european conference

Transcription

european conference

EUROPEAN CONFERENCE
ON THE
PROTECTION OF CHILDREN FROM SEXUAL
EXPLOITATION IN TOURISM
PROCEEDINGS
Rome, Italy, 3-4 April 2003
Sala Convegni di Porta Castello della Provincia di Roma
2
Copyright © 2003 World Tourism Organization
Published by the World Tourism Organization
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information storage and retrieval system without permission from the World Tourism
Organization.
The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not
imply the expression of any opinions whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the
World Tourism Organization concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or
area or of its authorities or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
Printed by the World Tourism Organization
Madrid, Spain
European Conference on the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Tourism
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Agenda ..........................................................................................................................................5
Opening Session ..........................................................................................................................9
•
H.E. Antonio Marzano, Minister of Productive Activities, Italy ....................................................11
•
Mr. Francesco Frangialli, Secretary-General, World Tourism Organization ..............................12
•
Mr. Fabrizio Grillenzoni , Director, European Commission Representation in Italy ....................13
•
H.E. Mr. Antonio Guidi, Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Health, Italy ................................15
•
Ms. Jacqueline de Rey, Honorary President, United Federation of Travel Agents’
Associations (UFTAA) ................................................................................................................16
Legislative Framework and Its Application .............................................................................17
General Overview on the European Legal and Policy Framework
•
Ms. Muireann O’Briain, Chief Executive Officer of the Dublin Rape Victims Centre, and
Legal Consultant and former Executive Director of ECPAT International...................................19
Examples of National Legislation
•
Ms. Maria Burani Procaccini, MP, President of the Commission for Childhood, Italian
Parliament ..................................................................................................................................29
•
Ms. Brunhilde Irber, MP, Member of the Tourism Committee of the German Bundestag...........30
Interpol and Law Enforcement for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation
in Tourism
•
Mr. Hamish McCulloch, Assistant Director, Trafficking in Human Beings, INTERPOL...............35
Campaigns, Cooperation and Networking ..............................................................................43
Overview of the International Campaign against Sexual Exploitation of Children in
Tourism
•
Mr. Luigi Cabrini, Regional Representative for Europe, World Tourism Organization ................45
European Commission Action against the Sexual Exploitation of Children in Tourism
•
Mr. Lucio d’Amore, National Expert, Tourism Unit, DG Enterprise, European
Commission ...............................................................................................................................49
Inter-institutional Cooperation
•
H.E. Ms Stefania Prestigiacomo, President, Inter-ministerial Committee for
Coordination and Fight against Paedophilia (CICLOPE), Italy ...................................................52
Teaching Civic-Mindedness, Respect for other Cultures and Human Dignity
•
Mr. Jean-Marc Nesme, MP, Vice-President of the Human Rights Commission of the
French Parliament ......................................................................................................................54
Preliminary results of a study on the profile of CSEC clients: sex tourists and Internet
users
•
Mr. Marco Scarpati, Professor of Comparative Family Law, University of Parma, and
President, ECPAT Italy ..............................................................................................................59
Religious Institutions and Sex Tourism
•
Mgr. Piero Monni, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to WTO ..............................................63
4
International Assistance to Developing Countries
•
Ms. Paola Viero, Central Technical Unit, Directorate General for Development
Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Italy .......................................................................... 68
The Public and Private Sector against Sex Tourism
•
Mr. Aldo Li Castri, Head of International Relations, Federturismo (Confindustria)..................... 73
•
Mr. Paolo Diamante, Manager, International Relations and Tourism Department,
Automobile Club d’Italia in representation of AIT-FIA ................................................................ 74
The Code of Conduct for the Travel and Tourism Industry
•
Ms. Camelia Tepelus, Coordinator, Code of Conduct Secretariat, ECPAT ............................... 75
Travelling with Eyes Wide Shut
•
Ms. Patricia Barnett, Director, Tourism Concern, United Kingdom ............................................ 79
Education, Training and Best Practices ................................................................................................. 81
Education and training in tourist generating countries
The Role of Education of the Tourism Sector to Protect Children from Sexual
Exploitation in Tourism
•
Ms. Cynthia Messer, Extension Educator and Associate Professor at the Tourism
Centre of the University of Minnesota ....................................................................................... 83
Training of Tour Operators and Travel Agents
•
Ms. Lotta Sand, Manager Responsible Tourism Development and Market Research
and Analysis, Fritidsresor Group/TUI Nordic, Sweden ............................................................. 88
