Migration has always been with us. From time immemorial, people have moved in search of new opportunities and better lives. Climate change, demographics, instability, growing inequalities and aspirations for a better life – as well as unmet needs in labour markets – mean it is here to stay. The answer is effective international cooperation in managing migration to ensure that its benefits are most widely distributed, and that the human rights of all concerned are properly protected.’ António Guterres, UN Secretary General.

A useful video has been made by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, highlighting the issue of modern slavery and migration as smugglers  look to capitalise on the ever-increasing numbers displaced in modern times. This is a valuable resource which can be deployed in any setting, for awareness-raising, advocacy and campaigning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=ytQwNa8zApk

Prepared by Anne Kelleher, RENATE Communications.

Photo from Council of Europe website.

The Expert Council on NGO Law has just published a study entitled “Using Criminal Law to Restrict the Work of NGOs Supporting Refugees and Other Migrants in Council of Europe Member States”.

The study considers the situation of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) carrying out humanitarian assistance and related work in support of refugees and other migrants in Council of Europe (CoE) Member States, and the extent to which criminal law and its enforcement impact on legitimate NGO activity.

The study finds that laws criminalising NGO activity, and the enforcement of such laws, impact significantly on legitimate NGO activity, negatively affecting freedom of association and related human rights. The laws themselves are vague and lack legal certainty in the way in which they have been applied and the limitations placed on lawful NGO activities are often neither necessary nor proportionate.

The Expert Council on NGO Law is preparing guidelines based on this study to help CoE Member States ensure that their law and practice when taking action against trafficking, smuggling and border control is consistent with applicable European standards governing freedom of association and the rights of NGOs.

Full study available here: Using Criminal Law to Restrict the Work of NGOs Supporting Refugees and Other Migrants in Council of Europe Member States”.

“Youth delegate for a year.”

Participation of Youth Delegates at the April and October 2020 sessions of the Conference of INGOs.

Building upon the successful experiences in 2019, the Conference of INGO’s at the Council of Europe hopes to continue investing in youth within our organizations and invites applications from young people within our organisations, to be a youth delegate with the Conference of INGOs.

In April 2018, the INGO Conference adopted a new Roadmap for youth participation. Following its youth Strategy, it is now inviting 2 youth delegates representing member organizations to take part in its two 2020 sessions:

• to have their say in the debates
• to exchange with Conference of INGOs members on the issues on the agenda.

To learn more about the “Roadmap for youth participation” of the Conference of INGOs please follow this link https://rm.coe.int/road-map-youth-150618-en/16808b5fbb

By inviting a number of young people to take an active part in its 2020 sessions the Conference of INGOs aims to give young people an opportunity to be an active and direct contributor to issues being discussed during these sessions.

This year again, in line with its “Roadmap for youth participation”, the Conference of INGOs of the Council of Europe will invite 2 young persons (between 18 and 30 years old) from an INGO member of the Conference to take an active part, as a youth delegate, in its April and October 2020 sessions.

Being a youth delegate for a year is a unique opportunity to gain international experience, become a part of a diverse group of young activists, network and make an impact by stimulating the debates from a youth perspective within the Conference of INGOs.

The profile of the candidates, the commitments and working process are detailed in the attached document (English only)

The deadline for submitting completed applications is 15 February 2020.

For more information please contact:

Rareş Augustin CRĂIUŢ, Board member of the Conference of INGOs of the Council of Europe

rares.craiut@ingo-coe.org

Image courtesy Council of Europe.

RENATE member at the Conference of the INGO’s at the Council of Europe, Marie Hélène Halligon, olcgs, sends us news of collaborative efforts at the Council of Europe, to address the role played by digital age technologies and human trafficking.

On 17 December 2019, the Council of Europe Anti-Trafficking Division organised a round-table meeting on “Stepping up the Council of Europe action against trafficking in human beings in the digital age”.

The purpose of the round-table was to share information and proposals on how to make better use of existing tools and develop public-private partnerships to prevent and combat human trafficking in the digital age.  Participants discussed key challenges in identifying victims, investigating cases and prosecuting perpetrators of human trafficking offences committed with the use of information and communication technology, human rights challenges linked to the use of technology in tackling trafficking in human beings, and how governments and international organisations can strengthen collaboration with businesses and civil society.

