On the 5^th of January, 2017, in Vilnius, Lithuania, Fr. Algirdas Toliatas, CO, blessed the sculpture ‘’Mommy,’’ which was specially commissioned to commemorate missing children.” Fr. Algirdas prayed for all the missing children who are alone and lost or maybe even in danger and asked that they be returned safely home. The sculpture had been previously blessed on the 7^th of November, 2016, by Pope Francis, who said “I will pray for all of the missing and suffering children of the world.”
Delegates from the Prosecutor General’s office, the Men’s Crisis Centre, and the Vilnius Police Club for Children and Youth attended the consecration ceremony. The children from the Police Club dressed the sculpture with a hat and a scarf, which they had knitted themselves, in order to ‘warm’ the sculpture of a little girl.
The Missing Person’s Families Support Centre organised the blessing with the intention of drawing attention to the problem of missing children in Lithuania. According to the Lithuanian Ministry of Internal Affairs, in 2016 there were 2208 registered cases of missing children (1193 cases of missing girls and 1015 of missing boys). In most cases, the missing children have run away from their homes or from orphanages and are especially vulnerable to human trafficking or other criminal activities.
Through the commemorative sculpture, the Missing Person’s Families Support Centre’s director Natalja Kurčinskaja urges society to pay attention to the call of a small girl who is hugging herself as if she is scared and cold. The cry for mommy on her open lips should remind everyone to pay attention to their children, to listen to them, to hug them and understand them every day, not only when something bad happens.

 
Missing child? Call 116 000. Free helpline for relatives of missing children in all European countries. www.116000.lt
Dingusių žmonių šeimų paramos centras/ Missing Persons’ Families Support Centre,
Žalgirio g. 133,
LT – 08217, Vilnius,
Lietuva/ Lithuania.            
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Acting co-ordinator of Mercy Global Action at the United Nations, Dr. Angela Reed RSM, shares her knowledge and experience of working in the field of human trafficking and human rights, as she addresses The Centre for Civil and Human Rights at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana.

Dr. Angela has managed a Safe House for women and children, sponsored by her congregation in Melbourne, Australia. An activist, committed to advancing human rights for all and particularly focused on elimination of violence against women, Angela illustrates how her research findings subvert stereotypes of a homogenous sex trafficking experience and points to the need for a life course, rights-based approach to anti-trafficking policy and prevention.
You can hear Dr. Reed’s address here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLhc-WzIYa8&feature=youtu.be
*Dr. Reed’s visit to Notre Dame was sponsored by the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies and The Centre for Civil and Human Rights.
Adapted by Anne Kelleher, RENATE Communications Person.
 

Speaking on behalf of the European Union and its member states, Dr. Myria Vassiliadou, E.U. Anti-Trafficking co-ordinator, issued a statement to the Security Council Ministerial Open Debate on Trafficking in Persons in Conflict Situations, at its meeting on the 20^th of December, 2016, at the  U.N. in New York City. The statement calls for commitment to build upon the momentum created by the debate, so as to eradicate human trafficking worldwide. In the statement, the various guises of human trafficking are referenced, including sexual slavery, labour exploitation and organ removal.
In emphasising the critical importance of prevention in the first instance, the statement cites numerous international legal instruments, calling for the deployment of every possible investigative tool and technique in order to prosecute perpetrators. Recognising that political instability and insecurity create ideal environments in which criminal activities can thrive, the statement expresses explicit support for all UN-led efforts to end the current crisis in Syria and Libya. There is a call for strengthening policies and strategies aimed at empowering women and improved understandings of their specific needs and roles in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism.
The statement acknowledges the power of new technologies to facilitate human trafficking and calls for preventative action to eliminate the use of technology by human traffickers and terrorist groups in conflict areas.
Full statement at  http://eu-un.europa.eu/eu-statement-united-nations-security-council-trafficking-persons-conflict-situations
Prepared by Anne Kelleher, RENATE Communications Person.

The Office of the EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator announced that on the 20^th of December, 2016, the U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2331 (2016) on Trafficking in Persons in Conflict Resolutions.
The open debate
The open debate chaired by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and focused in particular on trafficking by terrorist groups. You can find the UN report here and the FULL TEXT OF THE RESOLUTION is towards the end of the document: http://www.un.org/press/en/2016/sc12647.doc.htm
Outgoing UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov and the UN SRSG on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura, briefed the Council, and there were powerful interventions by two Yezidi victims, including Nadia Murad, winner of the 2016 Sakharov prize. Myria Vassiliadou, the EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator, delivered a statement on behalf of the EU and its Member States. Speakers welcomed the new resolution, which includes significant elements on accountability, financial tracking, sanctions and the integration of trafficking into the future work of the Council.
You can find the EU Statement in this link: http://eu-un.europa.eu/eu-statement-united-nations-security-council-trafficking-persons-conflict-situations .
The delivery of the EU Statement can also be watched at http://webtv.un.org/watch/part-2-trafficking-in-persons-in-conflict-situations-security-council-7847th-meeting/5255882217001 on the 27.00‘.
Adapted by Anne Kelleher, RENATE Communications Person.

May the peace and joy of Christmas be with you, at Christmas and throughout the New Year.
From: Imelda, Adina, Ana, Dagmar, Gabriela, Ivonne, Marie Hélène’, Monica, (Core Group). Aneta, Anne,Tani and Manu.

E.Bulletin 5,  October 2016.

Join ACRATH (Australian Catholic Religious against Trafficking in Humans) and the international community for 16 days of activism against gender-based violence.

The campaign calls us to work together to stop the trafficking of girls and women, which is an extreme form of violence. Many face forced labour in hazardous conditions with no chance of an education and no chance to escape from a cycle of poverty.
There are many simple ways to be part of this campaign.  The complete list of resources and campaign actions are available at   acrath.org.au/16days and includes:
§  A 16 days campaign poster click here
§ A reflection sheet to print off with an activity to mark each of the 16 days of the campaign. You can light a candle each day and remember one woman click here
§ A range of school resources including information, actions, reflections and prayers click here
§ Prayers and an anti-trafficking reflection service for your community, school or parish click here
§ A parish notice to alert people to the campaign. This can also be used in work and school news bulletins click here
§  A range of reading material about the 16 days campaign and other related campaigns and what NGOs and other organisations doing click here
§ What you can do to improve supply chains of products produced around the world. click here
ACRATH are keen to hear what you are doing to mark the campaign and what resources you find useful. Please contact Rosie, an ACRATH worker, at  rap@crath.org.au  with any news or if you would like more information.
 
Adapted by Anne Kelleher, RENATE Communications.

The 16 Days of Activism commence this Friday, 25 November 2016. The launch video for the #16Days16Stories campaign is now available. Commencing 24 November 2016, the video stories will be uploaded, one story per day until all 16 are online.
The videos is available on http://www.16days16stories.online
These videos have been prepared for the sole purpose of education and Anti-Trafficking advocacy in line with the United Nations 16 days campaign to end violence against women.
How to use these videos and suggestions for where to share them are included in the attached document (PDF)
Read about the background to this campaign here
http://www.mercyworld.org/mercy_global_action/project-update.cfm?pid=CE6358EE-EAB7-773C-EC387D98580E1095&jeid=649E1A76-ADDD-AB62-04E566AD86E5856F