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