Training of Hotel Staff and Local Communities at Destination Countries
•
Ms. Perla Goseco, Tourism Coordinator, ECPAT Italy .............................................................. 90
Best practices
Airlines
•
Ms. Giselle Le Nozer, General Manager, Air France – Italy....................................................... 93
Hotels
•
Mr. Alain Caudrelier-Benac, Manager, Corporate Patronage, Sponsorships & Public
Relations, ACCOR, France........................................................................................................ 95
•
Ms Lyndall de Marco, Executive Director, Youth Career Initiative, Prince of Wales
Business Leaders Forum, United Kingdom, and Trustee of the International Hotel and
Restaurant Association (IH&RA) Foundation for the Future ...................................................... 97
Travel Agents and Tour Operators
German Travel Agents & Tour Operators Association (DRV)
•
Mr. Andreas Müseler, Environmental Manager, LTU-Touristik ................................................ 104
Italian Travel Agents & Tour Operators Associations:
•
Mr. Antonio Tozzi, President FIAVET ...................................................................................... 108
•
Ms. Lina Mazzucco, Vice-President, ASSOTRAVEL ............................................................... 109
•
Ms. Ellen Bermann, Expert ASTOI .......................................................................................... 111
Final considerations for future actions ................................................................................................ 115
•
Ms. Jacqueline de Rey, Vice-President of the Task Force to Protect Children from
Sexual Exploitation in Tourism
Closing Remarks ................................................................................................................................... 117
•
Ing. Franco Vitale, General Director, General Directorate for Tourism, Ministry of
Productive Activities
EUROPEAN CONFERENCE
ON THE
PROTECTION OF CHILDREN FROM SEXUAL EXPLOITATION IN TOURISM
Rome, Italy, 3-4 April 2003
Sala Convegni di Porta Castello della Provincia di Roma
Final Agenda
Thursday, 3 April
10:00 – 13:00 Registration
15:00 – 16:00 OPENING SESSION
Chairman: H.E. Mr. Antonio Marzano, Minister of Productive Activities, Italy
• Mr. Francesco Frangialli, Secretary-General, World Tourism Organization
• Mr. Fabrizio Grillenzoni , Director, European Commission Representation in
Italy
• H.E. Mr. Antonio Guidi, Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Health, Italy
• Ms. Jacqueline de Rey, Honorary President, United Federation of Travel
Agents’ Associations (UFTAA)
16:00 - 16:15
Coffee break
16:15 – 18:00 FIRST SESSION: LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK AND ITS APPLICATION
Chairman: Mr. Luigi Cabrini, Regional Representative for Europe, World
Tourism Organization
16:15 – 16:45 General Overview on the European Legal and Policy Framework
• Ms. Muireann O’Briain, Chief Executive Officer of the Dublin Rape Victims
Center, and Legal Consultant and former Executive Director of ECPAT
International
16:45 – 17:30 Examples of National Legislation
• Ms. Maria Burani Procaccini, MP, President of the Commission for
Childhood, Italian Parliament
• Ms. Brunhilde Irber, MP, Member of the Tourism Committee of the German
Bundestag
17:30-17:45
Interpol and Law Enforcement for the Protection of Children from Sexual
• Mr. Hamish McCulloch, Assistant Director, Trafficking in Human Beings,
INTERPOL
17:45 – 18:00 Discussion
20:30
Dinner hosted by the Italian Directorate General for Tourism
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Friday, 4 April
09:30 – 13:00 SECOND SESSION: CAMPAIGNS, COOPERATION AND NETWORKING
Chairman: H.E. Ms. Stefania Prestigiacomo, Minister for Equal Opportunities,
Italy
09:35 – 09:50 Overview of the International Campaign against Sexual Exploitation of
Children in Tourism
• Mr. Luigi Cabrini, Regional Representative for Europe, World Tourism
Organization
09:50 – 10:05 European Commission Action against the Sexual Exploitation of Children
in Tourism
• Mr. Lucio d’Amore, National Expert, Tourism Unit, DG Enterprise, European
Commission
10:05 – 10:20 Inter-institutional Cooperation
• H.E. Ms Stefania Prestigiacomo, President, Inter-ministerial Committee for
Coordination and Fight against Pedophilia (CICLOPE), Italy
10:20 – 10:35 Teaching Civic-Mindedness, Respect for other Cultures and Human
Dignity
• Mr. Jean-Marc Nesme, MP, Vice-President of the Human Rights
Commission of the French Parliament
10:35 – 11:00 Preliminary results of a study on the profile of CSEC clients: sex tourists
and internet users
• Mr. Marco Scarpati, Professor of Comparative Family Law, University of
Parma, and President, ECPAT Italy
11:15 – 11:30 Coffee break
11:30 – 11:45 Religious Institutions and Sex Tourism
• Mgr. Piero Monni, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to WTO
11:45 – 12:00 International Assistance to Developing Countries
• Ms. Paola Viero, Central Technical Unit, Directorate General for
Development Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Italy
12:00 – 12:20 The Public and Private Sector against Sex Tourism
• Mr. Aldo Li Castri, Head of International Relations, Federturismo
(Confindustria)
• Mr. Paolo Diamante, Manager, International Relations and Tourism
Department, Automobile Club d’Italia in representation of AIT-FIA
12:20 – 12:35 The Code of Conduct for the Travel and Tourism Industry
• Ms. Camelia Tepelus, Coordinator, Code of Conduct Secretariat, ECPAT
12:35 - 12:50
• Ms. Patricia Barnett, Director, Tourism Concern, United Kingdom
13:00 – 14:30 Buffet Lunch hosted by the Directorate General for Tourism
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14:30 – 18:00 THIRD SESSION: EDUCATION, TRAINING AND BEST PRACTICES
Chairman: Mr. Gianni Plinio, Coordinator, Tourism Counselors of Italian
Regions
14:35 – 15:35 Education and training in tourist generating countries
14:35 –14:55
The Role of Education of the Tourism Sector to Protect Children from
• Ms. Cynthia Messer, Extension Educator and Associate Professor at the
