The conference celebrated the fifth anniversary of the Declaration of Religious Leaders against the Trafficking in Human Beings promoted by Pope Francis in the Vatican on 2 December 2014 and to confirm the commitment of religious figures in this area.
The meeting was facilitated by Hon. Zarzalejos (People's Party), who pointed out that so far, despite the efforts made, the phenomenon of trafficking is not at all in decline.
José Luis Bazán, (COMECE) highlighted the new forms of trafficking in human beings and modern slavery, stressing that already in 2015 the European Parliament condemned surrogate gestation as "reproductive exploitation".
Renato Cursi, DBI Executive Secretary, presented the work of the Salesians alongside the young victims of trafficking and proposed that the subject of human trafficking be placed at the center of attention in the work of the European Parliament, particularly in the Delegation to the Joint Parliamentary Assembly between ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific) - EU (European Union).
The Hon. Bartolo, (Socialists and Democrats), shared his thirty-year experience with the victims of trafficking along the migratory routes as a doctor on the island of Lampedusa, and explained the reasons for his political commitment so that this phenomenon be prevented and countered.
Six speakers, representing six different religious denominations, then presented their papers: Sr. Adriana Pérez Ayala spoke about the work of the Catholic network "RENATE" (Religious in Europe Networking Against Trafficking and Exploitation); Sandra Iman Pertek (Islamic Relief) presented the fruits of her research with Islamic women victims of trafficking encountered in Tunisia and Turkey; Jamie Cresswell, (European Buddhist Union), spoke of compassion as a way to a renewed commitment to the sector; Fr Cristian Pavel (Philanthropy) presented the work of the Orthodox Church with the victims of trafficking in Romania; rabbi Avi Tawil, (European Jewish Community Center), based on the Jewish vision of freedom and man, motivated the common commitment to the abolition of all slavery; while Heather Roy, (Anglican Council of Belgium) appealed to the dimension of reason to urge everyone to joint action.
For the DBI, this initiative represented the continuation of advocacy work in the field of prevention and contrast of human trafficking undertaken in February 2019 with the presentation at the European Institutions of the documentary "Love", produced by "Misiones Salesianas", starting from the experience of the "Don Bosco Fambul" work in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
The role of the DBI is also to facilitate coordination with all the realities of the Salesian network that are engaged in this field, such as the association "PARA - People's Action for Rural Awakening", in India; or "Don Bosco Missions" and "VIS - International Voluntary Service for Development", in West Africa.
