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Category: Trafficking Alerts

Posted on December 16th, 2014 By

Presentation of Pope’s Message for the World Day of Peace in Poland

 

The Catholic News Agency (KAI) in Poland presented the Pope’s message for the World Day of Peace at the press conference on 10th December 2014. This media brief was organised in the venue of the Polish Episcopal Conference (KEP) and in paralel with a corresponding event at the Vatican.
Bishop Artur Miziński, General Secretary of KEP, spoke about the leading topic of the Pope’s message, which is slavery. Many people think that slavery is a thing of the past. In fact, this social plague remains all too real in today’s world. NO LONGER SLAVES, BUT BROTHERS AND SISTERS – says Pope Francis. And this is an inspiration for us all, for the coming year, 2015.
Professor Adam Glapiński, representative of the Monetary Policy Council (RPP), spoke about a paradigm shift in the economy which began in 2007, when the first symptoms of the world crisis appeared. It continues nowadays and urges us to look for the values in all that we do. Campaigning for profit and following the economy according to Adam Smith, is not a solution for today. It would be good to see the implementation of Catholic Social Teaching among businesses and entrepreneurs’, said Prof. Glapiński. And it is possible, there are good examples of it in Austria and Germany, he continued.
Mr. Piotr Mierecki, Director of the Unit against Trafficking in Human Beings at the Ministry of Interior, explained how the Polish state is coping with the problem of human trafficking. The scale of the phenomenon cannot be known precisely, due to its nature. Many cases remain hidden. However last year about 100 trials took place and as a result of this not less than 1000 persons were identified as victims of human trafficking in Poland.
Sr. Anna Bałchan, PoMOC Association and Member of RENATE, was one of the key speakers invited to this press conference. She gave testimony of her experience with the victims of human trafficking and domestic violence in the work which she has developed in Poland for 15 years. She emphasised the burnining problem of family crisis and broken relationships in the present day society, which makes people vulnerable and easy targets for the oppressors. Sr. Anna shared information on how her Association is going to respond to this. They are planning to build a development and care centre for children. This initiative willl involve adults from dysfunctional families and train them in parental skills. Many forget that a human being is created to be loved, not to be used, she said.
Links:
http://ekai.pl/wydarzenia/temat_dnia/x84579/grudnia-prezentacja-papieskiego-oredzia-na-swiatowy-dzien-pokoju/
http://www.news.va/en/news/slavery-to-be-theme-of-2015-world-day-of-peace
http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/peace/documents/papa-francesco_20141208_messaggio-xlviii-giornata-mondiale-pace-2015.html
Video in Polish: Godziwa zapłata a problem handlu ludźmi

Posted on December 2nd, 2014 By

Joint Declaration of Religious Leaders Against Modern Slavery

 

For the first time in history, leaders of the world’s largest faiths have come together. Their goal is to end slavery.
 
Committed to the dignity and freedom that is the birthright of all humankind, Catholic, Anglican, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, and Orthodox leaders have signed a Joint Declaration of Religious Leaders Against Modern Slavery on World Day for the Abolition of Slavery.
 
Will you join with them and sign a declaration to end slavery once and for all?
 
Click here to sign Declaration
 
Source: http://www.globalfreedomnetwork.org/
 

Posted on December 2nd, 2014 By

International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, 2nd December

 

The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, 2 December, marks the date of the adoption, by the General Assembly, of the United Nations Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others of 2 December 1949.
The focus of this day is on eradicating contemporary forms of slavery, such as trafficking in persons, sexual exploitation, the worst forms of child labour, forced marriage, and the forced recruitment of children for use in armed conflict.
Click here for more information: International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

Posted on December 1st, 2014 By

Republic of Ireland introduces legislation making it illegal to pay for sex

 

Ireland joins other European Union member States by introducing legislation which makes it illegal now in Ireland, to pay for sex.
Minister for justice, Ms. Frances Fitzgerald published heads of a new Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2014 on November 27th, 2014. The Bill proposes wide ranging reforms of the law, including stronger sanctions which will apply to a wide range of sex offences, ranging from sexual predators of minors, harassment of victims & the illegal use of technology and communications to target minors for sexual exploitation, as well as sexual exploitation of trafficked persons. In total, there are 62 different measures in the legislation.
Purchasing sexual services from a prostitute will be made illegal under the new laws and it will be a more serious offence to purchase sexual services from a victim of trafficking. The legislation will not criminalise prostitutes, following the Scandinavian model of penalising the “buyer” but not the “seller.” The government’s decision brings Ireland into line with the Nordic Countries, Canada, the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, the French National Assembly and Northern Ireland which will introduce similar laws in 2015.
Knowingly purchasing sex from a trafficked person will be an offence carrying a penalty of up to five years in prison. The legislation allows for sex offenders to be electronically tagged in exceptional circumstances.
Full information on the legislation can be read at www.justice.ie

