• THE WORLD CONGRESS AGAINST THE COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN - The Stockholm Conference, August 1996
  
• THE SECOND WORLD CONGRESS AGAINST COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN - Yokohama, December 17-20, 2001

Sources:
www.unicef.org
www.ecpat.net

In the early and mid 1990's, reports of sexual exploitation of children became more pervasive. Such reports indicated how children were being bought and sold, drugged and abused and then finally raped. There was a surge in public opinion that something had to be done to address the problem. Initially attention concentrated almost exclusively on Southeast Asian countries, where cases of child abuse and exploitation were seen as more pervasive. However, attention quickly shifted to Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America. The organization, Child Prostitution, Pornography and Trafficking in Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT), an active force in the international battle against the sex trade, was formed in Thailand in 1991.

In order to put the issue of sexual exploitation of children on to the international political agenda, ECPAT helped in the organization of the first World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation held in Stockholm, Sweden in 1996.

Source:
Excerpt from "2nd World Congress Against The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children:
Analysis of the Situation of Sexual Exploitation of Children in the Eastern and Southern Africa Region:
Section on The Stockholm Conference"
http://www.unicef.org/events/yokohama/csec-east-southern-africa-draft.html#_Toc527979952

• THE WORLD CONGRESS AGAINST THE COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN
  - The Stockholm Conference

In August 1996, the government of Sweden hosted the World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Queen Silvia of Sweden gave her royal patronage to the Congress and was present at the opening and closing. In a message sent to ECPAT prior to the congress she concluded with "my sincere hope that the World Congress will become a starting point for new concerted efforts in securing the wellbeing of children".

The World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children was the culmination of a process which began in 1994 when ECPAT first proposed a World Congress. The event was co-organised by ECPAT, UNICEF and the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It was preceded by six regional consultations in different parts of the globe which provided direct inputs for the World Congress. A Drafting Committee, chaired by Professor Vitit Muntarbhorn, prepared and circulated the Declaration and Agenda for Action prior to the Congress.

Governments, the United Nations and Non-Governmental Organizations, and civil society players came together for the first time to work on a global basis against the commercial sexual exploitation of children. All the 122 governments attending committed themselves to "a global partnership against the commercial sexual exploitation of children", and agreed to join forces as equal partners to address this serious violation of children's rights to health, safety, protection and freedom from harm.

Altogether there were more than 1,300 participants from more than 130 countries. The participants ranged from 718 government officials representing 122 countries, 105 representatives from the United Nations and inter governmental organisations, 471 NGO representatives and a delegation of 47 young people participated in this week long event. The participation of the young people was a vital element in the Congress. At the insistence of ECPAT, it was their voice which ensured that the reality of the issue for the young and the future generations was kept to the forefront of the debates.

The Declaration and Agenda for Action of the World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (1996) provided the following general definition of the practice:

"The commercial sexual exploitation of children is a fundamental violation of children's rights. It comprises sexual abuse by the adult and remuneration in cash or kind to the child or a third person or persons. The child is treated as a sexual object and as a commercial object. The commercial sexual exploitation of children constitutes a form of coercion and violence against children, and amounts to forced labor and a contemporary slavery" (ECPAT International, 2001).

The participants in the first World Congress devised a plan to combat the sexual exploitation of children embodied in the Stockholm Declaration. The Agenda for Action which called on governments to put together national plans of action with indicators, goals and a time frame to reduce the number of children who are sexually exploited each year, as well as implement and monitor ways of measuring progress at all levels, and collecting and sharing data. All 122 governments who attended the conference adopted the Stockholm Declaration and committed to creating national plans of action by the year 2000.

The Stockholm World Congress in 1996 adopted an action plan for the future battle against the commercial sexual exploitation of children, which was widely supported by UN agencies, NGOs and many governments who attended the Congress. This plan of action urged governments to inter-alia put in place legislation and laws protecting children from sexual exploitation. The plan further emphasized prevention work, education and research and points out various forces in society that must work together to optimize the fight against sexual exploitation such as authorities, child rights organizations, travel agencies and the hotel industry.

The states participating at the congress bound themselves to have in place before the year 2000, an international action plan to combat sexual exploitation of children. This action plan, which is based on the five years following the 1996 Stockholm World Congress against commercial sexual exploitation against children, more concrete partnership has been fostered between different sectors to counter child sexual exploitation, especially child prostitution, child pornography and child trafficking for sexual purposes. More transparency and increased legitimacy in the fight against sexual exploitation have also characterized the same period.

The year 2000 was given as the year by which all countries are expected to have formulated a plan or agenda to counter child sexual exploitation.

Panels and workshops revolved around nine themes. To complement the panels and workshops, background documents on the following were circulated globally prior to the World Congress.

• The International Legal Framework and Current National Legislative and Enforcement Responses
  
  
• Prevention and Psycho-social Rehabilitation of Child Victims of Commercial Sexual Exploitation
  
  
• Tourism and Children in Prostitution
  
  
• The Sex Exploiter
  
  
• Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children: The Health and Psychosocial Dimensions
  
  
• Prime Time for Children: Media, Ethics and Reporting of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children
  
  
• Child Pornography: An International Perspective
  
  
• Education: A Force for Change
  
  
• Social Values and the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children
  
  

At the final plenary, reports from panels, workshops and regional dialogues were presented to the World Congress. The Rapporteur-General of the World Congress, Professor Muntarbhorn, presented his concluding remarks. The Congress was closed with an address by Her Majesty Queen Silvia.

