WUNRN
NOKS Statement on Trafficking for
Sexual Exploitation
We the undersigned members of NOKS, Nordic and Baltic Women's
Organizations in Cooperation, resolved at the Conference, Demand for
Prostitution on April 28, 2006, in Tallinn, Estonia, to send a statement to the
following:
Parliament of Finland
Parliament of Iceland
Parliament
of Denmark
Parliament of Norway
Parliament of Estonia
Parliament of
Latvia
Parliament of Lithuania
Nordic Council of Ministers
CC: Riga City Council
Whereas, we observe with increasing alarm the growth in
trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation, Whereas, trafficking
is done mostly by international organized crime as one of its activities along
with illegal drugs and weapons, Whereas, the demand for prostitution feeds
trafficking and contributes to organized crime, Whereas, the sex industry blurs
the link between trafficking and prostitution,
We therefore urge you to adopt in your respective countries
legislation that targets demand. Experience in countries with either legalized
or regulated prostitution shows that trafficking and sex tourism increase
dramatically in those countries. On the other hand the law in Sweden which
criminalizes the buying of sex since 1999 has resulted in significant reduction
in trafficking of women and children from abroad and 80% of the Swedish public
supports the law.
We urge the legislators in the respective countries to examine
carefully the money links of sex industry with organized crime and to be aware
of the money behind the lobbying that the sex industry conducts in their
countries. Careful examination of this matter includes familiarization with the
abundant literature and studies available on the demand for prostitution,
pornography and erotic services which have a destructive effect on every
society.
We want to remind the legislators in the above listed parliaments
of the international treaties their institution has ratified such as The
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially
Women and Children, Supplementing the United National Convention against
Transnational Organized Crime (also known as Palermo Protocol) and the Council
of Europe Convention, which oblige them to combat trafficking in their
countries. These international documents include the requirement to address
demand. Studies show that 80% of all trafficking is for the purpose of sexual
exploitation. It is beyond doubt that a direct link between trafficking and
prostitution exists.
In the final analysis we have to ask ourselves what kind of
society we want to live in? Do we want a society where women and children are
sexually exploited, criminal organizations thrive, and civilized values are
destroyed? Or do we want to preserve the human rights and the dignity of every
member of our society, not live in fear of crime, and pass on to the next
generation the constructive and ethical values which have sustained us for
centuries?
Respectfully yours,
Women's Council in Denmark
Estonian Women's Associations
Round Table
The Coalition of Finnish Women's Associations - NYTKIS
The
Union of Faeroe Islands' Women
Icelandic Women's Rights Association (KRFI)
Women's Network of NGO's in Latvia
Women's Issues Information Centre,
Lithuania
Norwegian Association for Women`s Rights / Norsk
Kvinnesaksforening Women's Front of Norway / Kvinnefronten i Norge
Swedish
Women's Lobby
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