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TRAFFICKING OF PERSON ESPECIALLY OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN

Introduction:
For the Union of International Superiors General Plenary 2001 the UISG/USG Working Group on Trafficking in Women and Children distributed facts sheets on the worldwide problem of trafficking. Subsequently the Declaration of the Assembly urged religious communities worldwide to address this issue with determination, at every level and in every country especially by working in solidarity with one another.

The Working Group - headquartered in Rome- has available several resources and has made several suggestions for action.

• An Information and Workshop Kit entitled "Trafficking in Women and Children" has been published in 4 languages (English, French, Italian and Spanish). This material can help raise awareness about the issue of trafficking with both male and female religious congregations, church groups, and networks of NGOs who collaborate with religious orders. Some of the topics that the kit addresses are:
  What is trafficking?
  Who are trafficked?
  What are the causes and mechanisms of trafficking?
  How to engage in theological reflection about the issue.
  How to identify strategies for combating trafficking.
  How to run a workshop about this issue.
  Suggested Action: Are you aware of this publication? Has your community used and distributed this kit to collaborators and co-workers? Could you introduce this material to diocesan and religious clergy? For further copies of the kit contact: JPIC Commission of the USG/UISG, Via Aurelia 476, c.p.9099 (Aurelio), 00100 Rome, Italy. Email: jpic@mclink.it

• A CD ROM: entitled "Trafficking in Human Beings: 21st Century Slavery" is in production and will be available in early 2005. Suggested Action: Do you have any visual material or information that could be included on the CD? If so please send to the Trafficking Group c/o JPIC Commission of the USG/UISG.

• "Training Programme for Religious Personnel in Counter Trafficking Activities."
  These were a series of 6-10 day workshops funded by the US Embassy to the Holy See in partnership with IOM(International Organization for Migration), USMI (Union of Major Superiors Italy - Religious Women), Migrantes/ICMC (International Catholic Migration Commission) and UISG. These were held during 2004 at the following locations: Rome: Italy (January/February); Lagos: Nigeria (March), Skr?der:Albania (April) and Traian :Roumania (May). Sisters from the Trafficking Group acted as facilitators during some of these workshops. The manual compiled for the Training Programme will be published after the final workshop and will be available through IOM (Rome).

  Suggested Action: If you are considering the possibility of running a workshop for religious on the topic of Trafficking, the Trafficking Group of the USG/UISG can offer advice and suggestions.

• Pastoral Visits to the Detention Centre A group of sisters visit Ponte Gallaria (Rome) on a weekly basis to meet with the women who have been trafficked to Italy and who are being held in the centre prior to repatriation to their country of origin or in a few cases prior to reintegration.

  Suggested Action: Are you aware of women being deported either from or to your country? What support and help with reintegration are religious women offering them? What laws have been passed in your country or region in the past two years which have tried to implement the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children? Do you find any discrepancies in the laws passed? Can you lobby for a more just and comprehensive legal framework?

• Developments at the UN: General Assembly Resolution with regard to Trafficking
  Resolution 57/176 of the General Assembly (18 December 2002) requested the Secretary General to compile successful interventions and strategies in addressing the various dimensions of the problem of trafficking in women and children (especially girls) and to report on the implementation of this resolution at the 59th session. It also requested the Secretary General to include in a report proposals for a future International/United Nations Year against Trafficking in Persons especially Women and Girls.
  This report has been completed, its UN document number is A/59/185 and is available in the six official UN languages at the following web address of the Division of Advancement of Women.

  Suggested Action: If your congregation has been involved in successful interventions and strategies could you please send this information immediately to the Chief of the Women's Rights Section, Division for the Advancement of Women, Two United Nations Plaza, room DC2-1228, New York, NY 10017; fax: (212) 963-3463 and email: brautigamc@un.org

• Networking at the United Nations
  Several religious congregations of women working on this issue have consultative status at the United Nations. Contact UNANIMA International for more information.
  Suggested Action: If you have information regarding the trafficking of women and children in your part of the world please let the representatives of these congregations know. Could all religious congregations of women who have representative status at the UN join coalitions against Trafficking of Human Persons especially of Women and Children?