NGO group (sexual Exploitation and Abuse of children)
International Network
NGO Group for the CRC: Working Group against the Sexual Exploitation of Children
The Working Group on Sexual Exploitation aims to promote the protection of children from sexual exploitation, abuse and violence as outlined in article 34 of the CRC. Through various UN mechanisms (most notably the treaty body and special rapporteurs mechanisms) and in close collaboration with other special interests groups, the Working Group is playing an active role in advocating for these issues.
Third World Congress against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents
Despite many advances achieved during the First and Second World Congresses, criminal activities related to the sexual exploitation of children are still on the rise. In order to push all the key actors worldwide into effective mobilisation for the protection of children from sexual exploitation, the government of Brazil, the ECPAT, the UNICEF and the NGO Group are prepared another Congress to be on November 25-29 2008, in Rio de Janeiro. To build on the progress made in Stockholm and Yokohama, the governments of Sweden and Japan are providing support and advice for the third Congress. The Agenda for Action has become an essential tool for mobilizing action to protect children from sexual exploitation.
Through its active involvement in the first two congresses and its close work with the Committee on the Rights of the Child, members of the NGO Group as well as with national NGOs, the NGO Group has acted as a link between those key actors and the international treaties addressing the issue, namely the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (OPSC). The NGO Group then involved in the preparation of the third Congress at different levels:
• by coordinating and facilitating the participation of its member organisations;
• by contributing research to a thematic paper on legal frameworks;
• by co-organizing a regional consultation in Africa and supporting NGO input to other regional meetings;
• by using the resources provided by the Working Group on Sexual Exploitation.
In preparation for the Congress a World Congress Consultation Questionnaire had been set up for a global consultation with all the actors involved in the promotion of children's rights and fight against sexual exploitation. Their repsonses were paid much heed for the elaboration of the agenda so that the meeting was truly representative of their views in its structure, content as well as outcome. More information on the history of the World Congresses can be found here (http://www.biceinternational.org/ewb_pages/e/event-world-congress-against-sexual-exploitation-of-children-and-adolescents.php).
Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography
With the adoption of the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (OPSC) in 2000, the international community finally obtained a legally binding instrument to complement the Agenda for Action. Its entry into force in 2002 marked a considerable advance since the last World Congress in Yokohama. To date, it has been ratified by 126 States and 36 States have submitted initial reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child.
The OPSC gives special emphasis to the criminalisation of serious violations of children's rights. Its definitions of three violations of child's rights, namely: sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography enhance international cooperation for their penalisation. Countries that ratify the OPSC agree to include the sale of children, illegal adoption, child prostitution and pornography in their criminal code. The OPSC also emphasises the value of international cooperation and of public awareness, information and education campaigns to ensure the protection of children from sexual exploitation.
The NGO Group has been supporting the work of the Committee and the NGOs in monitoring the implementation of this legal instrument, particularly in the preparation of NGO reports to the Committee. The NGO Group Focal Point on Sexual Exploitation produced a Guide for NGOs Reporting to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on the implementation of the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (2006) aimed at supporting reporting and monitoring processes under the OPSC. The Guide provides background information on the drafting of the protocol, a commentary on some of the first State parties' reports, and information on the initial reporting processes.
Sexual Exploitation and the UN Study on Violence against Children
As a contribution to the UN Study on Violence against Children, the NGO Group Focal Point on Sexual Exploitation, Violence and Abuse of Children conducted a review of 140 NGO reports submitted to the Committee between 1990 and 2005 in order to highlight what information on violence was available.
The study "Violence against Children: What do NGOs know? What NGOs say? " provides a broad outline of how violence is reported in the different "settings" established by the UN Study on Violence against Children (home, school, institutions, community, and workplace) and according to regions. The study showed that NGO reports to the Committee contain more references to violations related to sexual exploitation of children than to the violation of any other right.
Awareness is not always followed by action however. In order to help NGOs to include comprehensive information on the incidence of violence in their reports to the Committee, the Working Group on Violence against Children has prepared guidelines for NGOs on Reporting on Violence against Children: A Thematic Guide for non-governmental organizations reporting to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. The Guidelines aim to assist NGOs in ensuring that there is adequate discussion on and analysis of violence in the preparation of NGOs reports and that the concluding observations of the Committee reflect concerns about violence and represent a tool for follow-up at national level.
Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography
The Working Group monitors and actively supports the role of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur is to consider matters relating to the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, including the analysis of the root causes, new patters, and identifying, exchanging and promoting best practices and measures to combat these issues.
The Working Group against Sexual Exploitation continues its pro-active role in maintaining momentum on the Stockholm Agenda for Action of the first and second World Congresses, and aims to be actively engaged in follow-up activities to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation.
The Working Group also works to educate and inform governments and civil society on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and its Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.
