Tag: human trafficking

18th September 2017 Geneva, Switzerland

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by Bob Last

Head, UK Mission Political and Human Rights Team

Uniting Against Slavery

The seasons change fast in Switzerland though nothing quite takes the shine off a summer break like a week holed up in UN meetings. Once they begin, life becomes a strange combination of rapid high energy bursts of darting about, mixed with prolonged bouts of repetitive drudgery. Spending hours arguing over the wording of resolutions […]

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6th August 2015

Stephen Townsend

Stephen Townsend

Deputy Head of Mission, British Embassy to the Holy See

Modern Slavery and the UK

The UK’s Modern Slavery Act came into force on 31 July  This landmark legislation brought into law some important new provisions. These include mechanisms to seize traffickers assets and use those funds to help compensate victims, prevention orders to ensure that those who pose a risk of committing modern slavery offences cannot work sectors where they will […]

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22nd September 2014

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by Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

Christian unity and good causes: small steps, big results

As ambassador to the Holy See, it is quite rare that I get out of Rome for professional purposes. Most of the key contacts and institutions with which the embassy works are, naturally, based in Rome. Although I plug into the global Holy See network, I do that through the hub. So I have had […]

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30th July 2014

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by Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

Human trafficking: responding to the Pope’s appeal

In my last blog posting on the concept of “the common good”, I noted that the Archbishop of Canterbury had included UK efforts to tackle human trafficking as one of three specific areas in which, in his view, Her Majesty’s Government was working for the common good. 30 July is the UN World Day against […]

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11th April 2014

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by Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

Modern slavery: Church and State working together

“An open wound on the body of contemporary society, a scourge on upon the body of Christ. It is a crime against humanity”. With these words, Pope Francis addressed the second international conference in the Vatican organised by the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales and the Metropolitan Police on “Combating Human Trafficking: Church […]

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7th March 2014 Beirut, Lebanon

Tom Fletcher

by Tom Fletcher

Former British Ambassador to Lebanon

Inhuman Human Trafficking

In the 21st century we get angry about many small things: traffic jams, power cuts or a failed internet connection. We get plenty of opportunities for all three in Lebanon. But last Friday I joined an event about an issue worth getting really furious about. The Beirut Bar Association launched a Human Rights Institute booklet […]

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4th July 2013

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by Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

Modern Slavery: Church and State against Human Trafficking

Trafficking in human beings – for forced labour, for sex, for their organs – has been with us as long as one human has exploited another. That is no reason why we should resign ourselves to its existence in the 21st century. The British government sees tackling modern slavery as an important global priority. And yet, […]

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26th November 2012

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by Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

Protecting Human Dignity: Violence against Women

25 November was the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. It is shameful that crimes by humans against other humans are, it seems, an inevitable element of the human condition. The use of rape as a weapon of war, or human trafficking as a lucrative trade by organised crime, are all too […]

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