Buddhist Chief High Priest To Attend Human Trafficking Meeting In Vatican City

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's Buddhist Chief High Priest K. Sri Dhammaratana will attend a meeting on modern slavery and human trafficking with prominent world religious leaders in Vatican City on Dec 2. The closed-door meeting is organised by Global Freedom Network (GFN), a non-profit organisation founded earlier this year, which dedicates its work to eradicate modern slavery and human trafficking by year 2020. The visit is at the invitation of the Head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis. Dhammaratana will represent the Buddhist faith and he is also the only representative from Malaysia who has been invited to the event. "I am honoured to be invited to participate and witness this important event. The meeting will also deliberate on an action plan to address the problem," he told Bernama. Besides Dhammaratana and leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, leaders from the Islamic and Hindu faiths will also join the meeting. The highlight of the event will be a joint declaration by the leaders of the world's major religions that modern slavery is a crime against humanity. They will also sign a memorandum of understanding on the issue. -- BERNAMA