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.