Report from the CODE Red Human Trafficking Awareness Conference

Sr. Margaret Gonzi, RGS, RENATE Member, reports on her presentation and attendance at the June 12^th, 2015 CODE Red International Conference on Human Trafficking Awareness in Malta, entitled “Now or Never – Act of Love”
The Conference is the initiative of Mr Alec Douglas Bvumburah, the founder of the Cross Culture International Foundation Malta (CCIF).
There is not much talk in Malta about Human Trafficking. So I was pleased that this conference took place. The fact that the Acting President of Malta, Ms. Dolores Cristina, opened the Conference showed the importance of tackling this issue.
I am glad that I was invited to contribute by giving a presentation on, “What the Church is doing to stop the evil done by Human Trafficking.” I focused on Pope Francis’ plea to work together to end this evil and following on from this, I talked about RENATE and how this Foundation operates to bring people together, as well as its mission based on Gospel values. I included the work done by my Congregation, The Good Shepherd Sisters, in addition to various other organizations in Malta such as the Jesuit Refugee Services Malta, Caritas and the Diocesan Emigrants` Commission.
Other speakers spoke on “Child Trafficking from a Maltese Perspective” where specialized training to help child victims was emphasized. A Police Inspector spoke on “Human Trafficking from a policing viewpoint and additional work to be done.” While a University of Malta Law student spoke on “The National Action Plan.” A representative from The Ministry for Home Affairs and National Security spoke on “Progress made in the fight against Human Trafficking in Malta and the way forward”. In this talk the importance of research and compiling statistics was emphasized.
The Conference ended on a positive note with the commitment of all present, to help combat human trafficking.
Agenda of CODE Red Human Trafficking Awareness Conference in Malta
 
Adapted by Anne Kelleher, RENATE Communications Person.