A new project for a European network of the Churches against the trafficking of human beings, which will remain in force until 2007 and enjoy close cooperation between government and non-government agencies: that’s the initiative launched during a meeting held in Bucharest (Romania) in recent days and attended by 60 representatives of the churches, governments, police and judiciary of 15 European countries. The network has already been in operation since 2002, but it now has to tackle new challenges and propose coordinated responses. The conference was hosted in the seat of the Orthodox Patriarchate in Bucharest and inaugurated by Patriarch Teoctist. Particular attention was devoted to the various areas of the trafficking in human beings, for example forced labour or the slavery of domestic work. A representative of the police forces described the methods used to crack down on the criminal rackets that run the trade, and “that often work in a very flexible way”. The delegates of the Churches and NGOs that deal with these issues proposed new models to protect the victims from exploitation. As regards future activities, the participants agreed with the proposal to collect funds during the forthcoming football World Cup in Germany and to organize a series of public awareness-raising events in 2007, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery.
