European Anti-Trafficking Day: Fr. Barrios Prieto (COMECE), “a crime that disfigures both the victims and those who carry it out. Engagement of all needed”

“Trafficking in persons and other contemporary forms of enslavement are a worldwide problem that needs to be taken seriously by the international community. It represents one of the most dramatic manifestations of the commercialization of the other, a crime that disfigures both the victims and those who carry it out”. “As Pope Francis has emphasized”, it is “a source of shame for humanity that our authorities and societies must no longer tolerate”. COMECE Secretary General Fr. Manuel Barrios Prieto said this on the eve of European Anti-Trafficking Day. “I would like to make a call to the EU and its Members States - he added - to continue their work and prioritize their fight against trafficking in human beings in order to prevent the crime, prosecute and punish their perpetrators and protect and support the victims, in particular women and children”. The COMECE Secretary General also stated: “The engagement of all” actors of “society in this fight is needed, too. In this regard, the Catholic Church adopted in 2018 its Pastoral Orientation on Human Trafficking, which also draws on the long-standing practical experience of many international Catholic NGOs working in the field. Engagement in structured collaborations with public institutions and civil society organizations will guarantee more effective and longer-lasting results”.
Gianni Borsa