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Call for end to commercial sexual exploitation

Tuesday, 27 August 1996: Concerned that commercial sexual exploitation is damaging children in virtually every country, UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy called today for urgent international cooperation to put an end to this violation of children's rights.

"We are here to affirm, without compromise, that children are not property to be bought or sold, that their human rights are to be taken with utmost seriousness and that their voices must be heard in the fulfilment of those rights," she said at the opening of the World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation.

Each year more than a million children are reportedly forced into prostitution, trafficked and sold for sexual purposes, and used in pornography. The vast majority of victims are girls, said Ms. Bellamy, who stressed that only by ensuring girls and women full equality and opportunity in all spheres of life can we begin to get to the roots of sexual exploitation.

The first global conference of its kind, the World Congress is being hosted by the Government of Sweden in Stockholm, 27-31 August, in cooperation with End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism (ECPAT), the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child (a coalition of 38 non-governmental organizations) and UNICEF.

"While there is no single remedy for this complex problem, our work has shown us that education is indeed a strong force for change," Ms. Bellamy said.

"Education gives girls choices and opportunities. It gives them self-confidence and control over their lives and provides them with knowledge about their rights and responsibilities. Girls should be in school, not in the streets," she said. UNICEF has committed itself to increasing its resources for basic education for all children over the decade as an important preventive strategy.

Ms. Bellamy also emphasized the urgent need for all governments to enforce their own laws against sexual exploitation of children. Governments and communities must also provide for the rehabilitation of children who are exploited and ensure their reintegration into society. UNICEF is supporting such efforts in 32 countries, often in partnership with non-governmental organizations.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child, now ratified by 187 countries, explicitly gives children the right to protection against all forms of sexual exploitation and abuse. Ms. Bellamy called on governments and civil society to move from words to deeds and transform this international treaty into a social tool for change.

Identifying and bringing to justice culpable individuals and criminal networks is essential, but not enough. Root causes must be addressed. Gender discrimination, rapid urbanization, growing poverty, break up of traditional families and loss of community contribute to an environment in which the sex trade flourishes.

To stop commercial sexual exploitation immediate action isneeded in four areas: Increased public exposure of the issue to raise awareness of the problem; stepped up legal measures to stop those who exploit and profit from the sex trade; greater emphasis on prevention, especially girls' education; and support to children who are in the sex market to provide for their rehabilitation and reintegration into the community.

UNICEF is committed to working with governments, non-governmental organizations, other international and bilateral development agencies, communities, the private sector and children themselves to put an end to commercial sexual exploitation of children.

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