The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales has asked the British government to sign and implement the Convention of the Council of Europe on action against the trafficking of human beings. By signing it the government would pledge to grant to the victims of such trafficking a period of thirty days during which they would be able to receive public support and decide what to do. The victims would also be given the opportunity to make asylum applications in the UK. The bishops praised the government for launching a process of consultation on trafficking, but warned that the same emphasis placed on measures in application of the law should also be placed on the human rights of the victims. In a press release the bishops point out that thousands of human beings are “forced, swindled and blackmailed through threats and the use of violence into conditions of sexual exploitation, including domestic slavery and agricultural and manufacturing work”. “We are especially concerned about the well-being of children and women victims of this slavery. These crimes offend the dignity and the integrity of human beings”, said the bishops. At the present time there exists only one organization in Great Britain, the “Poppy Project”, supported by the Home Ministry, to help the victims of trafficking. According to John Joseet, responsible for policy for refugees within the Bishops’ Conference, the dioceses of Westminster and Southwark in London and that of Portsmouth in the south are the zones in which most of the victims of trafficking linked to sex are concentrated.
