Human Rights Council – A/HRC/51/26
Contemporary forms of slavery affecting persons belonging to ethnic, religious and linguistic minority communities – Report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery,
including its causes and consequences, Professor Tomoya Obokata
Statement by Professor Michel Veuthey
Ambassador to monitor and combat trafficking in persons, Deputy Permanent Observer in Geneva
Geneva, 15 September 2022
Mr. President, Excellencies,
The Sovereign Order of Malta wishes to express its thanks to the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, Professor Tomoya Obokata. We would like to congratulate the Special Rapporteur and his team for their well-documented report (A/HRC/51/26) on “Contemporary forms of slavery affecting persons belonging to ethnic, religious and linguistic minority communities”.
The Order of Malta would like to highlight the value of the concrete action of many religious congregations in the protection and rehabilitation of victims of contemporary forms of slavery.
Allow me to briefly describe the Order of Malta’s contribution to the fight against contemporary forms of slavery:
(1) Raising awareness
- Through its bilateral (112 States) and multilateral diplomatic network, organizing and participating in conferences
(2) Assisting victims through medical and social programs
- Through its National Associations and its worldwide humanitarian organization “Malteser International”.
- With a pilot project in Lagos: “Bakhita Centre” with Sr Patricia Ebegbulem, SSL (Sisters of Saint Louis)
- Gathering and disseminating good practices on the site www.christusliberat.org
(3) Offering a free online training course for helpers in English and French on https://www.cuhd.org
(4) Organizing 21 webinars on human trafficking ( www.adlaudatosi.org ) with subtitles in seven languages (Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish ). The next webinars shall take place Tuesday, 20 September at 6:30 p.m. (CEST) on “Countering The Use Of Technology To Recruit And Control Victims Of Human Trafficking, Especially Related To The Sex Trafficking Of Children And Women”, and on Thursday, 6 October at 6 p.m. (CEST) on “Human Trafficking and Laudato Si’: Towards A New Paradigm to Ensure the Protection of Human Dignity, To Prevent and Eradicate Human Trafficking.”
The Order of Malta supports the recommendations of the Special Rapporteur calling upon Member States to
• ratify and implement all relevant international and regional human rights and labour rights standards
- provide training for governmental service providers in order to tackle prejudice and discrimination
- ensure equal access to public services, including economic and social protection, without discrimination
• make education adequate, accessible and affordable for minorities and migrant workers - grant access to justice and remedies without discrimination and unnecessary practical obstacles
• promote full participation in decision-making process of minorities, migrant workers and affected communities - establish safe, orderly and regular migration pathways for migrant workers in order to prevent human trafficking and smuggling.
The Order of Malta would welcome an increased collaboration with the Special Rapporteur.
Thank you.