Tourism Centre of the University of Minnesota
14:55 - 15:10
• Ms. Lotta Sand, Manager Responsible Tourism Development and Market
Research and Analysis, Fritidsresor Group/TUI Nordic, Sweden
15:10 – 15:25 Training of Hotel Staff and Local Communities at Destination Countries
• Ms. Perla Goseco, Tourism Coordinator, ECPAT Italy
15:35 – 15:50 Coffee break
15:50 – 17:40 Best practices
15:50 – 16:05 Airlines
• Ms. Giselle Le Nozer, General Manager, Air France - Italy
16:05 – 16:35 Hotels
• Mr. Alain Caudrelier-Benac, Manager, Corporate Patronage, Sponsorships &
Public Relations, ACCOR, France
• Ms Lyndall de Marco, Executive Director, Youth Career Initiative, Prince of
Wales Business Leaders Forum, United Kingdom, and Trustee of the
International Hotel and Restaurant Association (IH&RA) Foundation for the
Future
16:35 – 17:30 Travel Agents and Tour Operators
• German Travel Agents & Tour Operators Association (DRV)
Mr. Andreas Müseler, Environmental Manager, LTU-Touristik
• Italian Travel Agents & Tour Operators Associations:
Mr. Antonio Tozzi, President FIAVET
Ms. Lina Mazzucco, Vice-President, ASSOTRAVEL
Ms. Ellen Bermann, Expert ASTOI
17:40 – 17:50 Final considerations for future actions
• Ms. Jacqueline de Rey, Vice-President of the Task Force to Protect Children
from Sexual Exploitation in Tourism
17:50 – 18:00 CLOSING REMARKS
Ing. Franco Vitale, General Director, General Directorate for Tourism, Ministry
of Productive Activities
OPENING SESSION
Chairman:
H.E. Mr. Antonio MARZANO
Minister of Productive Activities
Italy
Mr. Francesco FRANGIALLI
Secretary-General,
World Tourism Organization
Mr. Fabrizio GRILLENZONI
Director
European Commission Representation in Italy
H.E. Mr. Antonio GUIDI
Under-Secretary of State
Ministry of Health
Italy
Ms. Jacqueline DE REY
Honorary President
United Federation of Travel Agents’ Associations (UFTAA)
Antonio MARZANO
Minister for Productive Activities
Italy
Biographical Note
Born in Rome on 18 February 1935, Antonio Marzano is married, with two children. He was Full
Professor of Economic and Financial Policy at the Political Science Faculty of the University of
Rome from 1974 and Professor of Economic Policy at LUISS University in Rome from 1978.
From 1968 until 1971, Mr. Marzano served as head of the Faculty of Business and Economics
at Abruzzese University (1968-1971) and from 1974-1980 he was head of the Institute for
Economic, Financial and Statistical Studies with the faculty of political science of the University
of Rome. Mr. Marzano was professor of monetary history and policy there from 1971-1974.
Mr. Marzano has been chairman of COFIRI S.p.A. and member of the National Economic and
Labour Council as expert, as well as member of the Committee for Privatizations (the Draghi
Committee at the Treasury Ministry) and of the Guarantee Commission for Statistical
Information (under the Prime Minister's Office). He has served on many boards as director,
including those of AGIP Nucleare, Cassa di Risparmio di Roma, Banca di Roma and Banco di
Sicilia.
He has also served on various public bodies, including the Committee for the General Report on
the Economic Situation of the Country (Ministry for Budget), the Study Commission on the
Public Debt (Ministry of the Treasury), the Committee for Medium-term Industrial Policy
(European Economic Community), the Committee for Economic Planning (Ministry for Budget),
the High Advisory Committee on the Productivity and Efficiency of Public Spending (Treasury),
the Scientific Council for Electricity Planning (ENEL).
Designated as Minister of Transportation under the Dini Government, he declined the
assignment. Elected to Parliament in 1996 on the Forza Italia slate (proportional section) in
Lazio and in Veneto, he opted for the latter. He served as acting deputy head of the Forza Italia
caucus in the Chamber of Deputies, Chairman of the Joint Committee for Budget Reform, and
head of the economics department of Forza Italia.
Mr. Marzano is the author of some 150 publications on economics and is a member of various
scientific societies.
He was elected Member of Parliament in May 2001 in Division XX (Campania 2).
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Francesco FRANGIALLI
Secretary-General
WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION
Biographical Note
Francesco Frangialli is Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization. He served as
Deputy Secretary-General from January 1990 to September 1996, when he assumed the top post
WTO ad interim. He was elected to that post by the General Assembly in 1997 for the period
1998-2001, and again in 2001 for the period 2002-2005. Mr. Frangialli has an extensive
background in public administration and served from 1986 to 1990 as Director of the Tourism
Industry in the French ministry responsible for tourism.
Mr. Frangialli has a degree in economics from the Paris School of Law and Economics,
studied at the National School of Administration (ENA) and is a graduate of the Paris Institute
of Political Studies, where he was a lecturer from 1972 to 1989.
Opening Address
Despite recent setbacks within the tourism industry, there must be a continuation of actions
previously initiated to address the sexual exploitation of children in the tourism industry (SECT).
This issue must not be sacrificed to immediate industry preoccupations.
Many obstacles were encountered when the campaign to address SECT was initiated over ten
years ago. There were difficulties in securing government recognition of the existence of the
problem in their countries, or recognition of the fact that their nationals abroad committed it.
Additionally, there was reluctance by the tourism industry to acknowledge the existence of the
problem within their establishments. However, as a result of WTO initiatives and the European
Union (EU)-funded campaign to address it, considerable progress has been made in raising
awareness of this problem. Laws proscribing SECT have been enacted in some 40 countries
and there is now widespread involvement in the campaign of all the major professional
associations, many WTO affiliates, such as IATA, IFTO, the IH&RA and UFTAA.
