Call for Effective Action Against Slavery

Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations in New York on Nov. 9 addressed a conference on “Practical Solutions to Eradicate Human Trafficking”. In his statement the Archbishop reaffirmed the Church’s commitment to fight the scourge of human trafficking and slavery. This commitment involves tackling the drivers that fuel the scourge and  reaching out to victims. Archbishop Auza stated:

“When Pope Francis came to the United Nations in September 2015, he said that plagues like “human trafficking, the marketing of human organs and tissues, the sexual exploitation of boys and girls, slave labor, including prostitution,” and other evils cannot be met by “solemn commitments” alone. We have to ensure, he underlined, that our efforts are “truly effective in the struggle against all of these scourges.”

He also affirmed the formation of partnerships to strengthen collective action among governments and governmental agencies, academic institutions and the media, civil society and the private sector. Special mention was made of “Talitha Kum, an international network of 22 institutes of Catholic religious sisters across 70 countries on five continents, in big cities and the most rural areas. These communities work together at a practical level with each other, with other civil society groups, and with governments to try to address the multiplicity of concrete issues that are involved in combatting trafficking. Their witness and work provide an example for Catholic and non-Catholic institutions across the globe of the type of good alliances and solidarity necessary to combat the organized crime and corruption that make trafficking possible and profitable.” ACRATH is proud to be a member of Talitha Kum.

Download Archbishop Auza’s full statement here.