VICE PRESIDENT OF TANZANIA PRAISES THE CHURCH AND USPG’S COLLABORATIVE APPROACH TO ENDING HUMAN TRAFFICKING AS THEIR “SET OUR PEOPLE FREE” INTERNATIONAL CONSULTATION 2023 LAUNCHES
Primates and Anglican Communion representatives from around the world listened today as His Excellency Dr. Philip Mpango highlighted the importance and the positive impact of the Church and charity agencies working alongside governments to bring about the end of human trafficking.
Reaffirming his government’s commitment to “address the disgraceful scourge of human trafficking”, His Excellency stressed that “human trafficking is a crime which cannot be combatted single-handedly and an anti-human trafficking approach that is not integrated will not work.”
The vice president made his remarks in his opening speech to welcome a delegation of over 40 Primates and representatives from the Anglican Communion as they meet in Tanzania for our triennial International Consultation “Set My People Free: The Call of the Church against Human Trafficking”.
Within a country that used to have the largest slave market in Africa but now has a government committed to fighting modern day slavery, the consultation seeks to provide an opportunity for senior leaders in the Anglican Communion to reflect on contemporary human trafficking through the voices and experiences of those working to tackle human trafficking and the powerful testimonies of survivors. They will explore its many dimensions and nuances within different continents and country contexts.
As he closed his speech, His Excellency said, “I wish you fruitful discussions, and I look forward to your statement of commitment at the end of your time together and our future collaborative work together to end human trafficking.”
The Most Revd Dr Maimbo Mndolwa, Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Tanzania said in his sermon at the opening Eucharist,
“Human trafficking affects the most vulnerable people in society. Victims are men, women and children who are often given false promises of a better life and then forced into work where they are underpaid or not paid at all, and most of the time there are no laws to protect them.
This is why religious leaders must work with governments to bring an end to human trafficking. We will use this consultation to understand better what is happening in our communities and will seek to agree a commitment to end human trafficking and set our people free.”
Duncan Dormor, CEO of USPG said,
“The trafficking of people – women, children, men – is a global business. We have gathered senior leaders within the Anglican Church because we believe that the church has a crucial role to play in ending human trafficking. We believe that this issue demands leaders to take action. And we believe that if we work together as a communion of churches, we can make a real difference – helping to transform lives, families and communities; giving back agency, autonomy, self-worth, freedom and prosperity to peoples’ lives."
The group will meet throughout this week, ending their time together with a communique with agreements from all involved on how they can work collaboratively with governments and other organisations to end human trafficking for good.