Human trafficking destroys the fabric of communities, says CCA consultation

Programme Review and Programme Direction

Two key deliberative sessions during the 15th CCA General Assembly are the Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions.

The Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions will both be conducted in three groups relating to the CCA’s programme areas, namely, (i) General Secretariat (GS), (ii) Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF); and (iii) Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia (PD).

Assembly participants will have the option to join one of three groups for both the Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions. For the sake of coherence, the assigned group will remain the same for both sessions.

General Secretariat

The General Secretariat oversees the coordination of programmatic, administrative, and financial activities of the organization. The GS comprises various departments such as church and ecumenical relations, relations with ecumenical partners, finance, administration, and communications, which provide crucial support and services for the implementation of programs and contribute to the overall functioning of the CCA.

Programmes: Relations with member churches and councils, ecumenical partners; advocacy at the United Nations; ecumenical responses to emerging issues in solidarity; income development and finance; and communications.

Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF)

Under the MU programme area, the CCA accompanies Asian churches to strengthen their mission and witness in multi-religious contexts, revitalise and nurture church unity and the Asian ecumenical movement, and develop contextual theological foundations.

Programmes: Asian Movement for Christian Unity (AMCU); Congress of Asian Theologians (CATS); Asian women doing theology in the context of wider ecumenism; contextualisation of theology in Asia and ecumenical theological education.

The EF programme area focuses on nurturing and developing ecumenical leaders in Asia. The programme aims to enhance spiritual formation and theological understanding, enabling people to actively engage in ecumenical dialogue and collaboration.

Programmes: Ecumenical Enablers’ Training in Asia (EETA); Asian Ecumenical Institute (AEI); Youth and Women Leadership Development; Ecumenical Spirituality and Nurturing of Contextual Liturgical Traditions; Asia Sunday

Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia and Advocacy (PD)

The BP programme area is dedicated to promoting peace, justice, and reconciliation in Asia’s diverse contexts. Through training, advocacy, and dialogue, the programme addresses the root causes of conflicts, empowers communities, and fosters sustainable peacebuilding initiatives.

Programmes: Pastoral Solidarity Visits; Churches in Action for Moving Beyond Conflict and Resolution; Young Ambassadors of Peace in Asia (YAPA); Ecumenical Women’s Action Against Violence (EWAAV); Eco-Justice for Sustainable Peace in the Oikos.

The PD programme area focuses on promoting justice, human rights, and social transformation in Asia. Through advocacy, capacity-building, and raising awareness, the programme addresses systemic injustice, empowers marginalised communities, and advocates for prophetic actions and meaningful change.

Programmes: Human Rights advocacy; Migration, Statelessness, and Trafficking in Persons; Asian Ecumenical Disability Advocacy Network; Asian Advocacy Network on the Dignity and Rights of Children (AANDRoC); Ecumenical Solidarity Accompaniment and Diakonia in Asia (ESADA); Health and Healing; Good Governance; Action Together to Combat HIV and AIDS in Asia (ATCHAA).

First Preference:
Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF)
Second Preference:
Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia and Advocacy (PD)
17 November 2016

ht-img_1722Participants of the Asia Regional consultation on human trafficking in Chiang Mai, Thailand. 

A communiqué adopted at the end of a regional consultation organised by the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) on the ‘Criminalization of Human Trafficking and Its impact on Women and Children’ stated, “Trafficking in persons denies the sacred worth of God’s children and destroys the fabric of our communities. Victims endure psychological trauma, physical injury, economic hardship and stigmatization that can create lifelong scars and barriers for full participation in one’s community. Human trafficking is a result of disregard for human dignity”.

The participants of the consultation called for stricter law enforcement mechanisms, prohibiting the sexual exploitation of women and children.

The consultation also emphasized the need for more concrete measures to address the problem as a community, with human dignity based on Christ’s calling being the center and inspiration in serving others.

The consultation, held from 14-17 November 2016 in Chiang Mai, Thailand, focused on identifying the root causes and challenges of human trafficking, especially the plight of women and children in Asia.

About 40 participants attended the consultation from various Asian countries.

