Pope Francis met with leaders of various religious sects to sign a declaration promising to end all forms of slavery by 2020, VOA News reported.
The historic gathering included several representatives from Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish and Angelican communities. Before the signing, the Pope addressed the leaders through a speech about slavery and its effects on humanity.
"The physical, economic, sexual and psychological exploitation of men, women, boys and girls, is chaining tens of millions of persons to inhumanity and humiliation," he said.
Pope Francis noted that many faces of slavery happens almost everywhere and usually preys upon those living in poor communities, according to CNN.
"This takes place in hiding, behind closed doors, in private homes, in the streets, in the cars, in factories, in the fields, in fishing boats and in so many other places," he said.
"The victims come from all walks of life, but most times they are the poorest and the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters," the Pope added.
Under the declaration, the religious leaders vowed to inform their followers and government organizations about the importance of enacting reforms and programs to combat slavery.
The signing was organized by Vatican in partnership with anti-slavery group Walk Free Foundation. This Australian organization was created by 21-year-old Grace Forrest and her billionaire father, Andrew Forrest, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The two were present during the signing held in the Vatican. According to the young Forrest, she decided to launch the organization after witnessing the effects of slavery.
She told Australian news agency Fairfax that she went on a school trip to Nepal and worked in a facility for victims of sex slavery when she was 15 years old.
"That experience changed the course of my life," she said. "To see something and walk away, that's unacceptable to me. Seeing the physical, emotional and mental trauma of children as young as three who have been rescued from slavery is unbelievable."
"To watch children who have had not just their innocence stolen from them, but also their childhood, left to live with trauma for the rest of their lives," Forrest added. "I came back from this experience and I really wanted to do something."
After that experience, she and her father established the Walk Free Foundation and partnered with Vatican last year to launch the Global Freedom Network.
