ARAB-AFRICAN
FORUM AGAINST SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN
RABAT,
MOROCCO, 24-26 OCTOBER 2001
FINAL DECLARATION
The
Arab-African Forum Against the Sexual Exploitation of Children
was held in Rabat, from 24 to 26 October 2001, under the Honorary
Presidency of Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Meryem, with the
aim to prepare for the effective participation of the Arab African
region at the 2nd
World Conference against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children
which will take place in Yokohama (Japan) between 17 &
20 December, 2001. The Rabat Meeting set as its principal objectives:
the reaffirmation of the political commitment of the states; the
revision of progress since the World Congress of Stockholm (1996);
and to devise intervention strategies that reflect on regional
specificity and priorities for the effective and efficient combating
of sexual exploitation of children. Indeed, the Stockholm meeting
was mainly a platform for the creation of global awareness of
the problem, which necessitated regional specificity. The five
years post-Stockholm highlight the following challenges, and lack
of changes, for the countries of the region:
·
The subject
of sexual exploitation remains a taboo in many countries.
·
There continues
to be a lack of situational analysis and qualitative and quantitative
data collection mechanisms at both local and regional levels.
·
There continues
to be an absence of multi-sectoral, multi-disciplinary approaches
and coordination mechanisms in the field of prevention and combating
of sexual exploitation of children.
·
There continues
to be a lack of training in human resources in required disciplines,
most notably in the areas of justice, policing, tourism industry,
transport, social work, health care and education.
·
There is a paucity
of programs for the rehabilitation and reintegration of child
victims of sexual exploitation.
The
root causes of this calamity are poverty, illiteracy and inadequate
educational systems, gender discrimination, cultural practices
prejudicing children, such as mutilations, and the attitude of
many men.
A
great number of the countries in the group are victims of armed
conflicts, war, military occupation and blockades generating situations
dominated by violence, which dramatically increases the vulnerabilities
that facilitate the sexual exploitation of children.
The
sexual exploitation of children is closely linked to HIV/AIDS
and sexually transmitted diseases, with HIV/AIDS being a cause
and a consequence of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children.
At
the close of this forum, we the members of the Arab African countries
declare:
Recognizing
that :
-
The Convention
on the Rights of the Child is the main instrument for the protection
and the promotion of the rights of the child.
-
As the proceedings
took place in the context of the Global Movement for Children
and preparations for the Special Session of the UN General Assembly
on Children, the Rabat Arab-African Forum Against the Sexual Exploitation
of Children continues the momentum generated by other regional
initiatives. Some of these are : The Arab Civil Society Forum
(15-19 February 2001), The African First Ladies Summit (Marrakesh
20-22 April 2001), the Arab-African Conference of Finance Ministers
(Marrakesh 21-23 Mai 2001), the Pan-African Forum on Children
(Cairo 28-31 May 2001), the High Level Arab Conference on the
Rights of Children (2-4 July 2001) and the 36th Inter-Parliamentary
Session (Ouagadougou, 9-13 September 2001). These meetings have
allowed for a gathering of various stake holders in Government,
NGOs, Private Sector, International and Parliamentary Organizations
for the purpose of reflecting on the protection of the rights
of children and the respect of their dignity.
-
This meeting
is part of the framework aiming to implement the Convention on
the Rights of the Child, and its Optional Protocols related to
the sale of children, child prostitution and pornography and the
involvement of children in armed conflict.
-
The protocols also related to the ILO Convention 182 on
the elimination of the worst forms of child labor and to the UN
Convention on Transnational Organized Crime. The latter protocol
is geared towards the suppression and punishment of crimes related
to the trafficking of human beings, in particular women and children.
Considering
the great advances realized during these last years, notably in
the domains of :
-
The commitment
of political leadership at the highest levels in many countries
of our regions.
-
The existence
of outlines for national action plans in some countries.
-
The adherence
of the Governments of the regions to the commitments taken in
Stockholm and their determination to be more involved in the process
of Yokohama.
-
The growing
involvement of national and international NGOs (ECPAT, NGO Group
for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and other competent
NGOs).
-
The mobilization
of adolescent and other youth in the process of the promotion
and defense of the rights of the child.
-
The progressive
generalization of the process of the harmonization of national
legislations with the Convention on the Rights of the Child so
as not to penalize the victims and protect them while making the
authors of acts of sexual exploitation guilty of committing a
criminal offense.