Communiqué

About 40 participants representing member churches, national ecumenical councils and other organisations across Asia gathered together in Chiang Mai, Thailand from 14 to 17 November 2016 for the Asia Regional Consultation on the theme ‘Criminalization of Human Trafficking and Its Impact on Women and Children: Towards an Ecumenical Advocacy’, organised  by the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA).

During the three days of deliberations at the consultation, participants heard about the vulnerable situations of trafficked person in various contexts in Asia, with analyses and presentations by experts, social and human rights activists, as well as country situations presented by representatives from different countries. The participants were also enriched by the biblical and theological perspectives shared, which helped analyse and deepen the role of Christians in protecting the rights and dignity of people who are vulnerable to trafficking.

Among the particular challenges faced by Asian countries with regards to human trafficking, the extreme and inhumane situations of trafficked persons became evident, in which human life is reduced to a mere object, a commodity.

Asia has emerged as a key source of origin, transit and destination point for global trafficking of women and children and therefore, the participants affirm the value of this initiative by the CCA and pray that similar efforts will be carried out at all levels to support and encourage the Churches to accompany in their effort to empower all sectors in society, especially women, to combat human trafficking in Asia and across the globe.

Human Trafficking:  A result of disregard for human dignity

Human trafficking is a crime fueled by global poverty, inadequate education and opportunity, ethnic discrimination and societal inequity between men and women; and by the demand for cheap labour and sexual exploitation. Poverty, illiteracy, globalization, gender bias, patriarchy, a lack of positive media role, a lack of maintenance of law and order, lacuna in legal matter (Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act), and a lack of advocacy have increased the vulnerability of women, transgender persons, young adult, boys and girls as victims of human trafficking. It is a crime that transcends cultures, class and geography.

Poverty made worse by greed, working for personal interests which abandons responsibility towards other people, and lack of compassion contributes to the worsening living conditions throughout the Asian continent.

Trafficking in persons denies the sacred worth of God’s children and destroys the fabric of our communities. Victims endure psychological trauma, physical injury, economic hardship and stigmatization that can create lifelong scars and barriers for full participation in one’s community. Human trafficking is a result of disregard for human dignity.

As mentioned in the Bible, “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed.” (Isaiah 1:17). The broad composition of the Christian faith faces challenges to side with the oppressed, the victims of human trafficking. These conditions of poverty make people vulnerable to abuse and exploitation in different forms. The types of human trafficking range from a broad spectrum, some committed with unimaginable cruelty. Women and children, in particular, face this vulnerability.

The participants of this consultation deplore all forms of the commercialization and exploitation of sex, with their consequent degradation of human personality. To lose freedom and be sold by someone else for sexual purposes is a form of slavery. They also denounce this strongly and support the abused and their right to freedom.

Call for Urgent Action

The participants of the consultation call for:

  • Stricter global enforcement of laws prohibiting sexual exploitation and use of children by adults and encourage efforts to hold perpetrators legally and financially responsible;
  • Concrete measures to address the problem as a community with human dignity based on Christ’s calling being the center and inspiration in serving others;
  • Churches to maximize resources and exert more effort in combating human trafficking and other harsh living conditions;
  • The church community to come together in solidarity to fight against the inhuman and cruel act of human trafficking.

The participants appeal that:

  1. The Church community, especially women, join hands in organizing various fora on human trafficking. This is a significant way to educate our constituency on the realities of human trafficking and its impact especially to women and children. Maximize Biblico-theological resources that uphold human dignity and worth as people created in God’s own image;
  2. Advocate for the passage of laws against traffickers; call for strict global enforcement of laws prohibiting sexual exploitation and use of children by adults and hold perpetrators legally responsible;
  3. Partner with women advocacy organizations, the United Nations, and other local law enforcement agencies dealing with human trafficking;
  4. Organise church bodies and inter-faith movements on local, national, regional and global levela in order to establish alliances to fight human trafficking;
  5. Address the root causes of human trafficking to be able to work for a justice system that restores victims and punishes perpetrators, and also work to change the country and global economic structures and policies that create the conditions in which human trafficking thrives.