VATICAN CITY—Representatives of Catholicism, Anglicanism and Islam unite in an unprecedented inter-faith agreement to end modern slavery and human trafficking across the world.

 The Global Freedom Network launched today at the Vatican by the founder of Walk Free Foundation, Andrew Forrest, has as its main objective permanently eradicating slavery in all its different forms by 2020, through a joint effort of people of all nations and faiths.

 In a joint statement signed by the representatives of Pope Francis, the Grand Imam of Al Azhar, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, the project leaders emphasised the gravity of the problem and the need for an urgent, widespread action based on a combined use of “instruments of faith”, such as prayer, fasting and almsgiving, and practical measures and action plans aimed at ridding the supply chains of businesses, governments and faith institutions of slave labour.

 Among the immediate goals of the Global Freedom Network are: educating on the nature and consequences of modern slavery and human trafficking, getting the G20 to adopt an anti-slavery initiative and actively support the project, convincing 50 major corporations to commit to slavery-proofing their supply chains, and persuading 160 governments to endorse a large-scale fundraising initiative to implement anti-slavery programs around the world.