-
The recognition
by all the participants of the fact that the existence of this
calamity requires the commitment of all of us.
1.
We commit ourselves to and recommend the following:
1.1 Ratify and implement (a) the Convention
on the Rights of the Child and the two additional protocols, notably
the one related to the sale of children, child prostitution and
child pornography and the involvement of children in armed conflicts,
(b) the ILO Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labor and
Recommendation 190.
1.2 Harmonization of national
legal texts with the provisions of the Convention on the Rights
of the Child and ensuring their enforcement.
1.3 Adapt legal provisions intended
to protect children from sex tourism.
1.4
Devise national programmes and projects of prevention,
for capacity building
(through integrated multi disciplinary training), and detection
and treatment of any form of physical and sexual abuse of children.
1.5 Encourage and support the
creation of a National and regional observatories to combat sexual
exploitation of children.
1.6 Follow-up of actions already
undertaken, such as:
· Situation
analysis and studies, investigations on the question of sexual
exploitation of children; and
· Raising
awareness of national decision-makers of all levels on the problems
related to the sexual exploitation of children.
1.7 Foster the conscience awareness
of adults and children of the rights of the child and the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women,
in particular the girl child, for the purpose of changing attitudes
and modes of behavior and hence prevent the occurrence of the
phenomenon.
1.8 Develop strategies and mechanisms
for encouraging the participation of the juveniles in order to
better protect and defend themselves, notably through sexual education.
1.9 Involve travel agencies and tourism
ministries of various countries in programs that combat the sexual
exploitation of children.
1.10
Ensure and strengthen security services, especially at
the borders.
1.11 Promote
peace education in order to prevent armed conflicts, which favor
the proliferation of the practice of sexual exploitation.
1.12 Promote
the strategy of establishing “child and girl-friendly schools”.
1.13 Introduce
mechanisms for the collection of quantitative and qualitative
data, and its recording, including processing, at the level of
the concerned departments, the judiciary and para-judiciary, health,
education, social services.
1.14 Strengthen
inter-ministerial coordination within the framework of an adequate
response to the complex character of the problem of sexual exploitation
of children.
1.15 Strengthen
partnerships with the United Nations system, international institutions
and organizations, NGOs (national and international), parliamentarians
and the private sector.
1.16 Allocate
human and financial resources to national programs for combating
the sexual exploitation of children.
2.
We recommend to the Governments, NGOs, associations and
the private sectors of the countries of there the region the following:
2.1 Encourage and support the
creation of national and regional networks for combating the sexual
exploitation of children.
2.2 Promote the participation
of children for the purpose of understanding the phenomenon and
providing solutions.
2.3 Support studies of the sexual
exploitation of children and disseminate them at the national
and regional levels.
2.4 Organize information, education
and communication campaigns against the sexual exploitation of
children in cooperation with local officials, religious and opinion
leaders, families and communities.
2.5 Introduce systematically the
component “sexual exploitation” in the documents concerning the
situational analysis of children and women.
3.
We recommend to the international bodies in the countries
of the region the following:
3.1 Support actions
concerned with lobbying, dissemination information and sensitizing.
The purpose is to get the countries to ratify and apply the international
instruments, notably the CDE and its two additional protocols
as well as its other pertinent instruments.
3.2 Provide a technical
assistance and support for the formulation of specific projects
or national action plans for fighting against the sexual exploitation
of children.
3.3 Set up and ensure the functioning
of national committees for combating sexual exploitation.
3.4
Labor for setting up structures for the family and social
rehabilitation/ reintegration of the victims, through providing
free of charge qualitative social and psychological care for them.
3.5
Include the question of sexual exploitation of the children
within the aid programs of the United Nations Aid for Development
(UNAD).
3.6 Take into account and follow
up the results of this Forum in line with the practice of following
up the declarations of conferences held by Arab and African regional
organizations.
3.7 Support and ensure the
implementation of the recommendations of the United Nations Committee
on the Rights of the Child concerning the sexual exploitation
of the child emanating from the examination of the implementation
reports of the CDE.
3.8 Establish appropriate
systems for quantitative and qualitative data collection and follow-up
mechanisms on the basis of precise indicators.
We,
the members of the participating delegations from the MENA, WACA,
ESA Regions respectfully request of the government of Morocco
to present the results of this Forum to the Second World Congress
against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, in Yokohama,
Japan 17 – 20 December, 2001.
Rabat,
Morocco
October 26, 2001