• THE SECOND WORLD CONGRESS AGAINST COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN
  Yokohama, December 17-20, 2001
  
  Source: "The Yokohama Global Commitment 2001"
  http://www.unicef.org/events/yokohama/

The Second World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, hosted by the Japanese Government in association with the Prefecture of Yokohama, took place in Yokohama, 17 to 20 December, 2001. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Japan, ECPAT International, UNICEF and the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child were the organising partners, echoing the partnership format of the First World Congress.

One of the main outcomes of the Congress is the re-commitment to the Stockholm Agenda for Action in the Yokohama Global Commitment 2001. By virtue of this re-commitment, coupled with the attendance of representatives of 35 states who did not participate in the first Congress, the number of states committed under the Agenda for Action now totals 159.

As a follow up to the first meeting - the World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, a series of regional consultations were held ahead of the Second World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children to be held in Yokohama, Japan from 17 to 20 December.

The first regional consultation, for the East Asia and Pacific region, ran from 16-18 October in Bangkok and was attended by 280 participants, including 70 government representatives and 20 children. A regional plan and strategy came out of the meeting.

These regional working meetings signify important progress since 1996, because the discussions were based on data and research from the field, bringing the process closer to the work of implementing action on the ground. These conferences have produced regional strategies, partnerships and key interventions for tackling commercial sexual exploitation of children.

UNICEF was entrusted with organizing the series of regional meetings in collaboration with the other partners co-organizing the congress - the Government of Japan which is hosting the event, ECPAT International (a network of organizations and individuals working together for the elimination of child prostitution, child pornography and trafficking of children for sexual purposes) and the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The regional consultations addressed local concerns and helped ensure that they will be addressed at Yokohama. The aim was to involve as many people as possible, including government officials as well as representatives from local NGOs and children, many of whom might not be able to travel to Japan.

The other regional consultations were in Rabat from 24-26 October, to cover Africa and the Middle East; then in Dhaka from 5-6 November for South Asia; Montevideo from 7-9 November for Latin America and the Caribbean; Budapest on 20 and 21 November for Eastern and Western Europe; and Philadelphia from 2-3 December for the USA, Canada and Mexico.

In Yokohama, participants shared expertise on what worked and what did not in the fight against the commercial sexual exploitation of children. The various national plans of action were reviewed in a series of presentations, panel discussions and workshops and gaps in the protection of children from sexual exploitation were identified. Following on the Stockholm Declaration's call for states to include children in national and local efforts to prevent their sexual exploitation, discussions with children from all over the world were included in the Yokohama Congress.

The Report on the Yokohama Congress was written by the General Rapporteur, Professor Vitit Muntarbhorn of Thailand, and an oral summary was delivered in the plenary session on the final day of the Congress. A final appeal by the youth participants was also delivered at the closing session.

Through the Yokohama Congress, the follow-up to the first World Congress has been strengthened, particularly with regard to the monitoring processes. Interest was expressed by governmental bodies to take part in this process on a regional level in East Asia/Pacific as well as in Europe. UN ESCAP, UNICEF and ECPAT have started working together to monitor the implementation of the Stockholm Agenda for Action in East Asia and the Pacific region.

Related Article
FROM STOCKHOLM TO YOKOHAMA
http://www.unicef.org/programme/cprotection/focus/notes/notes1.htm
Please click to view

UNICEF hails entry into force of optional protocol on the sale of children,
child prostitution and child pornography
http://www.unicef.org/newsline/02pr02.htm
Please click to view

UNICEF hails entry into force of optional protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography

NEW YORK, GENEVA, 18 January 2002 - UNICEF today hailed the entry into force of the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Negotiated over a number of years with governments, experts and NGOs, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child seeks to raise the standards in protecting children from all forms of sexual exploitation and abuse.

An estimated one million children (mainly girls) enter the multi-billion dollar commercial sex trade every year. These children are often lured with the promises of an education or a "good job." Girls appear to be forced into the sex industry at increasingly younger ages partly as a result of the mistaken belief that younger girls are unlikely to be infected with the HIV/AIDS virus.

The most vulnerable of children are trafficked within and across borders for the purposes of prostitution, pornography and other intolerable forms of child labour. These children are refugees, orphans, abandoned children, child labourers working as domestic servants or children affected by armed conflict.

"Exactly one month after the Yokohama Conference against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, it is marvellous testimony to our commitment that a Protocol setting high standards in protecting children from sexual exploitation and abuse becomes a binding human rights instrument," said UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy.

The Optional Protocol calls for governments to take tangible steps to ensure that adults involved in the exploitation of children are punished. It also urges governments to take decisive action when their nationals take part in the abuse of children abroad. Countries are encouraged to co-operate to ensure the protection of children trafficked across borders. The Protocol also stipulates the need to protect particularly vulnerable groups of children and to further protect the rights of child victims - especially those who are witnesses in court proceedings. The Optional Protocol also calls on State Parties to ensure that children who have been sexually trafficked, exploited or sexually abused receive services designed to allow for their full social reintegration as well as their physical and psychological recovery.

The Protocol has been signed by 89 countries and ratified by 16. These include: Andorra, Bangladesh, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Holy See, Iceland, Kazakhtan, Morocco, Norway, Panama, Qatar, Romania, Sierra Leone, Spain, Uganda and Viet Nam. UNICEF urges those countries who have already signed to now confirm their commitment through ratification and for all remaining countries to guarantee the standards in the Optional Protocol to their children.

"Universal ratification of the Optional Protocol by the upcoming Special Session on Children would send a powerful message of commitment" Bellamy said.

"The momentum created through the Yokohama Conference must be maintained. The first tangible step is the ratification of this Optional Protocol. It is now urgent that governments implement the standards. Children who are victims of child prostitution, exploitation, trafficking and sexual abuse deserve every protection we can offer."