Global Freedom Network founded by Catholics, Anglicans, Muslims to end trafficking
(Vatican Radio) Representatives of the Catholic, Anglican and Muslim worlds gathered
for the first time ever in the Vatican press office on Monday for the launch of a
Global Freedom Network aimed at eradicating human trafficking by the end of the decade.
Philippa Hitchen went along to witness this historic event:
The groundbreaking
agreement to work closely together across the different faith communities was signed
by Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo on behalf of Pope Francis. The Argentinian bishop
is chancellor of the Pontifical Academies of Science and Social Sciences which brought
together a broad coalition of anti-trafficking experts for a workshop last November.
He was joined by New Zealand Archbishop David Moxon, director of the Anglican Centre
here in Rome and representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Holy See. Also
on hand to sign the founding declaration was Dr Mahmoud Azab, representing the Grand
Imam of Al-Azhar, one of the most important centres of Sunni Islam located in the
Egyptian capital, Cairo.
The other key figure who put his signature to the
document was Australian businessman Andrew Forrest, founder of a philanthropic organisation
called the Walk Free Foundation. Set up after Forrest’s daughter travelled to Nepal
where children were being caught up in a trafficking for prostitution ring, its aim
is to stamp out this modern form of slavery by galvanizing and supporting action at
local, national and international level. Planned actions include urging governments
to publicly endorse the establishment of the Global Fund to End Slavery and persuading
multi-national businesses to commit to eradicating slavery from their supply chains.
By mobilizing the world’s major faith communities, this new Network hopes to bring
an end by 2020 to what Pope Francis has dared to call a crime against humanity: Archbishop
Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo:
“It’s not politically correct to call this modern
slavery a crime against humanity but we want to arrive at that in national and international
law….”
Catholics, Anglicans and Muslims mark just the beginning of what
organisers sincerely hope will expand to include representatives of all other faith
communities as well. They’re also aware that much work is already being done to tackle
prevention, prosecution and protection of trafficking victims. What’s been missing
up until now, says Anglican Archbishop David Moxon, is a joined-up approach to the
problem:
“If you look at the work of Catholic, Anglican and other faith
missions over the last three or four decades, they have been engaged in the fight
against human trafficking…..”
Statistics show some 30 million men, women
and children are currently caught in the clutches of human traffickers and that figure
is believed by many to be just the tip of the iceberg. Organisers of this Global Freedom
Network are hoping to touch the hearts of all believers to help put an end to this
exploitation which they call a shameful affront to our common humanity.