A RENOWNED GROUP OF INTERNATIONAL JURISTS AND CIVIL SOCIETY LEADERS, INCLUDING THE GLOBAL LIBERTY ALLIANCE, JOIN FORCES, FORMED THE INTERNATIONAL “COALITION TO END SEXUAL ENSLAVEMENT AND RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION (CEASE RP)

​Alexandria, Virginia – At a workshop hosted by the International Catholic Jurists Forum (ICOJF) from October 28-30, 2021, experts gathered to address the persecution of religious groups through “forced marriage” and “forced conversion.” At the end of the three-day conference they agreed to form the international “Coalition to End Sexual Enslavement and Religious Persecution (CEaSE RP),” which includes a network of civil society leaders, including the Global Liberty Alliance (GLA).

“Rescuing trafficking victims and holding perpetrators to account for trafficking in minors go hand in hand. We must do both to advance the cause of justice. The Global Liberty Alliance looks forward to working with fellow liberty warriors in the U.S., Latin America, and beyond on this important effort,” said Jason Poblete, Esq., President, Global Liberty Alliance, and ICJF Advisor.

During the workshop hosted by ICOJF led by Dr. Jane Adolphe, twenty-one leading experts in the fields of international religious freedom and social communications discussed various aspects of human trafficking, forced labor, and slavery of religious groups the world over. CEaSE RP will work to end to religious persecution through sexual slavery while promoting accountability, victim rescue, rehabilitation, and reintegration, international involvement, and humanitarian aid. That the group is focusing on “sexual enslavement” is an important development in this space.

“The terms themselves (forced marriage and forced conversion) are problematic for a number of reasons. Above all, they fail to articulate the vicious nature of the crimes, whereby victims, as young as twelve, are often abducted, raped, forced to cohabitate with the rapist and to renounce their religion and religious beliefs, while remaining in a perpetual condition of sexual enslavement subject to continuous inhumane treatment by the rapist and his family. The fortunate ones who have escaped or have been rescued are often confined to safe houses because they are hunted down like dogs because they are considered apostates, the penalty for which is death.," said Jane Adolphe, Founder & Executive Director, International Catholic Jurists Forum, and Professor of Law, Ave Maria School of Law. Jane is also serves as a GLA Senior Advisor.
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Read more about this initiative at the ICJF website.