ILO welcomes Faith Leaders’ Declaration to eradicate slavery
The International Labour Organization (ILO) welcomes the Faith Leaders’ joint Declaration Against Slavery signed at a ceremony in Vatican City on the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery.
GENEVA/ROME (ILO news) – The International Labour Organization (ILO) welcomes the Faith Leaders’ joint Declaration Against Slavery signed at a ceremony in Vatican City on the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery.
In the Declaration, Pope Francis, along with eminent Orthodox, Anglican, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu representatives, pledged “to do all in our power, within our faith communities and beyond, to work together for the freedom of all those who are enslaved and trafficked so that their future may be restored. Today we have the opportunity, awareness, wisdom, innovation and technology to achieve this human and moral imperative.”
“Slavery and human trafficking violate the human rights and dignity of millions of women and men around the globe. This Declaration is a major step forward in the fight against forced labour and represents a firm commitment to eliminate contemporary forms of slavery", said Gilbert Houngbo, ILO Deputy Director-General who assisted the signing of Declaration.
In June 2014, governments, employers and workers at the ILO International Labour Conference (ILC) decided to give new impetus to the global fight against forced labour by adopting a Protocol and a Recommendation which supplement the ILO’s Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29). The Protocol strengthens the international legal framework by creating new obligations to prevent forced labour, to protect victims and to provide access to remedies, such as compensation for material and physical harm.
The ILO’s participation in this historic gathering builds on a long-standing relationship with the Vatican, which was strengthened further when ILO Director-General Guy Ryder met Pope Francis in November 2013, during a private audience at the Vatican. They discussed the dignity of work and the situation of the most vulnerable, including child labourers, domestic workers and migrants. Both expressed their concerns for the victims of human trafficking.
Pope Francis reiterated this concern in his message to the ILC in May 2014: “It is unacceptable that, in our world, slave labour has become common coin. This cannot continue! Human trafficking is a scourge, a crime against the whole of humanity. It is time to join forces and work together to free its victims and to eradicate this crime that affects all of us, from individual families to the worldwide community.”
He also showed his support on the World Day against child labour in June 2014, when he raised the Red Card to Child Labour and denounced child labour with the following words: “Tens of millions of children are forced to work in degrading conditions, and are victims of slavery and abuse, harassment and discrimination”.
A first concrete initiative following this commitment is a series of workshops organized by the Pontifical Academy in 2014 - 2015 in which the ILO has been invited to participate.
In the Declaration, Pope Francis, along with eminent Orthodox, Anglican, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu representatives, pledged “to do all in our power, within our faith communities and beyond, to work together for the freedom of all those who are enslaved and trafficked so that their future may be restored. Today we have the opportunity, awareness, wisdom, innovation and technology to achieve this human and moral imperative.”
“Slavery and human trafficking violate the human rights and dignity of millions of women and men around the globe. This Declaration is a major step forward in the fight against forced labour and represents a firm commitment to eliminate contemporary forms of slavery", said Gilbert Houngbo, ILO Deputy Director-General who assisted the signing of Declaration.
In June 2014, governments, employers and workers at the ILO International Labour Conference (ILC) decided to give new impetus to the global fight against forced labour by adopting a Protocol and a Recommendation which supplement the ILO’s Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29). The Protocol strengthens the international legal framework by creating new obligations to prevent forced labour, to protect victims and to provide access to remedies, such as compensation for material and physical harm.
“Inspired by our confessions of faith, we gathered here today for an historical initiative and to take concrete action: to declare that we will work together to eradicate the terrible scourge of modern slavery in all its forms. The physical, economic, sexual and psychological exploitation of men, women and children that is currently inflicted on tens of millions of people constitutes a form of dehumanisation and humiliation”, said Pope Francis.
The ILO’s participation in this historic gathering builds on a long-standing relationship with the Vatican, which was strengthened further when ILO Director-General Guy Ryder met Pope Francis in November 2013, during a private audience at the Vatican. They discussed the dignity of work and the situation of the most vulnerable, including child labourers, domestic workers and migrants. Both expressed their concerns for the victims of human trafficking.
Pope Francis reiterated this concern in his message to the ILC in May 2014: “It is unacceptable that, in our world, slave labour has become common coin. This cannot continue! Human trafficking is a scourge, a crime against the whole of humanity. It is time to join forces and work together to free its victims and to eradicate this crime that affects all of us, from individual families to the worldwide community.”
He also showed his support on the World Day against child labour in June 2014, when he raised the Red Card to Child Labour and denounced child labour with the following words: “Tens of millions of children are forced to work in degrading conditions, and are victims of slavery and abuse, harassment and discrimination”.
A first concrete initiative following this commitment is a series of workshops organized by the Pontifical Academy in 2014 - 2015 in which the ILO has been invited to participate.