UN Anti-Trafficking Event, 7 April 2016
Cardinal Vincent Nichols stressed to delegates at a special event at the United Nations that the cornerstone of the fight to eradicate human trafficking is effective international cooperation at all levels.
New Sustainable Development Goals express the official commitment of every UN member state to “eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation,” “take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, end modern slavery and human trafficking,” and “end abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children” by 2030.
The Cardinal spoke on behalf of the Santa Marta Group at a special Side Event at the UN’s New York headquarters to galvanise the coordination necessary to achieve these aims.
The event was jointly organised by The Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the UN and the Santa Marta Group.
Cardinal Nichols:
“Human trafficking and slavery radically strips a person of this fundamental dignity, reducing them to the status of a commodity. It is an evil crying out to heaven.
“That there are over 20 million people callously held in modern slavery in our world today is a mark of deep shame on the face of our human family that no words alone can remove.”
The Cardinal went on to discuss the work of the Santa Marta Group – an organisation founded by Pope Francis in 2014 to strengthen and coordinate the global response to combatting human trafficking and all forms of modern slavery.
You can download the full text of Cardinal Nichols’ address by using the link below or to the right of this article.
You can also download a PDF that explains a little more about the Santa Marta Group.
catholicnews.org.uk/cardinal-at-un-070416
Cardinal in New York for United Nations Anti-Trafficking Event
santamartagroup.com
Official website of the Santa Marta Group
