Pope Francis has called for a universal commitment to fighting human trafficking, which he denounced as an “abhorrent plague, a form of modern slavery.”
The pope made the appeal during his traditional noontime Angelus prayer yesterday (30 July), on the United Nation’s world day against trafficking.
Francis said “every year, thousands of men, women and children are innocent victims of labour exploitation, and sex and organ trafficking.” He added that it has become something considered normal: “This is ugly. It is cruel. It is criminal.”
Every country in the world is affected by human trafficking, whether as a country of origin, transit, or destination for victims, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime announced ahead of the world day.
The latest UN statistics estimate that 21 million people are victims of forced labour globally. This estimate also includes victims of human trafficking for labour and sexual exploitation.
Children make up almost one-third of all human trafficking victims worldwide, according to the UN agency's latest report on trafficking.
In addition, women and girls comprise 71 per cent of human trafficking victims.
Pope Francis has consistently shown the eradication of human trafficking to be one of his papacy’s highest priorities.
Last year, the pope announced he would temporarily head up the Migrants and Refugee Section of the Vatican’s new “Integral Development” office for as long as he considers it necessary.
In April of this year, he sent a message to a conference on human trafficking organised by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna.
In that message, the pontiff called human trafficking a “form of slavery, a crime against humanity, a grave violation of human rights, an atrocious scourge, and it is all the more to be condemned when it takes place against children.”
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