. The protection of our children and families is
vital to the development of our society. Children are our future and the
family is the foundation underpinning this great nation.


We will protect, help and support our children, while equipping parents to
address the challenges they may face in today's information society.
Through our VGT membership, we will build partnerships with law
enforcement organisations around the globe and combat crime against
children on an international scale."
"VGT members will not tolerate any form of child abuse anywhere in the
world and will continue to work with local and overseas counterparts to
arrest those behind child exploitation," Assistant Commissioner Gaughan
said.
The UAE have now joined other members of the VGT which include the
Australian Federal Police, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection
Centre (UK), INTERPOL, Italian Postal and Communication Police Service,
the National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre (Canadian Mounted
Police) and the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement to fight online
child abuse.

The Virtual Global Taskforce is made up of law enforcement agencies from
around the world working together to fight child abuse online. The aim of
the VGT is to build an effective, international partnership of law
enforcement agencies that helps to protect children from online child
abuse.

The objectives of the VGT are:
to make the Internet a safer place;
to identify, locate and help children at risk; and
to hold perpetrators appropriately to account.


Media enquiries
The Virtual Global Taskforce is chaired by the Australian Federal Police and
as such all media enquiries should be directed to:

AFP National Media Team
Phone: (02) 6275 7100
Email: [email protected]