Articles 34 and 35 of the CRC call on all States Parties to take all appropriate national, bilateral and multilateral measures to prevent and address these flagrant violations of children's rights. Such measures must include law reform, improved law enforcement, increased educational opportunities for disadvantaged children (particularly girls), recovery and social reintegration programmes for child victims of trafficking, support to families at risk and appropriate social welfare and the training of law enforcement officials and judicial authorities.
In its monitoring activities, the Committee on the Rights of the
Child has on many instances expressed its concerns about the different
forms of trafficking in children. For example, the Committee has
raised concern about the trafficking of children for the purposes of
child labor, adoption, sexual exploitation and for involvement of
children in armed conflicts.
Mention should also be made of the 1926 Slavery Convention
and the 1956 Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery,
the ILO Conventions, including the new ILO Convention concerning
the prohibition of and immediate action on the elimination of the worst
forms of child labor (adopted by the ILO Conference in June 1999) and
the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation
in respect of Intercountry Adoption.
In addition to the relevant international instruments, some
initiatives have documented the different forms that the traffic of
children may take: the Programme of Action for the Prevention of the
Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography adopted by
the Commission on Human Rights and the Programme of Action for
the Elimination of the Exploitation of Child Labour.
The Programmes recommend that legislation be reviewed to ensure that all forms of
trafficking in children are penalized. A Special Rapporteur of the
Commission on Human Rights on the sale of children, child
prostitution and child pornography has also been appointed.
At the regional level, mention should be made of the Inter-American
Convention on International Traffic in Minors and the Inter-American
Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication
of Violence against Women (Convention of Belem do Para).
An Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the
Child has recently been adopted by the Commission on Human Rights
and a proposed UN Convention on Transnational Organized Crime is
being drafted with a special protocol on trafficking.
Throughout that
process, UNICEF has emphasized the importance of not criminalizing
children themselves and protecting the victims of trafficking -
especially children, who require special protection consistent with their
age and needs, including legal assistance and help in reintegrating into
their homes and communities. These international texts offer
definitions or perspectives of definitions of trafficking and sexual
exploitation.
Different activities have been undertaken in other regions. I
would like in this regard to mention the work that has been done by the
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries,
especially the drafting of a regional convention on trafficking of
women and children.
The adoption of this Convention has been
postponed due to criticism from NGOs and other bodies working in this
area. The criticisms have focused on the narrow definition of
trafficking (only for prostitution) and the absence of distinction
between the trafficking of women and the trafficking of children.