Although progress has been made in addressing SECT, one must be cautious about being
overly optimistic. There remains much to be achieved, particularly as a result of challenges
stemming from the changed nature and dimension of this problem. While the phenomenon of
open, organized tourism for the purpose of sexually exploiting children has disappeared, other
forms of the problem, more difficult to fight and much less overt, have replaced it, notably with
the advent of new technology, such as the internet. There now exists “an underground network”
for these acts, so that it is now more difficult to address the problem than was the case under
previous forms. With the assistance of the EU, the WTO must continue with the campaign to
address SECT, in addition to coordinating regular activities of the Task Force to Protect
Children from Sexual Exploitation in Tourism, established in 1997 with the co-operation of
ECPAT and other partners from governments, the tourism industry and international
organizations.
13
Fabrizio GRILLENZONI
Director
European Commission Representation In Italy
Biographical Note
Fabrizio Grillenzoni was born in Rome on September 27 1945. He is Acting Director of the
European Commission (EC) Representation in Italy, a post he has held since March 1 2001.
Previous to this post, from 1987 to 1997, he was an administrator and, subsequently, a senior
administrator for the Secretariat of the EC in Directorate E1, which is responsible for relations
with the European Parliament. Between 1979 and 1987, Mr. Grillenzoni was a Translation
Officer with the Economic and Social Committee (ESC) and he also worked for the ESC’s
Division for Studies and Research, where he was in charge of research on the structure of
social economy in Member States.
Previous to his work for the European Union, Mr. Grillenzoni held several posts as a translator
and editorial consultant for major Italian publishing houses. Mr. Grillenzoni received a degree in
modern history from Rome University.
Opening Address
(Full Text)
On behalf of the European Commission, I would like, first of all, to give special thanks to the
Italian Government for its enthusiasm and participation in hosting this initiative, and to the World
Tourism Organization, not only for organizing this event, but also for all its efforts over the years
to fight sexual tourism involving children, for the commitment it has shown to this activity, and
for the excellent and tangible results obtained.
The European Union, through its executive body, the European Commission, has been
committed to fighting the sexual exploitation of children in tourism for several years now.
In 1996 the Commission adopted a "general framework of action" to combat the sexual
exploitation of children in tourism.
In 1997 a "joint position" of the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers of the
Members States approved the guidelines of the Commission.
In 1999 the Commission prepared a report on the implementation of measures undertaken
within the general framework of action, including operational considerations for further actions.
In the same year, the Council of Ministers formally adopted conclusions to continue such
actions. Finally, in 2000, the European Parliament adopted a forceful resolution on the subject.
The political and operational support of the Union, places the emphasis on the need for active
participation in combating this phenomenon on the part of all the actors, whether governmental
or non-governmental.
For this reason, the European Commission has undertaken activities in conjunction with
governmental and non-governmental organizations, with the tourism industry, and with public
authorities. Such activities cover all the aspects relative to the creation and field implementation
of solutions to combat this problem. The first intervention by the Commission was aimed at
identifying the problem’s causes and circumstances, and quantifying its seriousness and scope.
It was only in a subsequent phase that the decision was made to focus its actions on the
persons and groups that carry out the sexual exploitation of minors and on the impact of their
actions on children in the destination countries of sexual tourism.
For several years now, the World Tourism Organization has been a partner of the European
Union in carrying out activities to fight sexual tourism involving minors. An initial project,
14
launched in 2000 and managed by DG Enterprise, has been completed with results that are
more than satisfactory.
A second project, which made this conference possible, is still in progress and is being
managed by the human rights unit of EuropAid.
The fight against the sexual exploitation of children in tourism now an activity that falls under the
European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights, that is, the Community programme aimed
at safeguarding and promoting human rights in developing countries. Thus, this problem can be
better tackled together with related issues such as poverty alleviation, the protection of
children's rights, and gender discrimination. We should not forget that the main cause of the
violation of any kind of right is poverty, and that there is a debt of solidarity on the part of the socalled rich countries with regard to the so-called developing countries. It is precisely this debt,
along with the concomitant responsibilities, that constitutes the basis of the European Union's
actions in favour of developing countries.
Speaking of the promotion and protection of human rights, we should also recall the support
offered by the European Union to the First World Congress against Commercial Sexual
Exploitation of Children, held in Stockholm in 1996, and to the second world congress on the
subject held in Yokohama in 2001. Other actions to combat the sexual exploitation of children
are now being funded in Asia and Latin America.
The Commission subsequently created specific programmes to combat trafficking in women and
children for exploitation in prostitution. These are the STOP and DAPHNE programmes, which
target trafficking from central and eastern European countries to western Europe, or from
outside the European Union into the EU.
Lastly, I would like to recall certain technical interventions that involve the Member States of the
European Union. I am referring to two "joint actions" of the Council of Ministers adopted in the
area of "cooperation in justice and home affairs." These actions deal with the exploitation and
sexual commerce of minors in general, but also include interesting provisions for combating
sexual tourism.
These are: the Joint Action of 29 November 1996, which set up an incentive and exchange
programme for professionals responsible for actions to combat the trafficking of human beings
and the sexual exploitation of children, and the Joint Action of 24 February 1997 to combat
trafficking in human beings and the sexual exploitation of children.
As a Member State of the Union, Italy has always actively striven to respect commitments
assumed at the Community level. Specifically, as early as 1998, it passed a law against
paedophilia containing the so-called "principle of extraterritorial jurisdiction" which allows the
punishment in Italy of persons who have committed crimes related to the sexual exploitation of
children abroad.
Further actions and provisions are currently in the process of being adopted at the Community
level and in Italy. I hope that this conference lends renewed impetus to this effort and I wish you
all success in your work.
