Each human being is a free person, whether man, woman, girl or boy, and is destined to exist for the good of others, based on equality amongst them. A relationship that fails to respect the fundamental conviction that all people, men, women, girls, and boys are equal and have the same freedom and dignity constitutes a grave crime against humanity.
Despite the efforts of many, trafficking in human beings, this contemporary form of slavery, is a daunting plague of a vast scale in many countries across the world. Victims are hidden away in private apartments, in illegal establishments, in factories, on farms, behind closed doors, in families, homes and other places in the cities and villages of the world’s richest and poorest nations and the situation is not improving but is very likely getting worse. It has become pertinent and urgent to vigorously put an end to trafficking in human beings and all forms of exploitation, particularly prostitution, as well as to the widespread dissemination of pornographic material, especially on the Internet.
Trafficking in human beings in all its forms, and in particular trafficking for sexual exploitation and prostitution, must be declared a crime against humanity. Traffickers must be prosecuted on the basis of clear international laws, including confiscation of profits derived from their illegal activities, and the victims must be fully compensated.
All stakeholders, at all levels, have a moral and legal duty to eradicate this human rights violation and to ensure that all human beings co exist in freedom, equality and harmony, based on common values we share in our humanity With the support of intellectuals, moral and religious leaders, righteous national and international institutions, and the power of a global movement of people, social networks, and technologies, we can expose these hidden crimes – it is our moral imperative to make ours the last generation that needs to fight the trade in human lives.
Vatican City, November 2013
