Four years ago, the 3rd World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children was held in Rio de Janeiro. Bringing together 137 governments, representatives from civil society, UN agencies, international and intergovernmental organisations, the private sector, children and young people as well as religious leaders, ombudspersons from several countries, and First Ladies – the Congress marked the revitalisation of global efforts against the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) and a reaffirmation of commitment to its elimination.
The congress resulted in the adoption of the Rio de Janeiro Declaration by participating governments. The declaration called for the development of reliable national databases of sexual exploitation of children. It also urged a greater engagement with issue through corporate social responsibility.
Read Youth version of Rio de Janeiro Declaration here
During the last four years, ECPAT International has continued its best efforts to support the realisation of the principles enshrined within the Rio Declaration. ECPAT International has published 2nd Edition Country Monitoring Reports on the status of action against CSEC for 33 countries. These reports remain the only country and issue specific reports produced assessing progress and highlighting gaps in national efforts to end CSEC.
Read the 2nd Edition Country Monitoring Reports here
In order to fight against child sex tourism, ECPAT International and The Code have continued to encourage travel and tourism companies to adopt the Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism, to raise awareness and to educate their staff on how to report cases of child sexual exploitation.
Despite our efforts, the commercial sexual exploitation of children is still prevalent around the world. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that there are as many as 1.8 million children exploited in prostitution or pornography worldwide. It is believed that over 20% of the victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation are children.
Now, it is your turn to act! Please support ECPAT International so that we can continue building a safer, better world for children.