Following recent news reports that 70 children aged 5 to 12 years old were rescued from a child pornography syndicate in Laguna, Dr. Nicholas Alipui, Representative to the Philippines of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), has released the following statement:

"The United Nations Children's Fund is outraged that children in the Philippines are being used in pornography. Child pornography is a gross violation of children's rights, and UNICEF is deeply concerned with the increasingly strident reports of child pornography in the media. The 70 children who were rescued from a child pornography syndicate in early July are only a minority. Many other children victimised in pornography are never rescued."

UNICEF condemns any act where adults coerce or influence children to engage in sexual activity.

Recognising this threat to children, UNICEF has commissioned a study on child pornography in the Philippines to ascertain the full extent of the problem. Results so far show that child pornography in the Philippines is more widespread than previously thought. Several factors make the Philippines easy prey for those who produce and use child pornography, including: widespread poverty; public tolerance of prostitution and pornography; sex tourism; availability of advanced communication technology; lack of stringent laws against child pornography; and, inefficient prosecution of perpetrators.

The study also noted that the opportunity to distribute and propagate the materials in any form is boundless. Advances in technology have made it possible for the easier production, reproduction and dissemination of pornographic images of children. The Internet's pornographic sites and chat rooms, digital cameras, and cellular phones have facilitated the production and distribution of pornographic images.

UNICEF works closely with government and non-governmental organisations to combat the commercial sexual exploitation of children - such as the prostitution of children, the trafficking of children for sex, and child pornography - and advocates strongly for the rights of the child, raising awareness about sexual exploitation and its consequences.

To help prevent the commercial sexual exploitation of children, UNICEF works to ensure that more children enrol in school and stay in school. Efforts are also made to increase community awareness and adopt early interventions to safeguard children through the Barangay (Village) Councils for the Protection of Children.

The organisation of surveillance and rescue teams, referral networks that assist and support victims, after-care services, legal protection, counselling and reintegration are also among the priority activities of UNICEF.

However, due to the growing violation of children's rights, mobilisation of duty holders must be heightened.

UNICEF reminds all parties of their obligations under both international and national law to protect children from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. Article 34 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child requires that parties must protect children from being coerced to engage in any unlawful sexual activity, from being exploited in prostitution, and from being used in pornographic performances and materials.

The "Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography," which the Philippines ratified in 2002, calls for governments to ensure that adults involved in the exploitation of children are punished, and that children who have been sexually exploited, abused, or trafficked receive services to allow for their full social reintegration and their physical and psychological recovery.

RA 7610 or An Act for the Special Protection of Children, and Article 201 of the Revised Penal Code, punishes "immoral doctrines, obscene publications and exhibitions, and indecent shows." UNICEF calls on government agencies to strengthen implementation of these laws. It also urges NGOs and the private sector to augment the government's services and resources for the rehabilitation of victimised children.

UNICEF implores the media to stop the sexualization and eroticization of children in entertainment media, and calls on the public to be vigilant and to report incidents of child pornography and other forms of child abuse and exploitation.