WUNRN
Website of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, & Child Pornography:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Children/Pages/ChildrenIndex.aspx
Report to the UN 2015: Information
and Communication Technologies and the Sale and Sexual Exploitation of Children
Scroll down and click on Report 2015 in desired
official UN language translation: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Children/Pages/AnnualReports.aspx
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http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsId=50299#.VQGDOnktHmI
Real Breakthrough Needed to Protect Children from Abuse, UN Rights Body
Told - GIRLS
Two children stand on the balcony of an immigration
office in Laos. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) works with the Government and
partners to stem the flow of young people into dangerous labour agreements
outside the country. Photo: UNICEF/LaoPDR04713/Jim Holmes
11 March 2015 – Millions of children are subjected to
sexual abuse and exploitation, being sold and trafficked for prostitution,
forced labour, illegal adoption or the transfer of organs, an independent
United Nations expert told the Human Rights Council today, calling for a real
breakthrough to end such crimes.
“Persisting and new forms of sale and sexual exploitation
of children continue to be a reality in all regions of the world,” the Special
Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography,
Maud de Boer, said in her first address to the Geneva-based Council since being
appointed to the post last year.
“There is an urgent need for all stakeholders, especially
Member States, to [take] action to put an end to these endemic crimes,” said
the expert, who added that she wants children to “inspire, feed and guide” her
work.
“For this purpose, I intend to maximize the potential of
child participation mechanisms, such as child-friendly forums and consultations
with child-led organizations,” said Ms. de Boer, emphasizing that country
visits are an essential part of the work in helping Member States combat the
sale and sexual exploitation of children. She intends to visit Armenia in May
and Japan in September.
Children were the focus of the Council’s discussion
today, with the Secretary-General’s Special Representatives on violence against
children, Marta Santos Pais, and on children and armed conflict, Leila
Zerrougui, also addressing the 47-member body.
Highlighting the role of new technologies, Ms. de Boer
said that on the one hand, children use new technologies to access information
and to facilitate their social lives and on the other hand, this new phenomenon
is also “easing the commission of crimes of sexual exploitation, as well as new
forms of exploitation behaviour, such as the online streaming of child abuse.”
To that end, Member States must establish clear and
comprehensive legal frameworks to avoid protection gaps, through explicit
criminalization of specific exploitative activities to ensure accountability of
perpetrators and the “desired deterrent effect.” She urged countries that have
not done so to ratify and implement the Optional Protocol to the Convention on
the Rights of the Child – a minimum standard of protection of children – through
national legislation.
“Member States need to develop detection, reporting and
identification mechanisms to qualify the phenomena, identify the victims and
track down the perpetrators,” she said, highlighting how child helplines and
hotlines can help facilitate the reporting of abuse. Countries must also invest
in creating specialist law enforcement units which work closely with agencies
that are trained to work with child victims.
“Child victims must have access to child-sensitive
justice and redress. Children must have easy access to child-friendly complaint
and reporting mechanisms,” Ms. de Boer added.
Involving the information and communications technology
(ICT) industry in actively tackling online sexual abuse is critical as well,
she said, emphasizing that the Internet industry is uniquely placed to act as a
conduit for reporting suspicions and blocking inappropriate content.
The current negotiations around the post-2015 development
agenda offer an extraordinary opportunity to make a real breakthrough on the
child protection agenda.
“Member States must maintain the agreed goals and targets
to end abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against
children, and to eliminate harmful practices, including child marriage,” Ms. de
Boer stressed.
Independent experts or special rapporteurs are appointed
by the Human Rights Council to examine and report back, in an unpaid capacity,
on specific human rights themes. They also make annual presentations to the
General Assembly committee dealing with human rights issues. They are independent
from any government and serve in their individual capacity.