Pope exhorts Ambassadors to help stop human trafficking
Vatican City, 12 December 2013: Pope Francis received in audience a group of non-resident
Ambassadors to the Holy See on Thursday in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace
in the Vatican. They presented their letters of credentials on the occasion. Among
them were the Ambassadors from Pakistan, Jordan, Kuwait, Palestine, Algeria, Iceland,
Denmark, Lesotho, Sierra Leone, Cape Verde, Burundi, Malta, Sweden, Zambia, Norway,
Burkina Faso, and Uganda.
While addressing them, Pope Francis appreciated the
‘many initiatives of the international community to promote peace and dialogue. And
then the Pontiff went on to speak on human trafficking. This is a true form of slavery,
said the Pope, adding, it is increasingly common, and affects every country, even
the most developed, and touches the most vulnerable people of society – women, boys
and girls, the disabled, and the poor.
In them, said Pope Francis, we Christians
recognize the face of Jesus Christ, who has identified himself with the little ones
and the needy. And those who do not profess any religious faith, share compassion
for the victims in the name of common humanity. Together we can and we must strive
for their liberation and put an end to this horrific trade.
We talk about the
millions of victims of forced labor, human trafficking for labor and sexual exploitation.
This cannot continue. It is a serious violation of human rights of the victims and
an affront to their dignity as well as a defeat for the world community. People of
goodwill, who profess religion or not, cannot allow these women, men, and children
treated as objects. They are cheated, raped, often sold several times, and eventually
killed, or discarded or abandoned. It's a shame. Human trafficking is a crime against
humanity. We must join forces to free the victims and stop this increasingly aggressive
crime. Only through the power of shared responsibility and a strong political
will, can we be able to win this. It is our responsibility toward those who have fallen
victims of trafficking, to protect their rights, and to ensure the safety of their
family members, and to prevent the corrupt and criminals evading justice. An appropriate
legislative intervention in the countries of origin, transit and arrival, in order
to facilitate regular migration, can reduce the problem.
Pope Francis appreciated
the Governments and the international community, which have the primary responsibility
of preventing this phenomenon, for taking measures to protect and assist the victims
of this crime. However, we cannot deny that sometimes even members of peace keeping
missions are engaged in this. Human person should never be bought and sold like a
commodity.
I share these reflections on a social evil of our times, concluded
the Pope, because I believe in the value and strength of a concerted effort to combat
it. Source: VR Sedoc