.- Stating
that current measures to protect victims of human trafficking in the
United Kingdom are inadequate, the bishops of England and Wales are
urging the British government to sign and implement the Council of
Europe’s Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings.
In a press
release issued May 10, the bishops welcomed the government’s public
consultation on its national action plan against trafficking. They also
reminded policymakers that, “the dignity and human rights of the person
and maintaining the integrity of the family have always to be central
to the formulation of anti-trafficking policies.”
But they
insisted that the convention be signed in the meantime, as it is
currently “the only international law that provides minimum standards
of victim protection, support and redress.”
Trafficking for
sexual and labor exploitation is a criminal offence in the UK, but the
bishops sadly noted that “trafficked people are often treated as
illegal immigrants, rather than victims of an evil trade in human
suffering.”
The bishops
stated that thousands are trafficked to the United Kingdom each year
from Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia and the former Soviet Republics and
coerced through threats of violence into sexual exploitation and forced
labor.
The bishops
expressed particular concern for the welfare of children and women
trafficked for sexual exploitation. “These crimes are an offence to the
dignity and integrity of human beings,” they stressed.
U.K. bishops call on government to take urgent action against human trafficking
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