Various ecclesial organisations have advanced the request that urgent measures be adopted to put an end to the trade in women in the Czech Republic and to sensitise public opinion to this European emergency. “Even though the problem exists in all the countries of the continent, we ask the Czech government for greater commitment in facing up to it. The problems associated with the post-Communist transition have certainly contributed to the situation, but economic difficulties alone are not sufficient reason” affirmed Torsten Moritz, spokesman of the Church Commission for Migrants in Europe (CCME), an ecumenical agency that operates in collaboration with the Church Ecumenical Council (CEC) and the Conference of European Churches (KEK). In the last few weeks, the CCME has launched a new project known as “Christian action and co-ordination against the trade in women”, in which representatives from Belgium, Germany, Greece and Italy are also participating. In a common declaration, the CCME and European Caritas following an on-site investigation in an area of heavy prostitution describe the slave-like conditions many girls suffer, and express the hope that the campaign against this trade may be launched before the country joins the EU in May 2004.
