Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
St. Paul (Agenzia Fides) - The VII International Meeting on Migration and human trafficking in Latin America ends today, September 21, which was held in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The event, which began on 19 September, discussed key issues such as "immigration policies in Brazil and in Latin America: the prevention of human trafficking" and "The role of the legislature before human trafficking in Brazil and Latin America". Other topics of discussion were: "The monitoring of policies against human trafficking in Brazil and Latin America" and "Latin American experiences in the field of immigration and human trafficking."
In the note sent to Fides Agency by Adital, states that in addressing the issue of immigration policies in Brazil, the Scalabrinian Sister Rosita Milesi, MSCS, director of the Institute for Migration and Human Rights, noted that, in the case of Brazil , there is a gap between what is done and what is being said, in the areas of immigration and human trafficking. "There is a gap between the desire and effectiveness. Evidence of this is that Brazil has not yet ratified the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All immigrant workers and of members of their families, and has not yet updated the immigration law. We are far from reaching its effectiveness in protecting the human rights of immigrants. Today there is much debate and, of course, the debate is important, but we need concrete actions", she stressed.
For Dimitri Sales, a lawyer and Vice president of the Institute for Latin American Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (Iladh), that sponsored the event, "it is very important to include the issue of immigration, especially in Latin America, so that the issue has more visibility,one is able to be familiar with this reality, and to know which direction to take in our work in this area." Sales pointed out that in a short time, Brazil will be the focus of several world events, like the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016, therefore "we must be prepared to protect the integrity of the people and to ensure that their rights are not violated, above all we must protect the most vulnerable." (CE) (Agenzia Fides 21/09/2012)