15
Antonio GUIDI
Under-Secretary of State
Ministry Of Health
(Italy)
Biographical Note
Born in Rome on 13 June 1945, Antonio Guidi is married and has three children. He obtained
his university degree in medicine and is a surgeon, with a specialisation in neurology and child
neuropsychiatry. From 1990 to 1992, Mr. Guidi was National Secretary and President of the
National Council of ARCI (the Italian Recreational and Cultural Association). Until September
1993, he headed the child rehabilitation service at Local Health Unit 22 in the Marche region.
He also served as consultant for the Ministry for Social Affairs on problems dealing with the
handicapped and children. From 1989 to 1993, Mr. Guidi headed the department for the
handicapped of the CGIL trade union and was later national director for the Observatory on
Patients' Rights.
In the 12th legislature, as a part of the Forza Italia caucus, Mr. Guidi was a member of Standing
Committee XII (Social Affairs) and was also Deputy Chairman of the Special Committee on
Childhood Matters. He served as Minister for Family Affairs and Social Solidarity under Silvio
Berlusconi’s first government. He was a sponsor of the bill to amend Law 184/1983 on adoption
and co-sponsored 19 other bills. In the 13th legislature, again as a member of Forza Italia
caucus, Mr. Guidi served as a member of Standing Committee XII (Social Affairs), as well as the
Special Committee for Community Policies. After the parliamentary elections of 1996, Mr. Guidi
was elected on the Forza Italia slate (proportional section) for Division XXI, Puglia.
Mr. Guidi is the author of over 300 essays and articles on childhood and social exclusion, which
have been translated into many languages. He has lectured at major universities in Italy and
abroad.
16
Jacqueline DE REY
Honorary President
UFTAA
(France)
Biographical Note
Ms. De Rey is Honorary President of United Federation of Travel Agents Associations (UFTAA)
the confederation of travel agents that represents 70,000 travel agents worldwide. She is
responsible for UFTAA’s Human and Cultural Environment portfolio. Ms de Rey’s entire career
has focused on the travel & tourism industry and she has worked as a travel agent, tour
operator, and incentive and congress organizer, mainly in North America (USA, Canada and
France). Along the way, she has created several enterprises.
Ms. De Rey has also been involved in professional associations, including ASTA, ACTA, SNAV,
COTAL, PATA, UFTAA and has held a number of senior positions. Her goal has been to defend
and promote her ideas in order to enhance and promote the travel and tourism industry,
including initiatives dealing with “quality tourism”.
In 1992, Ms. De Rey took a very strong stand and supported, from the very beginning, the
campaign against the exploitation of children in travel and tourism. She has participated in many
seminars, and conferences organized by UNICEF, UNESCO, BICE, and worked on the
elaboration of charters, codes of conduct, such as the “UFTAA Charter of the Child and Travel
Agent” and the “Manila Declaration” In 1996, she became UFTAA President and chaired the
tourism platform held during the First World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation
of Children, held in Stockholm Sweden.
Since that time, Ms. De Rey has continued to work in favour of children at the international level
on behalf of UFTAA in. She is responsible for UFTAA’s portfolio on “Human and Cultural
environment in travel and tourism” and has been re-nominated as vice-chairperson of the WTO
Task Force on the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Tourism. She is also an
international representative for PEACE (Protect Environment and Children Everywhere).
Opening Address
Travel and tourism should be to the benefit of all and not to the detriment of others, especially
children. There was a time when the subject of the sexual exploitation of children was taboo.
However, since that time, much progress has been made in addressing this problem.
The campaign to protect children against sexual abuse should never be assimilated, as it often
is, with the fight against adult prostitution. Unlike adults, children never choose to be prostitutes,
but are prostituted by adults. Children must be protected from those who want to steal their
childhood. Those who are abused, never recover from it. It is a positive development that the
sexual exploitation of children is now being considered a crime.
We must acknowledge the work of the WTO and the EU in addressing the problem as early as
1996 at the First World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children
(Stockholm, Sweden). Since that time, the EU has provided funding for initiatives to support the
campaign to protect children and, hopefully, will continue to do so. No other global industry or
trade has ever participated in a humanitarian campaign in the way that the travel and tourism
industry has. The industry has followed the EU’s and the WTO’s lead in the campaign and for
this, the industry must be congratulated. We have helped children the world over.
First Session
The Legislative Framework and Its Application
Chairman:
Mr. Luigi CABRINI
Regional Representative for Europe
Ms. Muireann O’BRIAIN
Chief Executive Officer of the Dublin Rape Victims Centre,
Legal Consultant and former Executive Director
ECPAT International
Ms. Maria Burani PROCACCINI
Member of Parliament
President of the Commission for Childhood
Italian Parliament
Ms. Brunhilde IRBER
Member of the Tourism Committee
German Bundestag
Mr. Hamish MCCULLOCH
Assistant Director
Trafficking in Human Beings
INTERPOL
The first session of this conference addresses the legislative framework for the sexual
exploitation of children in tourism and the application of this framework. The first presentation
will provide an overview of the European legal and policy framework, and will be presented by
Ms. Muireann O’Briain, Chief Executive Officer of the Dublin Rape Victims Centre, legal
consultant and former Executive Director of ECPAT International. The following two
presentations will provide examples of national legislations on SECT, an Italian example,
presented by Ms. Maria Burani Procaccini, MP and President of the Commission for Childhood
of the Italian Parliament and a German example, presented by Ms. Brunhilde Irber, MP and
Member of the Tourism Committee of the German Bundestag. The final presentation, by Mr.
Hamish McCulloch, Assistant Director for Trafficking in Human Beings at Interpol, will provide a
description of Interpol’s role in law enforcement regarding the protection of children from sexual
exploitation in tourism.
