POPE CALLS FOR PROTECTIONS FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN AS ASIAN TOUR BEGINS
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. Francis 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 weeklong 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. But 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.
The US State Department has faulted Thailand for failing to fully crack down on traffickers who induce young Thai girls into pornography, as well as the exploitation, including via debt bondage, of migrant workers in commercial fishing enterprises.
The Thai government has insisted it has made significant progress in cracking down on human trafficking and has vowed continued cooperation with international bodies to improve.
Francis has made the fight against human trafficking one of the cornerstones of his papacy, calling it a crime against humanity. Under his express wishes, the Vatican has hosted several conferences on eradicating trafficking, featuring women freed from forced prostitution. And during his papacy, an international network of religious sisters, Talitha Kum, has gained greater prominence following decades of quiet efforts to rescue women from traffickers.
Published: by Radio NewsHub