This page is background information, last updated in May 2002 and still available for reference. For the latest on the Special Session on Children, please go to the Special Session index.

Beyond Yokohama: Combating Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children

A meeting to highlight the outcome of the Second World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, which was held in the city of Yokohama, Japan in December 2001, and to draw attention to follow-up actions. Also to inspire governments, civil society and donors to do more to combat Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC).

Hosted by the Government of Japan and UNICEF

Joint Statement by Children:

• Ms.Yoshiko Sawano, Student & Government Delegate, Japan (16 years old)
• Mr. Joel Agorinya, Student, Peer Educator on HIV/AIDS & Government Delegate, Ghana (12 years old)
• Ms. Ikue Tanaka, Student & Government Delegate, Japan (18 years old)

Panellists (in order of speaking):

• Ms. Makiko Arima, Personal Representative of the Prime Minister of Japan to the Special Session
  
• Queen Silvia of Sweden
  
• Ms. Carmen Madrinan, Executive Director, ECPAT International (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes). ECPAT is based in Thailand
  
• Ms. Naira Kahn, NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, based in Geneva
  
• Mr. Hiroshi Nakada, Mayor of Yokohama City, Japan
  
• Ms. Carol Bellamy, Executive Director, UNICEF
• Moderator: Ms. Karen Landgren, Chief - Child Protection Section, UNICEF

Quotes:

"I am personally convinced that one of our greatest enemies in this work is our reluctance to acknowledge the problem fully" - Queen Silvia of Sweden

"The demand is silent, insidious and strong. They will consume us, if we do not intervene at multiple levels . . . ." - Naira Khan, NGO Group

"The exploiters are very close to us. . ." Agnes Chan, Ambassador of Japan Committee for UNICEF

Issues:

• The child sex industry is a multi-million dollar business
• Trafficking of children for sexual purposes has rapidly increased in several regions of the world - for example, five to seven thousand Nepali girls are trafficked to brothels in India every year
• The growth in internet usage has lead to a huge proliferation of child pornography
• Without demand there would be not need for a supply of children to exploit - local demand constitutes the overwhelming share of the market
• Violence is intergenerational

Pointers for Future Action:

• Progress will not be made without children and young people participating fully and at every stage of programmes to combat CSEC: children who are being exploited, children who can help educate and inform their communities, children as advocates and children who can help other children avoid the misery of CSEC, and for those who are being exploited, to help them 'exit' from the exploitative situation.
• Multi-sectoral cooperation is needed between all stakeholders: governments, religious leaders, researchers, NGOs, police, communities, business etc. But across-border networking and regional collaboration is also essential to combat CSEC, as children are frequently trafficked across borders and sex 'tourism' is big business. Such collaboration needs to be coherent and strategic.

Commitments:

The Mayors of Yokohama, Mauritania and Manila acknowledged that municipal governments and mayors have a major role to play in the fight against the problem of sexual exploitation of children. They stated their personal commitment to do all in their power to eradicate CSEC.

For more information: Second World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children