The meeting brought together some 60 participants from Permanent Representations of Council of Europe member States and observer states, law-enforcement officials, business and civil society representatives.

For more specific details, please click on the links below:

• Agenda
• Concluding remarks

Together with the Mary Ward Loreto (MWL NGO), Different and Equal, VATRA and Planet Go (NGOs in Albania), RENATE was fortunate to have the opportunity to participate in training on Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), with the assistance of our funders. RENATE President, Imelda Poole, IBVM and Anne Kelleher, RENATE Communications & Administration attended the training and also availed of ten opportunity to have a guided morning working through the best methodology for monitoring and evaluation.

Accountability and value for money are terms applicable to all sectors in receipt of funding and each of the above NGOs are not sheltered from such transparency.

RENATE relies on its membership to record its various actions/events/supports- both quantitatively in terms of numbers and qualitatively in terms of the impact of the work on the ground. It is a very helpful tool in determining the extent to which a programme/project is on track and to make any needed corrections accordingly. M & E is supposed to be helpful in ensuring the most effective and efficient use of resources and is also said to help programme implementers determine the extent to which the programme/ project is on track and to make any needed corrections accordingly.

While Monitoring and Evaluation (M & E ) is used to assess the performance of projects, institutions and programmes set up by governments, international organisations  and NGOs on an ever-increasing scale worldwide, the NGO’s referred to in this feature, thought it necessary and valuable to undergo training in this specific area.

Many international organizations such as the United Nations, USAID, the World Bank group and the Organization of American States have been utilizing this process for many years. The process is also growing in popularity in the developing countries where the governments have created their own national M&E systems to assess the development projects, the resource management and the government activities or administration. The developed countries are using this process to assess their own development and cooperation agencies.

Thus, RENATE members can anticipate a renewed call for data relating to their various initiatives. Your assistance in providing that data to Anne Kelleher, RENATE Communications, in compiling the RENATE Database, will be greatly appreciated when Anne will be in contact with each of you for updates to the existing database. 

On December 2014 at the Casina Pio IV, headquarters of the Pontifical Academies of Sciences and Social Sciences, Catholic, Anglican, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish and Orthodox Religious Leaders signed a

joint-declaration-of-religious-leaders-against-modern-slavery/  as a public statement of their commitment to work together in spiritual and practical action to eradicate trafficking in Human Beings (THB) and restore dignity and freedom to its victims.

Five years later, the widespread phenomenon of human trafficking persists in its devastating effects suffered by its victims, men, women and children. Besides the “classical” forms of THB (mostly, labour and sexual exploitation), other new realities have appeared or intensified, such as removal of organs, trafficking in recently newborn babies, etc.

This conference aims at bringing together different religions and denominations to express their understanding of the phenomenon of THB, their determination to fight against it, and to share their actions taken to prevent and counter this criminal reality which is, many times, invisible for our eyes in European societies.

1. Introduction

• MEP Javier Zarzalejos (EPP Group)
• José Luis Bazan, Legal Adviser of COMECE
• Renato Cursi, Don Bosco International, Executive Secretary
• MEP Pietro Bartolo (S&D Group)

1. Religious denominations’ commitment against THB

• Sister Adriana Pérez Ayala, Community of the Good Shepherd, Brussels, RENATE
• Sandra Iman Pertek, Researcher, SEREDA Project, Institute for Research into Superdiversity, University of Birmingham
• Jamie Cresswell, Director, Center for Applied Buddhism, Vice-President of the European Buddhist Union.
• Rev. Cristian PAVEL, President of Filantropia Timisoara.
• Rabbi Avi Tawil, Executive Director, European Jewish Center
• Heather Roy, Co-Chair of the Anglican Council of Belgium

1. Final conclusions, MEP Javier Zarzalejos (EPP)

This was a wonderful opportunity to meet with so many people committed against THB, gathering exactly 5 years after the Joint Declaration of Religious Leaders Against Modern Slavery, with Pope Francis. The event was on the initiative of the COMECE, the EP and Don Bosco International.

After the introduction to the event, linking our meeting to the signature of the Joint Declaration in the Vatican 5 years ago, Political and Religious people expressed their convictions, and the diversity in itself, on this burning topic, was really enriching.

