Catholic leaders in Africa have pledged to establish a blueprint for working with government and law enforcement to combat human trafficking and modern-day slavery.
In a communiqué at the end of a meeting of the first Africa Regional Conference of the Santa Marta Group in Abuja, Nigeria, bishops, archbishops, lay workers and other Catholics from countries affected by human trafficking pledged to fight the “exploding phenomenon” of internal and international trafficking at both its beginning and its end.
The conference was organised by the Santa Marta Group, an initiative of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.
Modern-day slavery takes many forms, from slave labour in mines, to enforced labour on fishing boats, construction sites, agricultural fields, domestic servitude, sex slavery and the sexual exploitation of adults and children.
The conference heard about religious sisters giving training to police on ethics, about the millions of children out of school who are left at greater risk of trafficking, and the work being done by Muslim communities in northern Nigeria to combat trafficking.
Survivors who had been trafficked described how their own relatives had sold them into prostitution, and how they were lured to leave their homes, sometimes by family members, to be trafficked into the sex trade or other forms of slavery.
The Church, through the Santa Marta Group, is already working with state law enforcement agencies, NGOs, religious communities and often the victims themselves, who if they get the help or find a way to communicate can be effective instruments of their own liberation.
In their communiqué, the delegates said: “By developing our strategies at this conference, in a country that is a known source of victims, we want to help empower the Church and other agencies and services in Europe and other Western countries where many find themselves enslaved to help in collaborative efforts to fight the problem at its beginning and end … we wish to replicate Santa Marta Group structures in as many African countries as possible.”
The conference was supported by the Archbishop of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, and hosted by Caritas Nigeria.
Cardinal Onaiyekan said questions had to be asked at the point of origin of the victims. “Why are people running away from their homes?” he asked. “All things being equal, people would prefer to stay at home rather than migrate to foreign lands.” He also noted the problem of local trafficking, from rural to urban areas.
Speaking to The Tablet, the cardinal added that “the important thing is to have some control over trafficking. At the end of the day, the buck stops with the law
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