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ECPAT International’s Board of Trustees welcomes new Chairperson

Posted on Nov 26, 2013

ECPAT International, a global network of organisations dedicated to ending the commercial sexual exploitation of children, is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Carol Bellamy to the position of Chairperson of its International Board of Trustees.  ECPAT’s global network joined the Board in welcoming Ms. Bellamy as Chair of the movement, with representatives from member groups around the world commenting:

We are proud and honored that Ms. Bellamy accepted to be the new Chair of ECPAT International”;

“Elle est une des personne qui a fait preuve exeptionnelle d’ engagement pour le respects des droits humains et particulièrement les droits de l'enfant”;

“Con Carol Bellamy como lider podemos conquistar el mundo, y liberarlo de este flagelo que se llama explotacion sexual commercial de los ninos”;

“Salaam aleikum, Ms. Bellamy.”

Ms. Bellamy recently completed a three year term as the Chair of the Global Partnership for Education. Prior to this she served as President and CEO of World Learning, a private, non-profit organisation promoting international understanding through education and development in over 70 countries.

Ms. Bellamy previously served for 10 years as Executive Director of UNICEF, the children’s agency of the United Nations. In this role, she organised, together with ECPAT International and the Japanese government, the Second Word Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Yokohama, Japan. In 2004, Ms Bellamy was named one of Forbes Magazine’s “100 Most Powerful Women in the World” and in 2009, she was awarded the Légion d’Honneur by the Government of France.

In her role, Ms. Bellamy will lead ECPAT International as it fulfils its mandate to eliminate the commercial sexual exploitation of children worldwide. In accepting the position of Chairperson of ECPAT International, Ms. Bellamy said:

I am pleased to join ECPAT in this leadership capacity and be a part of this leading civil society movement working to ensure the right of all children to live free from commercial sexual exploitation. As an organization that connects grassroots activism and services for survivors, with regional and global advocacy, ECPAT is truly able to give the most vulnerable children a voice where it counts.

I am particularly disturbed by the proliferation of child sexual abuse materials/ child pornography produced, distributed and accessed via the Internet. As we seek new and improved solutions to this violation of children’s rights, I am confident that ECPAT will continue to lead research, advocacy and action for a safer world for children.

About ECPAT International: ECPAT International is a global network of organisations dedicated to ending the commercial sexual exploitation of children. ECPAT focuses on the four key manifestations of CSEC: child prostitution, child pornography/child sexual abuse materials, sexual exploitation of children through travel and tourism, and the trafficking of children for sexual purposes. Today, the ECPAT network is comprised of an International Secretariat based in Thailand, together with 82 member organisations in 75 countries. For more information, please visit www.ecpat.net

Media Contact:

Katlijn Declercq
Acting Chair, ECPAT International Board
katlijndeclercq (AT) ecpat.be