Helping economic migrants ‘could curtail human trafficking’

The “scourge” of human ­trafficking could be eased or even beaten if economic migration was made easier, Pope Francis has said.

In a letter to the International Labour Conference, Francis said that mass migration was one of the “grave issues” confronting our world. He wrote to delegates, meeting in Geneva last week: “Despite their hopes for a better future, [migrants] frequently encounter mistrust and exclusion to say nothing of tragedies and disasters.”

Having made such sacrifices, these men and women are often exposed to the dangers of forced labour and enslavement, he said.

Francis called for a “concerted effort … to encourage governments to facilitate the movement of migrants for the benefit of all, thus eliminating human ­trafficking and perilous travel ­conditions”. The letter follows two shipwrecks in the Mediterranean last month in which boats carrying hundreds of migrants sank with more than 18 reported dead and many more missing.