Muireann O’BRIAIN
Chief Executive Officer
Dublin Rape Crisis Centre
and
Legal Consultant and former Executive Director
ECPAT International
(Ireland)
Biographical Note
Muireann O Briain is a lawyer, who has achieved the status of Senior Counsel in Ireland. She
started her career as a Legal Officer with the International Commission of Jurists in Geneva,
and sustained her interest in human rights after her return to Ireland. She practiced law for 25
years, specializing in family law, but also maintained a general practice. For ten years she was
the legal advisor to the Irish industrial relations tribunal, the Labour Court, in which capacity she
wrote many of the landmark equality and employment rights decisions.
Since 1995, Ms. O Briain has contributed to the work of ECPAT International, an organization
seeking to combat child prostitution, child pornography and trafficking in children for sexual
purposes. She worked first as a consultant, mainly promoting the use of extraterritorial
jurisdiction for crimes against children and, in 1998, became its Director at the headquarters in
Bangkok. During her time in office, ECPAT was a co-organiser with UNICEF and the
government of Japan of the Second World Congress against the Commercial Sexual
Exploitation of Children.
Since 2002, Ms. O Briain has served as Director of the Rape Crisis Centre in Dublin. She
continues to contribute to the work of ECPAT as its Legal Advisor.
Overview of the European Legal and Policy Framework
(Abstract)
The paper situates the campaigns and efforts to combat child sex tourism in its international
political and legal framework. Policy at international level is shaped by concern for human
rights, including the rights of children, a realization that development must be sustainable if it is
to benefit succeeding generations, and the recognition that the private sector has a role to play,
and can be charged with certain responsibilities.
Those policy considerations have found concrete legal expression in the international legal
instruments of the United Nations, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, its
Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, and the
ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour.
While all European states are committed to the United Nations instruments, they are also united
in other forums, including the Council of Europe and the European Union. There, the policy
considerations are also of concern for human rights, the rule of law, and corporate
responsibility. However, European concerns are also for employment, equality, and economic
and social cohesion.
The legal mechanism that will implement these concerns is the Framework Decision of the
Council of Ministers on combating the sexual exploitation of children. As this Decision is
implemented throughout the Union, including ultimately throughout the accession states, a
common legal regime will emerge in the member states. Already commonalities between
countries are apparent, and these will increase. Under the Decision, legal persons must be
made liable if sexual exploitation of children occurs for their benefit. Lack of supervision or
control over employees of a business will impose liability on the legal entity.
Corporate responsibility towards children by the tourism industry has been identified on the
positive side as a vehicle to raise awareness, and to assist and promote legal compliance by
20
providing information to travellers. However, the tourism industry is also being made to accept
responsibility where it benefits from or acts as an accessory to child sexual exploitation.
Overview of the European Legal and Policy Framework
(Brief)
Introduction
It is important to situate the campaigns and efforts to combat child sex tourism in a context of
law and policy for the following reasons:
•
If they are to commit to the campaigns and actions against the sexual exploitation of
children in tourism, those working in the tourism business need to understand what
the overall objectives are, and why these objectives affect them. The more they
appreciate the purpose, the more they can ‘buy into’ the actions.
•
The tourism business is fragmented and multi-sectoral. The campaign against child
sex tourism itself has many facets. If we can understand the campaign in a context of
law and policy, it becomes easier to see where the different sectors fit in or link, and
what the strength of each contribution can be.
•
The success of the campaigns and actions against child sex tourism depends
ultimately on the extent to which they become ‘owned’ by the industry. The starting
point may be non-governmental organisations or committed individuals within the
industry, but long-term and widespread results will only be achieved when the industry
itself on a wide scale adopts a positive and collaborative attitude.
•
There are legal obligations and constraints on states and on individuals, and even on
business, which need to be understood so that compliance can be assured and
infringements avoided.
The simple fact is that if you know why you are doing something, you are more likely to do it
competently and energetically. The campaigns and actions that will be discussed at this
seminar are not isolated. They are part of a total picture. My objective is to describe the frame
and background of the picture so that participants can identify (or ‘paint’) their own role, and the
value of that role, in it.
The picture is actually a collage, with governments, inter-governmental agencies, nongovernmental organisations, spirited individuals, and the community at large all forming an
interactive part. In framing the picture, we can identify the development and application of
certain policies at international and regional level that in turn are translated into the
implementing mechanisms of international law, regional legally binding instruments, and
national laws. Policy is what shapes actions and legislation. Policy can be expressed in
declarations, commitments, codes of conduct, etc. Legislation and implementing mechanisms
are what carry a policy through to action, and make the action enforceable.
This paper will look at the international context and the European regional context of the work
against the sexual exploitation of children in tourism. Given the target audience, and the time
available, it will not look at the policy and legal environment affecting the struggle against child
sex tourism in other regions, although some of these are very interesting and dynamic.1
1
For information on the policies in other regions, see the ECPAT International Report 2001-2002 on the
Implementation of the Agenda for Action against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, and in
particular the Regional Commitments in the Appendices. www.ecpat.net
21
International Policy Framework for combating Child Sex Tourism
All international and national enforcement mechanisms stem from political will. The policies of a
government or group of governments eventually lead to implementing mechanisms including
legislation. The powerhouse of policy development at international level is the United Nations.
The United Nations is a collection of governments, with the UN Charter as their common basis
of action. There are three policy strands developed within the United Nations family that have
informed the fight against child sex tourism. These are: the protection of human rights,
sustainable development, and the relatively recent notion of corporate responsibility.
I.
