SE Asian delegates agree to step up fight against child-trafficking

SE Asian delegates agree to step up fight against child-trafficking

Agencies
Jakarta/Medan, North Sumatra

Delegates from Southeast Asian countries in a declaration on
Tuesday agreed to strengthen cooperation in the fight against
child-trafficking for sex, an United Nation's Children's Fund
(Unicef) official said.

"Basically the declaration calls for strengthening regional
collaboration and coordination in the fight against child-
trafficking for sexual purposes," said Unicef's child protection
officer for Indonesia, Julie Lebegue.

A Unicef statement said cooperation would take the form of
cross-border agreements between countries.

Lebegue said the delegates at the conference in the North
Sumatra capital of Medan also called for tougher laws and
enforcement to make sure child-traffickers are prosecuted.

The Medan declaration also provides for setting up services to
rehabilitate victims of child-trafficking, she said.

It urges all countries to deal with the underlying demand
which causes commercial exploitation of children -- clients who
provide a financial motive for the traffickers.

"The approach should be aimed at bringing about behavior
change in men and adolescent males, both local and visitors, as
well as to enforce existing legislation against child
exploiters," the statement said.

Unicef's representative in Indonesia Steven Allen, in a
statement before the conference began on Monday, said more needs
to be done "to ensure that child-traffickers and exploiters are
systematically pursued and charged."

Regional surveys showed that trafficking of children was
"lucrative, well organized within and across countries and linked
to criminal activity and corruption," he said.

According to Unicef, about 70 thousand children -- some as
young as nine-years old -- are the victims of sexual exploitation
in Indonesia at present.

In Asia, meanwhile, at least 400,000 children are being
trafficked for sexual exploitation purposes every year.

The seminar was organized by the Medan-based Center for Child
Protection and Study, the Office of the State Minister of Women's
Empowerment and the North Sumatra provincial government and
supported by Unicef, the Catholic Organization for Relief and
Development and others.

Some 300 representatives, including leading activists from
non-governmental organizations from Southeast Asian countries are
participating in the seminar.