Wars, violent conflicts main drivers of human trafficking, says nuncio
As long as wars and conflicts rage, “trafficking in persons for sexual exploitation, forced labour and similar crimes will continue to flourish,” said the Vatican’s nuncio to the United Nations.
“To eradicate trafficking in persons, we must confront all its economic, environmental, political, and ethical causes, but it is particularly important to prevent and end the wars and conflicts that make people especially vulnerable to being trafficked,” Archbishop Bernardito Auza said.
He made the comments in an intervention during a UN Security Council open debate on 21st November on human trafficking in conflict situations.
“Wars and violent conflicts have become the biggest driving force of forced human displacement,” the archbishop said. “This situation is an enabling environment for human traffickers, who increasingly exploit this tragic humanitarian situation to target refugees, forced migrants and internally displaced persons themselves in their criminal enterprises.”
Picture: Dutch police search a Spanish truck at the border after nine immigrants were rescued from the freezer of the vehicle in early February in Hazeldonk, Netherlands. The truck driver was arrested as a suspect involved in human trafficking. (CNS photo/Marcel van Dorst – MaRicMedia, EPA).
