Oman Committed to Curbing Human Trafficking, Abuse of Children

From the Khaleej Times Online:

MUSCAT – Oman, which recently set up a Human Rights Commission, has reiterated its commitment to curbing trafficking in humans and sexual exploitation of children.

Social Development Minister Dr Sharifa bint Khalfan Al Yahya’eeya, extending her country’s wholehearted cooperation to the global drive against the menaces, also revealed that the government had formed working teams to survey the Sultanate’s regions and review the conditions of children and families with the aim of drawing up a ‘rapid intervention plan’. 

“The Omani society vehemently opposes all forms of sexual exploitation because it contradicts with the values and traditions of the Omani society as well as the teachings of Islam,” she said.

She was addressing delegates at the ‘World Congress Against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents’ in Rio de Janeiro on Friday.

She said the Sultanate considered a strong family as the first line of defence against sexual exploitation of children, adding that the Basic Law of the State guaranteed the dignity of all citizens and residents and protected them against violence and exploitation, regardless of their age, ethnic background or religion. 

The laws in force in the Sultanate, Dr Sharifa said, prohibited all forms of sexual exploitation of children, slavery and trade, possession or promotion of pornographic materials.

“The first draft of the Child Law is currently under revision by the departments concerned as well as NGOs,” she added.

She said the ministry had constituted working teams to survey all the Sultanate’s regions and assess the conditions of children and families and prepare a rapid intervention action plan.

Dr Sharifa observed that the Internet is being used at a global level to destroy the lives of millions of children through the “propagation of the sex business which keeps luring children to the making and distribution of pornographic materials”.

She said the Rio de Janeiro congress must be considered as an important step in efforts to realise children’s rights.

Five major themes are being addressed by the congress — forms of commercial sexual exploitation and the emerging scenarios in this respect; international trafficking; child pornography on the Internet, sexual exploitation of children and adolescents in tourism; and sexual exploitation of children and adolescents in prostitution.

World Congress III Against the Sexual Exploitation of Children opens in Brazil

From UNICEF:

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, 26 November 2008 – Some 3,000 participants from more than 125 countries gathered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for last night’s opening ceremony of World Congress III Against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents.

The event, which runs from 25-28 November, is focusing on how to protect children from various types of sexual exploitation such as child marriage, the commercial sex industry, child pornography and the sexual exploitation of children on the internet. Among the opening night speakers were Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman.

Veneman reminded those in attendance that sexual exploitation is a way to assert control over others, often by men against women and children. She also noted that men need to be a big part of the solution.

Earlier in the day, Veneman met with children from Brazil who are fighting sexual exploitation in their own country. Later, she met a group of children from all over the world, and listened to their stories of sexual exploitation in their home countries.

A global reality

The sexual exploitation of children and adolescents is gaining growing visibility as a global reality. Worldwide, children are suffering from the effects of trafficking, pornography, prostitution, rape and abuse.

The opening theme of the World Congress focused on a systemic approach to protecting children from sexual exploitation.

© UNICEF/0986/ Noorani

A young girl drapes her hand over the shoulder of a man she is soliciting outside a brothel in the city of Tangail, Bangladesh.

The importance of educating children about sexual exploitation "is as important an obligation as it is to give food every day to the children so they can survive," said Brazil's President Lula during his opening remarks.

Exploitation may be increasing

Many studies in the last decade, including the recent UN Study on Violence Against Children, indicate that the sexual exploitation of children and adolescents is increasing. There is also growing evidence of criminal activity related to the trafficking of children for sexual purposes and the proliferation of exploitative imagery and other internet-related crimes.

The sexual exploitation of children is fuelled by international demand, which threatens children and adolescents of all ages, in every corner of the world.

The driving force behind the third World Congress is to make the global response more emphatic and comprehensive as this problem continues to become more complex in its manifestations and scope.

© UNICEF/NYHQ2005-0944/Haviv

The rape of women and children is a recognized weapon of war. A 12-year-old girl, displaced by conflict in the Darfur Region of Sudan, was raped by government soldiers.

A worldwide response to sexual exploitation

As a key organizer of the Congress, UNICEF will join the international community to better protect children from sexual exploitation and reinforce the basic right to protection that must be guaranteed for all children.

The Brazilian Government, UNICEF and other partners involved in the Congress see it as being practical, solution-driven and innovative. It is an opportunity to broaden alliances, address new challenges and promote international cooperation for more effective prevention and response to sexual exploitation.

Setting goals to protect children

Additional organizing partners of the Congress are UNICEF, ECPAT, and the non-governmental organization 'Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child'.

Throughout the three-day event, there will be many workshops and discussions. Five panels will deal with identifying forms of commercial exploitation, developing a legal framework, adapting policies that address these issues and strengthening forms of international cooperation.

The event will result in setting important goals for how countries will fight the sexual exploitation of children and adolescents.

Leading Brazilian Bank Joins International Fight Against Child Pornography

From MarketWatch:

Banco Bradesco is the First Institution in the Latin America Region to Join the Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography.

The International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC) announced today that Banco Bradesco, one of the largest financial institutions in Latin America, has joined the Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography (FCACP). The Coalition is a group of leading banks, credit card companies, third party payment companies and Internet services companies working together to fight commercial child pornography over the Internet. Launched in 2006, the initiative is managed by ICMEC and its sister organization, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).

Child pornography has become a multi-billion dollar commercial enterprise and is among the fastest growing businesses on the Internet. The Internet has enabled instant access to child pornography by thousands and possibly millions of individuals around the world. Consumers are able to use traditional payment tools, such as credit cards, as well as new, alternative payment schemes, to purchase child pornography on the Internet. The mission of the Coalition is to follow the flow of funds and shut down the payments accounts used by these illicit enterprises.

"From the start of the Coalition, we knew that it would take a truly global effort to tackle this horrendous problem," said Ernie Allen, President and CEO of the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children and Chairman of the Coalition. "Banco Bradesco's commitment, expertise and leadership role in the financial industry will fortify our efforts as we work to disrupt the economics of commercial child pornography."

The exact number of child pornography web sites is difficult to determine. In 2001, the CyberTipline, a U.S. reporting mechanism for child sexual exploitation operated by NCMEC, received more than 24,400 reports. By October 2008, the number of reports had climbed to more than 636,000.

Child Trafficking in Russia

Human Trafficking Report Ignores Role of Pornography

From Citizen Link:

In its annual Trafficking in Persons Report issued last week, the U.S. State Department kept Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia on a blacklist of countries that traffic in people, while it applauded progress made by Bahrain and the UAE. Daniel Weiss, senior analyst for media and sexuality at Focus on the Family Action, said the report does a great job highlighting problems in other nations but virtually ignores the United States' contribution to the global issue.

"There is one tiny section in almost 300 pages that speaks to the need of addressing the demand for human trafficking," he said. "However, it completely ignores the role that pornography plays in stimulating a demand that can only be satisfied by criminal sex acts. "The U.S. still produces a majority of the world's pornography. By not enforcing our own laws against the sale and distribution of obscene pornography, we are complicit in fueling a global industry that sexually exploits and abuses women and children."