Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-05-19-Speech-5-048"
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"en.20000519.2.5-048"2
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"Once again we are confronted with one of the most sordid aspects of contemporary society: trafficking in human beings. And once again, Parliament responds to this by using an incoherent form of language whose repetition is discouraging.
Indeed, whilst the Committee on Women’s Rights and Equal Opportunities rightfully condemns trafficking in women and children as an intolerable violation of basic human rights, at the same time it denounces what it considers to be the disastrous effects of the prohibition of prostitution.
But are the measures which we are rightfully calling for from national and Community institutions any good if we politicians fail to proclaim, beforehand, that this truly basic right to human dignity is being violated by sexual exploitation, particularly prostitution?
Let us take advantage of the fact that Parliament is presently involved in the work of the Charter of Fundamental Rights to think about the direction we want this to take. Is it about proclaiming a vision of the human being, and the sacredness and intrinsic dignity thereof, or recognising the rights of individuals in isolation and of separate impenetrable communities?
I will be told in reply that prostitution has always existed and that we should instead try to limit the damage it does. This scourge, like so many others, has certainly always existed and regrettably will no doubt always exist, but our task as elected representatives forces us to take a better and wider perspective, regarding what destroys the human being not as an inevitability but as a crime to be combated. The libertarian decriminalisation measures have proved to be inefficient and dangerous no matter what the field.
Let me remind some of my colleagues of the role played by these laws: by prohibiting certain practices, they set limits intended to protect those persons, male and female, who for different reasons are easy targets for criminal networks which exploit, and prosper on, their poverty. If these laws are not enough to break up the networks, then we must also provide the competent authorities with the means to conduct a campaign which is all the more efficient since it will be supported by unambiguous legislation.
The unspeakable excesses of some people are often a sign of some distress which must also be put right. It is criminal to use the weakness of certain individuals to promote a libertarian ideology which spreads distress further afield and ultimately smells of death."@en1
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