ECPAT UK - Protecting Children Everywhere

A Global Follow-Up on Commitments Made to Uphold Children’s Rights

More than a decade ago the world woke up to realise that children are being sexually exploited. It is also clear that those who abuse children are increasingly mobile which makes it ever more imperative for nations to work together to combat violence against children.

The occasion for this awareness and impetus to act originated with a World Congress in 1996, where an international movement, galvanized by ECPAT International, was born. It has been determined to raise awareness and focus the world’s attention on the exploitation of children and to hold Governments’ to account for failures to protect children and prevent such crimes. ECPAT UK is part of this international movement and well before this international conference campaigned for the protection of victims of trafficking in the UK and the prosecution of British child sex offenders who travel abroad to abuse children overseas.

Why does the World Congress III matter?

From 25th to 28th November another World Congress is being held in Brazil. It is meant to re-focus the attention to commitments made in 1996, to evaluate gaps and create long term engagement worldwide on the problem of the sexual exploitation of children. A UK Government delegation will be attending.

This conference is important because perpetrators of abuse are continually modifying their methods to escape detection, and it has become ever more necessary to review global trends and evidence to coordinate our efforts globally in combating violence against children. ECPAT UK is campaigning and lobbying the UK Government to demonstrate international leadership and harmonise its laws in line with its international commitments, and put into place measures to protect and promote the welfare of all children.

What is the expected outcome of the World Congress III?

A Special Rapporteur, Jaap E. Doek, former Chair of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, specialists and other experts will pull together all the issues and recommend global targets in an outcome document. ECPAT UK believes that to be a success this conference must focus on rights based solutions with time bound goals and follow up on commitments made in the First and Second World Congresses.

What were the key outcomes of the First World Congress?

The First World Congress against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children held in Stockholm, Sweden in 1996 was organised by the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), UNICEF, ECPAT International and the Government of Sweden. It saw the unanimous adoption of the Stockholm Declaration and the Agenda for Action by 122 governments, including the UK Government. This Agenda for Action provides a comprehensive framework on the prevention and protection of children from sexual exploitation and includes measures to assist in the recovery of children and the full participation of children in matters that affect them. It also calls upon Governments to develop their own National Plans of Action on the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

What happened at the Second World Congress?

A second follow-up World Congress was subsequently held in Yokohama, Japan, in 2001. At this event governments were asked to report on their achievements and also reaffirm promises made at the Stockholm or First World Congress. The UK Government announced the development of a new National Plan of Action against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children at this occasion. But, this plan quickly became outdated and was never reviewed as a result of which it has been ignored. ECPAT UK is calling for a review of this Action Plan and for it to be updated on a priority basis.