Pope Francis Has Called For An End To Human Trafficking As He Visits Major Trafficking Destinations In Asia

POPE Francis called for migrants to be welcomed and for women and children to be protected from exploitation, abuse and enslavement as he began a busy two days of activities in Thailand on Thursday.

The pope pleaded for action against one of the region’s greatest scourges, human trafficking to fuel the forced labour and sex trade industries, as he began a week long visit to Asia.

He praised the Thai government’s efforts to fight human trafficking in a speech delivered at host Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha’s Government House offices. However, he appealed for greater international commitment to protect women and children “who are violated and exposed to every form of exploitation, enslavement, violence and abuse.”

He called for ways to “uproot this evil and to provide ways to restore their dignity.”

“The future of our peoples is linked in large measure to the way we will ensure a dignified future to our children,” he said.

The United Nations considers Thailand a key trafficking destination as well as a source of forced labour and sex slaves, who are trafficked at home or abroad. The UN anti-trafficking agency says migrants come from Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia or Vietnam, with Cambodian women and children in particular trafficked to beg in Thai cities.

To read the full story by Nicole Winfield on The Independent: Click Here

Category: Catholic Church, United Nations