A Vatican delegation has told the UN's Commission on the Status of Women that abortion does not liberate women.

A statement from the Holy See delegation was delivered to the UN Economic and Social Council's 51st session of the Commission on the Status of Women earlier in the week by Professor Mary Anne Dantuono.

The commission chose at its priority theme this year, "The elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child".

The statement from the Holy See said that it was "incongruous that, at a time when the sensitivity of women's issues appears stronger than every, the world is now obliged to confront new forms of violence and slavery directed especially at women".

Professor Dantuono said that violations of the rights of women, adolescents, and young girls were committed and "even tolerated" in many fields.

"Women bear the brunt of the world's child prostitution, sexual exploitation, abuse, domestic violence, child labour and human trafficking. The international sex trade has become an important industry as degrading as almost any mistreatment of women prior to it.

"This trade is often passed over in silence because it is considered a part of supposedly democratic freedoms and is too deeply rooted in places or is too lucrative to confront, so my delegation commends those states and organisations that have stepped forward in recent times to combat and draw attention to this scourge."

The Holy See was particularly concerned over abortion, particularly in the context of some local traditions which continue to abort unborn females on the grounds that they are inferior to males and a financial burden.

"In this way, abortion, often considered a tool of liberation, is ironically employed by women against women," it said.

The Vatican statement went on to criticise the "driving motive" of profiteering that lies behind the exploitation of women, and warned that, "No one profits from this except the traffickers and the clients."

The statement threw light on the need to tackle demand for the sex market in order to eradicate the exploitation of women.

"In order to put an end to the violation of human rights of trafficked women and girls, it is not enough to sensationalise their tragic plight; rather there is a need to trace the question back to the market that exists due to the demand which makes such trade possible and profitable."

Measures to tackle the exploitation of women, which the Vatican said included the issue of forced marriage, had to go beyond the construction of refuges and social reinsertion of the women, it said. "Ways must be found to let them go home safely and without shame, and not merely have them repatriated; and if women do decide to travel abroad for work, they should be able to do so safely."

The Holy See also called for new measures to raise awareness of the exploitation and trafficking of women at the local level in the rural villages where girls are forced by poverty and severe unemployment to seek work elsewhere. These villages, the Holy See said, "need to know as a community how to deal openly with the risks to their young people."

The statement added: "Local and national politicians also need to be brought to account for their policies in this regard.

"The promotion of women will be achieved not only by the legitimate vindication of women's rights. With that there must also be established a fresh appreciation of authentically feminine values in the heart of our societies."