18 September 2008. Geneva, Switzerland - Despite some progress in recent years in
addressing the problem of sexual exploitation of children in Europe and Central
Asia, much more needs to be done to address the issue. This includes
identifying child victims and providing appropriate support for their recovery
and reintegration, closer cooperation between services and among countries in
the region and tougher enforcement of the laws to address the demand for sexual
exploitation of children.
These
were the key messages heard at the “Europe and Central Asia Regional
Preparatory Meeting for the World Congress III against Sexual Exploitation of
Children & Adolescents” – a two-day meeting held to feed recommendations to
an upcoming world congress on sexual exploitation of children.
Hundreds
of experts, government officials and activists from around the region attended
the meeting, which was held at the ILO Conference Centre in Geneva, Switzerland
and which ended on Thursday with recommendations specific to Europe and Central
Asia on how to end the scourge of sexual exploitation of children.
Mr.
Geir Myrstad of the ILO reminded those present that the ILO Worst Forms of
Child Labour Convention No. 182 calls on all ILO member States to undertake
immediate and effective measures to prohibit commercial sexual exploitation of
children, including child prostitution, pornography, and trafficking, and that
under the ILO Global Action Plan on child labour the 182 member States of the
ILO have committed themselves to eliminate commercial sexual exploitation of
children by 2016. “Let us join together –governments, employers’ organizations,
workers’ organizations and civil society – to make commercial sexual
exploitation of children history by 2016”
“Progress has been made – particularly with
the recent development of the Council of Europe Convention on protecting
children from sexual abuse and exploitation - but the fact is that Europe and
Central Asia continue to see large numbers of children exploited, so
enforcement of these legal instruments is essential” said Mark Capaldi, Deputy
Director of ECPAT International, an NGO focused on ending child prostitution,
pornography and trafficking. “The region continues to see large numbers of
children sexually exploited and this regional meeting has called for the
necessary measures and strategies to urgently address the demand for sex with
children”.
Led
by ECPAT International and the ILO, the meeting’s attendees discussed – for the
upcoming World Congress III against Sexual Exploitation of Children and
Adolescents in Brazil – a set of time-bound goals and targets to mitigate the
issues of children trapped in prostitution, trafficking of children, online
sexual exploitation and the distribution of sexual abuse images of children.
The
goals and targets to address child prostitution, trafficking and online sexual
exploitation include:
The
region’s legislation must be harmonized (eg, not all countries in the region
make a legal distinction between child pornography and other forms of
pornography, which has bearing on law enforcement) and penalties must be
increased so that sentences reflect the severity of crimes related to the
sexual exploitation of children.
Internet
service providers, mobile phone companies and financial institutions must work
together to address the problems of child abuse images and sexual exploitation
of children online, including blocking access to child abuse images found on
websites.
Adopt
multilateral agreements for the coordination of police investigation work on
victim identification of trafficked children and children sexually exploited
online or in the production of child abuse images. All law enforcement agencies
in the region must connect to the G8 database at Interpol.
Hotlines
should be developed for receiving reports on child abuse online.
Develop
legislation that can stimulate business to implement child protection programs,
including small businesses such as cyber cafes and encouraging the travel and
tourism sector to implement and monitor the Code of Conduct for the Protection
of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism.
Set
up a global reporting system for extraterritorial cases involving tourists that
exploit children while abroad. Currently, while most of the region’s countries
have extraterritorial laws (which are useful when perpetrators return to their
countries of origin in an effort to escape prosecution) to punish offenders in
their home country for offences committed abroad, these laws are rarely
enforced.
National
policies to prevent and combat CSEC should guarantee that children have access
to high quality basic education and skills training as well as opportunities
for those who are old enough (above the minimum working age) to earn a decent
salary in conditions that are not hazardous. Likewise, measures should be taken
to integrate concerns regarding CSEC in poverty reduction strategies,
education, law, law enforcement, youth employment and anti-discrimination
initiatives – including against gender discrimination, where possible in
integrated National Action Plans.
For
further information or media interviews please contact:
Corinne
Perthuis, ILO Department of Communications, 141227997062
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Notes
to editors:
ECPAT
International is a global network of organisations and individuals working
together for the elimination of child prostitution, child pornography and the
trafficking of children for sexual purposes. It seeks to encourage the world
community to ensure that children everywhere enjoy their fundamental rights
free and secure from all forms of commercial sexual exploitation. For more
information, see www.ecpat.net
24.09.08
