Church Statements
USCCB Joint Statement with Caritas International Against Human Trafficking (2016)
USCCB Joint Statement with Caritas International Against Human Trafficking
Oral Statement submitted for the Eighth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime by Caritas Internationalis (International Confederation of Catholic Charities), the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, the Worldwide Network of Religious Life against Trafficking in Persons (Talitha Kum), Dominicans for Justice and Peace, Migration and Refugee Services of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales on Agenda 2 (b) – Trafficking in Persons Protocol
Caritas Internationalis, the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, the Worldwide Network of Religious Life against Trafficking in Persons (Talitha Kum), Dominicans for Justice and Peace, Migration and Refugee Services of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales strongly support the ratification and implementation of the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocols, in particular the Trafficking in Persons Protocol (Palermo Protocol) and adoption of the Review Mechanism of the Convention. The signatory organizations would also like to highlight the importance of a stronger civil society organization presence, including faith-based organizations, in the future Review Mechanism and in the national coordination of anti-trafficking activities through promotion of law enforcement partnerships and NGOs’ assistance of victims.
One of our priorities is to serve exploited people, including trafficking victims, as well as to promote regaining justice for them. We do this through coordination of the Christian Organizations Against Trafficking in Human Beings Network (COATNET), Talitha Kum and other networks with a view to facilitating transnational assistance and support for victims and protecting the most vulnerable groups, especially migrants, from trafficking and abuse. We work with people trafficked worldwide on a daily basis.