Human Rights
Human rights have been firmly on the international political agenda in a global way since 1948
with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. That Declaration has been the foundation
stone for all the major legally binding international human rights conventions since then. It
encapsulates the major concerns for the individual – the right to life, to education, to work, to
rest, to participate in the cultural life of the community.
Concern for the human rights of children, as a group with need of special attention, has been on
the world political agenda since the founding of UNICEF in 1946. Its work in providing health
care, nutrition, education, safe water and sanitation has been supported by many members of
the United Nations on a voluntary basis, so that UNICEF is perceived as a UN agency, when in
fact it is a voluntary fund. The World Summit for Children in 1990, and the UN General
Assembly Special Session on Children in 2002 each adopted action plans which set out a policy
framework for the continuing work in advancing the well-being and protection of the world’s
children. ‘A World Fit For Children’, which was the outcome document from the 2002 Special
Session represents the policy of all UN member states, who have pledged themselves by 2015
to protect the world’s children by the eradication of poverty and hunger, providing universal
education, combating of AIDS and other diseases, and other targets. An agreed Millennium
Development Goal is to ensure environmental sustainability, which includes improving the lives
of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020.
The children represented at the Special Session demanded (inter alia) an ‘end to exploitation,
abuse and violence’. Included in the demands were that laws that protect children from
exploitation and abuse be implemented and respected. The response from governments was
the adoption of a Plan of Action in which the UN member states pledged (inter alia) to
•
Protect children from all forms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence;
•
Protect children from all forms of sexual exploitation including paedophilia, trafficking
and abduction;
•
Take immediate steps to eliminate the worst forms of child labour (which includes the
use of children in prostitution or pornography).
Outside the framework of the United Nations, relevant policies against child sex tourism,
policies that stem from concern for the human rights of children, have been agreed at
international level by the joint efforts of governments, inter-governmental agencies and nongovernmental organisations with the adoption by consensus of the Stockholm Agenda for Action
in 1996, and its reaffirmation in the Yokohama Global Commitment against the commercial
sexual exploitation of children in 2001. The Agenda for Action, to which 159 states are now
committed, agrees that all sectors of society, including governments, intergovernmental
agencies and the private sector need to work together to combat the problem of the commercial
sexual exploitation of children.
II.
Sustainable development
Since the 1970s, the international community has shown increasing alarm about the impact of
development on the ecology of the planet and human well-being, and the United Nations thus
became a leading proponent of ‘sustainable development’. From the 1980s, the realisation that
economic development must take future generations into account and protect the environmental
resources on which all development depends came to the fore. The Earth Summit in Rio in
1992 and the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002 bore
22
witness to growing awareness of the world’s interdependence, and the need to protect the
environment and cultures. Agenda 21, adopted at the Rio Summit outlined a blueprint for action.
Its action programme recommended ways to strengthen the part played by major groups,
including children and young people who were identified as one of the major groups to be
reckoned with in the aim of achieving sustainable development. By the time of the
Johannesburg summit in 2002, the role of tourism as a catalyst to development, but also as a
danger to fragile environments was recognised, and at that global meeting, a multi-stakeholder
partnership approach to create sustainable solutions for development was strongly advocated.
The World Tourism Organization (WTO), which itself is an intergovernmental body, and a forum
of the United Nations, has developed a policy towards sustainable development and the
protection of children. Although the founding of the WTO was in 1925, and it therefore pre-dates
the founding of the UN by 20 years, the WTO was entrusted by the UN in 1977 with the
promotion and development of tourism. Through tourism, the WTO seeks to stimulate economic
growth and job creation, as well as provide incentives for protecting the environment and
promote understanding between nations. As part of that task, the WTO developed the Global
Code of Ethics for Tourism, which was adopted by the General Assembly of the WTO in 1999.
In Art.3 of the Global Code, the WTO affirmed that ‘the exploitation of human beings in any
form, particularly sexual, especially when applied to children, conflicts with the fundamental
aims of tourism’. Members are urged to cooperate in combating such exploitation, which is
recognised as requiring criminal sanctions in receiving countries and also being made
amenable to extraterritorial jurisdiction.
III.
The private sector
Increasingly the role of the private sector is recognised as a major partner of governments in
international relations. Of course, that is already the reality, and long recognised through the
work of the World Trade Organisation and the major funding agencies of the IMF and the World
Bank. However in recent years we can see attempts to harness the dynamism of the private
sector as both a force for good, and as a vehicle to implement the people-centred policies and
aspirations of governments. Therefore, the Johannesburg Summit on Sustainable Development
called for the strengthening of governments’ roles to promote corporate responsibility and
accountability in relation to sustainable development, while the Stockholm and Yokohama
commitments invited the full participation of the private sector, and the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights has given special attention to industry as a major player in the
protection of human rights.
In September 2002, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child held a theme day’s discussion
about the private sector and its role in implementing child rights. It is anticipated that the result
will be the development of guidelines for the private sector as service providers where children’s
rights are affected.
On the issue of the sexual exploitation of children in tourism, the international policy-makers
have an obvious partner in the WTO to take forward the policies of governments, and to
articulate the role of the private sector. This is because of the WTO’s unique membership, which
includes not only governments but also local government, tourism associations, and privatesector companies such as airlines, hotel groups and tour operators. Secondly, because the
WTO already has a special relationship as a United Nations partner, it develops its work in the
context of respect for human rights, protection of children, and sustainable development.