RENATE member Sr Adriana Pérez, OLCGS,  Ayala: work of Religious women all over the world on different levels stated:

‘I would like to begin with a quote from Pope Francis from his speech at the signing ceremony of the “Joint Declaration of Religious Leaders Against Slavery” five years ago.

“Every human being, man, woman, boy and girl, is created in the image of God. Therefore, modern slavery, in terms of trafficking in human beings, forced labor and prostitution, as well as organ trafficking, is a crime against humanity. “Pope Francis, Dec 2014

I belong to the congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, present in 72 countries around the world, who fight against human trafficking and work especially with women and children in distress. Our response to this scourge has its source in evangelical values. Jesus the Good Shepherd said, “The thief comes only to steal, to kill, and to destroy; I came for them to have life and to have it fully”. John, 10, 10

We have developed a discussion paper on trafficking in women and girls, which can be summarized as follows:

In all our work, we seek to analyze and address the root causes, examining and revealing the links between trafficking and policies of economic injustice, violence against women, discrimination against girls, militarization, inadequate support for migration and social acceptance of prostitution of women and girls. We encourage participation and leadership in networks and / or campaigns that support the end of trafficking and promote the empowerment of women and girls in all areas of work.

Our congregation is a member of the RENATE Network (Religious Network in Europe against Trafficking and Exploitation), a group of religious from different congregations of the Catholic Church fighting against human trafficking in Europe. “Networking is the strength of RENATE“

RENATE’s commitment to trafficking in persons is at the heart of our vocation and our mission because it is about restoring human dignity; it is about restoring the image of God that is reflected in the face of so many victims of modern slavery. The leaflet below gives you the axes of our presence:

https://renate-europe.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/RENATE-Leaflet-english.pdf

Sandra Imán Pertek: insisted on the holistic needs of the survivors: they need a faith support, because THB affects SOULS!

“What’s the relationship between SGBV, displacement and trafficking? Emerging evidence shows that the migration crisis fuels trafficking of migrants and refugees across their journeys and countries of transit. Europe needs a solution urgently; sexual exploitation and other forms of modern slavery are an everyday tragedy of enormous scale. A solution to these crimes against humanity must include a comprehensive response to the migration crisis and its root causes.

At the Conference on Trafficking in Human Beings, organised by Don Bosco & Comece with MEP Javier Zarzalejos & MEP Pietro Bartolo, a number of faith traditions shared joint principles and raised commitments 5 years after the joint Declaration of religious leaders against modern slavery.

Faith groups called on European Parliament to increase collaboration with faith actors in tackling human trafficking. I was honoured to share some stories of the survivors of sexual exploitation and emerging research findings, pointing to the spiritual dimension of human suffering, the strategies of religious coping by survivors and finally the urgency for faith communities to reach out and support survivors across different settings, especially people on the move.”

Jamie Cresswell: I know nothing on THB, but I feel we need a safer world

President of the European Buddhist Union. He is a member of the Soka Gakkai International -UK and has practiced Buddhism for 28 years. His Buddhist background includes a degree in Buddhist studies and practice and study in many traditions and schools.

Jamie is the Director of the Centre for Applied Buddhism. He is a member of the European Council of Religious Leaders and a trustee of Religions for Peace – UK.

Rev. Cristian PAVEL

Rabbi Avi Tawil: we felt the shadow of the Holocaust in his speech, and he expressed how difficult it is to be free after living under oppression, as for the victims of THB. “We would be colour-blind, religious-blind, etc. If peace and freedom were deeply in everybody, there would be no THB!”

Heather Roy: Anglican Church does not want to remain on ideas and words, we all have a responsibility: not to create conditions to increase THB; to do more; not to lose the understanding of Creation.

Then MEP Javier Zarzalejos gave the conclusion:

It is imperative that all states fight against trafficking in human beings and reinforced cooperation with religious entities that carry out invaluable work in the care of victims and the restoration of their dignity is reinforced. The wish was to eradicate THB at the end of 2020… we think it could not be possible, so maybe at the end of 2021!

Thanks to Sr Adriana, RENATE Member, for her input! May the fight against Human Trafficking unite us all faith-based organizations to free humankind of this scourge!