Posted on November 25th, 2014 By
Posted on October 17th, 2014 By

Unite to Fight Against Modern Day Slavery

 

GENEVA, Switzerland, 17 October 2014 – Heads of three international organizations have issued a call to citizens from all walks of life to join the fight against modern day slavery ahead of tomorrow’s European Anti-Trafficking Day.
“Everyone has a part to play in this struggle, from shoppers in supermarkets who demand more information about the origins of the produce sold, to high-level executives, legislators and judges who can write and enforce laws to eliminate modern-day slavery from corporate supply chains and bring traffickers to justice,” the heads of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said.
In 1948, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed: “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.”
Unfortunately, in the decades since this landmark declaration was adopted, new forms of slavery such as human trafficking have emerged and multiplied, leading the ILO to estimate in 2012 that there are 20.9 million people in situations of trafficking and forced labour globally, with around 880,000 in the European Union. These numbers cover a broad range of practices, from those trafficked in the sex trade, forced to hand over their income to their exploiters, to construction workers or agricultural labourers toiling for little or no pay on isolated sites that they cannot leave.
“Forced labour violates the human rights and dignity of millions of women and men, girls and boys. It contributes to the perpetuation of poverty and stands in the way of the achievement of decent work for all. The ILO Protocol to Convention No. 29 on Forced Labour adopted this year reaffirms the obligation to punish perpetrators of forced labour and to end the impunity that is still pervasive in so many countries,” Guy Ryder, ILO Director-General said.
“The responsibility to increase our joint efforts to fight trafficking in persons concerns each one of us, international organizations like IOM, states, private sector companies large and small, civil society, as well as private citizens,” said IOM’s Director-General, Ambassador William Lacy Swing.
The IOM recently launched the Missing Migrants Project, documenting more than 40,000 fatalities among migrants since 2000 (see: http://mmp.iom.int/).
OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier said, “As we remember all trafficking victims on this day, the OSCE remains firmly committed to continuing to work towards the elimination of this crime in our region and beyond.”
For more information on the International Labour Organization’s work on forced labour: http://www.ilo.org/forcedlabour
International Organization for Migration: http://www.iom.int
OSCE – The Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings: http://www.osce.org/cthb
Source: http://www.osce.org/secretariat/125669

Posted on October 17th, 2014 By

200 Women Walking: Walk for Freedom through The Hague, Netherlands

 

Walk for Freedom 2014, Hague, Netherlands
Walk for Freedom 2014, Hague, Netherlands

A row of 200 women, silently walking, one after the other through The Hague, this is the Walk for Freedom. This Saturday, 18.10.2014, during the European Day against Human Trafficking is thus called attention to the fight against human trafficking and modern slavery.

The women are walking in the same outfit and on high heels on a route through the city. They ask attention for the growing number of victims in the sex industry. The participants take the route in a long line and in silence. In the Netherlands last year alone more than 1,400 potential victims of human trafficking were registered. The majority of victims (88 percent) are women, and the largest group of which is exploited in the sex industry.

The Walk for Freedom will be opened by National Rapporteur on Human Trafficking, Corinne Dettmeijer, and starts at 13:30 pm at the Lange Voorhout.

At the same time worldwide in dozens of other cities similar marches are held.

by Gerard van den IJssel

Posted on October 17th, 2014 By
Posted on October 16th, 2014 By

„Concurso No A La Trata” in Spain for 18th October 2014

 

The Spanish Conference of Religious have been running a photographic competition, since 25th September and concluding on 15th October, entitled “Say NO to Human Trafficking”. All photos entered will be shown in an exhibition organised by the Pontifical University of Comillas, Madrid. Originality, creativity, novelty and beauty are amongst the criteria for winning entries.
Concurso Noalatrata_Espana 2014
Concurso Noalatrata_Spain 2014
Click here to learn about one day event held at the Pontifical University of Comillas in Madrid: Programa_Jornada Contra La Trata

Posted on September 4th, 2014 By

 

 

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