Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Geneva (Agenzia Fides) - "To counteract the scourge of trafficking of women and children with greater determination and more concrete results, a convergence of efforts is necessary: a mentality that is centered on the unique dignity of every person, a sure punishment of traffickers, fight against corruption, a correct teaching in schools of the mutual relations between man and woman, the fairness of mass media in reporting the damages created by trafficking". This is what was said by Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations and Specialized Agencies in Geneva, in his speech held yesterday on contemporary slavery, at the 18th session of the Human Rights Council.
The Archbishop did not fail to emphasize the importance of collaboration between the various organisms: "In fact, while legislation should be continuously adjusted and adapted to the evolution of the phenomenon of trafficking, the working together of public and private institutions and the contribution of volunteers will guarantee that no person may be bought or sold in violation of his/her dignity and fundamental human rights because he/she is created free and in God’s image and not to be treated as a slave".
In his speech Mgr. Tomasi pointed out how human trade has become "a powerful global business" involving many countries. "The victims of trafficking in persons are estimated at almost three million a year, a lucrative trade that generates an annual income of over thirty billion U.S. dollars", recalled Mgr. Tomasi, who underlined: "What is new is the globalization of this trade, the development of a global market which exploits the extreme poverty and vulnerability of many women and minors who try to escape intolerable conditions of misery and violence".
Although, at a nationally and internationally level, a number of good measures to counter the phenomenon have been adopted, the Archbishop noted that "the trade in human beings, however, does not tend to diminish and only takes on new forms". Mgr. Tomasi has indicated some priorities in order to defeat this scourge: first, prevention through programs of information and information in the countries of origin, to prevent the exodus towards richer countries. "But a more effective prevention can and must be exercised by eliminating the demand of sexual services and the creation of a new culture where interpersonal relations are based on reciprocal respect and not on merchandising the body". Second, concrete initiatives are indicated for the protection and social re-integration of the victims of trafficking, in particular for those that ask for help to exit their context of exploitation and enslavement. Thousands of young women, for example, have been welcomed into familt-like homes. Third, "the prosecution of traffickers has to be strenghened through fair and effective application of legislation. Traffickers have earned much money that they use to evade the law and even the sentences received and their quick exit from the prison places their victims once again at risk together with their families in countries of origin". (SL) (Agenzia Fides 15/09/2011)
