On March 14, 2024, the Permanent Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations, in partnership with the Republic of the Philippines and the Santa Marta Group, hosted a side event in conjunction with the 68th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) entitled, “Innovative partnerships to end trafficking in women and girls: The Santa Marta Group mode.” The event convened distinguished speakers who shared their experiences in working to end human trafficking through innovative partnerships and strategic collaboration.
In his opening remarks, H.E. Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, characterized trafficking as a “grave evil” that puts the poor and vulnerable at risk. He observed that the profitability of trafficking drives a “perverse form of creativity,” aimed at the subjugation of some people for the enrichment of others. Citing Pope Francis’ words eliminate trafficking, Archbishop Caccia stressed the need to listen to the voices of those who are suffering, especially women and children—“to be moved, in order to act.” Despite significant initiatives to address human trafficking, it remains a global phenomenon that exceeds the competence of any one community or country, requiring a mobilization of efforts to end trafficking and to foster a just society where everyone can live in freedom.
Commissioner Fayda Maniri Dumarpa of the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines shared four (4) best practices for addressing human trafficking. First, she emphasized a holistic approach that takes into consideration the unique identities and specific contexts of persons vulnerable to trafficking. Second, she highlighted the effect of adopting community-based strategies and having close coordination with women’s rights organizations in amplifying survivors voices and participation. Third, she stressed the importance of survivor-centered approaches, noting that responses should uplift “respect [for] and dignity” of survivors. Lastly, she recognized the importance of domestic and regional collaboration in enhancing the response to human trafficking.
In a brief video message, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, founder of the Santa Marta Group (SMG), emphasized that trafficking is “to be found, lamented, and worked against” in every country. Since the encouragement of Pope Francis to create the Group, Cardinal Nichols emphasized its work bringing together various actors and creating partnerships to address this multi-faceted problem. He also emboldened the fight against trafficking, stressing that while there are great challenges, there are also great resources available to address them.
Mr. Kevin Hyland, Strategy Director of SMG, shared the priority pillars of the Group in addressing trafficking. First, he stressed the need to disincentivize and foster a culture of accountability within government and private institutions by tracing “tainted money” that comes from trafficking. Second, he underscored the importance of governance of and regulations on use of the internet, which is used to facilitate trafficking but could also be used to help fight it. Third, he encouraged the reframing of human trafficking in the context of other serious crimes and global threats, challenging democracy and national security and requiring a robust response. Fourth, he recommended the better use of the instruments of the international community through integration of human trafficking prevention and response mechanisms. Lastly, he underscored the importance of moral leadership of individuals and institutions. Mr. Hyland also reiterated the Group’s call to G20 countries for a 30 billion USD investment in human trafficking by 2030, highlighting that the current global investment in defeating trafficking in persons below 1 billion USD, whereas the profits are estimated to be 150 billion USD.
Fr. Márcio Toniazzo, Executive Director of the Scalabrini International Migration Network (SIM), also shared three (3) intertwined strategies that have consistently worked for his organization in combatting human trafficking. First, he underscored the importance of listening in order to develop informational campaigns tailored to those in vulnerable situations. Second, he shared that SIM provides non-judgmental spaces open to people of all faiths in order to help victims feel safe and to encourage them to share their experiences. And lastly, he echoed the importance of partnerships with other organizations, especially due to the transnational nature of trafficking.
Sr. Abby Avelino, International Coordinator in Rome of Talitha Kum, shed light on the complexity of migration challenges, rising forced labor exploitation, and the widening gap in the treatment and opportunities for men and women, making women and girls more vulnerable to human trafficking in a video message while joining remotely. She shared that Talitha Kum aims to end human trafficking through collaborative initiatives focused on prevention, protection, spiritual accompaniment, social reintegration, and rehabilitation of survivors. Remarking on the call by Pope Francis to “open our eyes and ears,” she underscored the importance of being involved in the lives of victims with Jesus’ example of care.
Sr. Deidre Mullan, Trustee of Arise Foundation, described the Foundation’s work as predominantly “women to women”—religious women supporting women and girls in desperate unimaginable circumstances. She shared that Arise’s efforts in addressing human trafficking consist of examining “push factors” such as conflicts, poverty, and climate change and partnering with other anti-slavery organizations to scale up the impact of their work. She noted that traffickers exploit situations of poverty, lack of opportunity, and lack of education. She emphasized the Foundation’s significant work on education and capacity-building including raising awareness on human trafficking, skills courses, and vocational training in response to these needs.
Mrs. Donna Edwards, Trustee of the Santa Marta Group and founder of the Louisiana First Foundation, emphasized the critical importance of education in preventing human trafficking and other forms of exploitation via video message. She shared the Foundation’s Safe Schools application which allows students to anonymously help someone who may be in a dangerous situation. She also emphasized the benefits of utilizing existing mechanisms to augment anti-trafficking efforts, such as the Foundation’s partnership with the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program and other public and private organizations to increase awareness as well as provide support and services for trafficking survivors.
Ms. Abby Jae Wilhelm, Senior Policy Advisor at Hogan Lovells U.S. L.L.P., shared three lessons in the firm’s work towards the elimination of human trafficking. First she emphasized that while the pursuit of conviction is paramount it is not an end in itself; justice requires the disruption of the business of trading human beings. Second, she underscored the need to confiscate the proceeds of trafficking through systematic financial investigations, better cross-border collaboration, and increased investment in law enforcement investigation teams. Lastly, she maintained that reparations are fundamental to restoring the victims’ sense of dignity and avoid the risk of them being trafficked again.
During a brief question and answer session, panelists affirmed the importance of educating children and youth about trafficking and the need to keep up with technological advances to combat trafficking in persons.
The video of the event is available for streaming through UN WebTV at https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1j/k1jcks8ywd.
