Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-01-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of possible links between trafficking of women and girls and the spread of the Zika virus.

Mr David Lidington

We are aware of meetings this week in Geneva of the WHO International Health Regulations Emergency Committee, to consider whether the Zika outbreak should be designated a public health emergency of international concern. We are not aware of a connection being made with human trafficking. Were such a connection substantiated, it would be an added reason for taking firm action to eradicate this crime. Modern slavery is a global crime and requires a strong and collaborative international response. The Government’s Modern Slavery Strategy commits the Government to tackle modern slavery by working with multi-lateral institutions, foreign governments, civil society organisations and faith groups. The Government and the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner have been successful in working with other Governments to include a commitment to end modern slavery in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The UK government successfully pushed for a Commonwealth Heads of Government commitment on this issue. The UK was also the first country in the world to bring in transparency in supply chains legislation, through the 2015 Modern Slavery Act, which requires businesses operating in the UK with a turnover of over £36 million to report annually on what they are doing to prevent modern slavery in their global supply chains.