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On 18 August at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, the contestants of Mrs Universe 2010 participated in a discussion on the fight with different forms of violence against women and human trafficking. They also signed a joint declaration confirming their intention to combat this problem.

During the event, Lithuania's Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Evaldas Ignatavičius stressed that Lithuania was contributing to this fight on international level. Lithuania is carrying out various projects in the field of equal opportunities, fight against trafficking in human beings and violence against women in Afghanistan, Belarus and Georgia.

According to the Vice-Minister, trafficking in human beings is not a phenomenon that would be irrelevant to Lithuanian society. Vice-Minister E.Ignatavičius added that the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as Lithuania‘s diplomatic missions abroad faced the problem of human trafficking, they help to liberate women from slavery and bring them back to Lithuania, where they are given psychological support and other kinds of help.

"The most important thing in the fight against human trafficking  is close cooperation of national and international organizations. One state can not deal with this problem by its own", Vice-Minister E.Ignatavičius said.

According to the Vice-Minister, the Baltic Sea region states are trying to cope with the challenge by joining efforts. The Council of the Baltic Sea States, which was chaired by Lithuania until 1 July, has its special Task Force against Trafficking in Human Beings. Lithuania is also cooperating with the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe, that Lithuania will preside in 2011, with partner countries, where victims of trafficking often are taken.

“Lithuania is also taking measures to reduce poverty and social exclusion in the country, thus reducing a potential number of victims, because the victims are usually from poorer families in the province and from the socially vulnerable segments of society“, Vice-Minister E.Ignatavičius noted.

By signing the declaration, participants of Mrs Universe 2010 contest encouraged all women in the world, organizations working in the field of beauty, and famous people to join the fight against violence and human trafficking.

Every year, about 800 thousand to 900 thousand people worldwide become victims of the human trafficking. Women and children are a particularly vulnerable subject to this criminal activity, a sort of modern slavery.