Asian Governments Approve Plan Against Child Sexual Exploitation

Delegates attending a preparatory regional meeting in Asia for the Second World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children committed their governments to deadlines for legal and social frameworks to protect children and aid survivors. Some 200 government and UN officials, as well representatives of nongovernmental organizations and concerned young people, approved an action plan with specific deadlines to improve the rights and protection of children.

Opening this week's meeting, Kim Hak Su, the executive director of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP), said that 1 million children in Asia were involved in prostitution, pornography and trafficking for sex. He said that the HIV infection rate among children in some areas of Asia was as high as 50 percent.

Organizers of the meeting included ESCAP, UNICEF, and ECPAT, an international coalition devoted to ending child prostitution, child pornography and child trafficking for sexual purposes. An official of UNICEF applauded the unprecedented move to set deadlines. "By agreeing to time-bound commitments for the first time, governments have moved one step further toward action on critical initiatives in this region," said Margie de Monchy, UNICEF's regional adviser on child protection for East Asia and the Pacific.

The First World Congress on the commercial exploitation of children was held in Stockholm five years ago. At that meeting, representatives of 30 nations drafted a Declaration and Agenda for Action. The Second World Congress will be held in December in Yokohama, Japan.

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