International Legal Obligations Framework
Those policies developed in the framework of the United Nations, and by governments outside
but parallel to the formal UN framework, have been translated into significant international legal
instruments, which provide the legislative environment in which the struggle against child sex
tourism is conducted. Conventions and Covenants are international laws imposing legal
obligations, as opposed to the ‘aspirations’ or concerns that form policy. A country that ratifies a
United Nations Convention is obliged to implement the contents of the convention in its national
legal environment. (The problem can be the enforcement of that obligation, which is a problem
with many international agreements, but that is another issue.) The texts of conventions are
agreed by the General Assembly of the UN, or by the states members of one of the specialised
agencies. Then the text is open for ratification. Once a state ratifies a convention, it binds itself
23
legally to implement the contents. This is usually by national implementing legislation. The
convention itself will contain a review mechanism that comes into play after a number of years
of the convention being in force. States parties to the convention will then be subjected to the
review mechanism, and must demonstrate how they are complying with the terms of the
convention.
I.
Convention on the Rights of the Child
In the context of the struggle against the sexual exploitation of children in tourism, the most
important legal instrument is the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). It was adopted
by the General Assembly in 1989, came into force in 1990, and is now ratified by every state in
the world with the exception of the United States of America and Somalia. Under that
Convention, states must ‘protect the child from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual
abuse’. And it is not only their own nationals that states are obliged to protect. The obligations
imposed and the undertakings given by states parties to the Convention are in respect of all
children.
A child is a person under the age of 18 years. Under Article 34 of the CRC, states parties
undertake to protect the child from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse, and in
particular to take whatever ‘national, bilateral and multilateral measures’ are appropriate to
prevent
•
The inducement or coercion of a child to engage in any unlawful sexual activity;
•
The exploitative use of children in prostitution or other unlawful sexual practices, and
•
The exploitative use of children in pornographic performances and materials.
Article 36 imposes an obligation on states to ‘protect the child against all other forms of
exploitation prejudicial to any aspects of the child’s welfare.’
The implementation mechanism for the Convention on the Rights of the Child is the Committee
on the Rights of the Child, which begins a process of periodic review as soon as a country has
ratified the Convention. These reviews are important mechanisms, and quite effective, thanks to
the high quality of the membership of the Committee and to its policy of inviting nongovernmental organisations to submit alternative reports to those submitted by their
governments. That Committee now has an expert on child sexual exploitation in the person of
Dr. Saisuree Chutikul of Thailand, and we can expect to notice a lot more attention to the efforts
of states to combat child sex tourism and other forms of child sexual exploitation.
II.
Optional Protocol to the CRC
Another legal instrument, and one that emanated from the CRC itself, is the Optional Protocol
on ‘The Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography’. Protocols are also laws,
tacked on to major treaties or conventions. In the case of this one, the states that ratify the
Convention can choose whether or not to also ratify the Protocol.2 It contains more specific
detail on how some of the provisions of the CRC should be implemented by states. It requires
states parties to fully cover under their national laws (and whether the offences are committed
at home or abroad) ‘the offering, delivering or accepting…a child for the purpose of sexual
exploitation of the child’, or ‘offering, obtaining, procuring or providing a child for child
prostitution’. In its preamble, the Protocol refers to the policy considerations that led to its
development by expressing the deep concern of states parties at the ‘widespread and
continuing practice of sex tourism, to which children are especially vulnerable’, and which
promotes the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. The Committee on the
Rights of the Child is also the supervising mechanism for the Protocol.
2
The interesting thing about this Protocol is that it is not just open to any state that has ratified the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, but also to states that have only signed (and are therefore not
legally bound by) the Convention. This means that the United States of America, which has signed the
Convention, could ratify the Protocol, without ever making itself subject to the exigencies of the Convention
itself.
24
III.
International Labour Office Convention
Another legally binding instrument on the states that ratify it is Convention 182 of the
International Labour Office on the Worst Forms of Child Labour. This is an instrument of one of
the specialised agencies of the United Nations, and was developed under the tripartite system
of the ILO, which includes governments, industry and workers. The Convention is part of a
series of treaties seeking to eliminate the phenomenon of child labour. It totally prohibits the
employment of children in the ‘worst forms’ of child labour, which are defined as including ‘the
use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for
pornographic performances.’
The Convention goes further to totally prohibit ‘work which, by its nature or the circumstances in
which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children.’ The
implementing mechanisms for this Convention are to be established by the member states
themselves, in consultation with the national employers’ and workers’ organisations, and as with
all ILO conventions, the governing body will report regularly to the General Conference of the
ILO on implementation. The ILO is helping the poorer member states to comply with their
undertakings under the convention by setting up country and regional programmes against child
prostitution and trafficking after ratification.
European Policy Framework
In the European context, there are a number of European institutions through which policy
develops. They include the Council of Europe, the Council of Ministers of the European Union,
the European Parliament, and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The
European states are still of course part of the UN framework and the policy and legal
environment that stems from membership of the UN. But they also link their policies at a
regional level, where, on a practical and cultural level, they can express and address common
concerns.
The relevant policy strands in Europe are respect for human rights and the rule of law, equality,
economic and social cohesion, and corporate responsibility.
IV. Council of Europe
The Council of Europe was founded in 1949, with a strong bias towards defending the rule of
law and the protection of human rights. The Council now has 44 member states, with two more
waiting to join. Its Convention on Human Rights was the first international treaty to give rights to
individuals, including the right of individual petition to the European Court of Human Rights.
Since 1989, the new democracies of central and Eastern Europe have joined the Council, and
become bound under the European Human Rights Convention. There is therefore in Europe a
common agreement on fundamental human rights, one of which is the right not to be ‘held in
slavery or servitude’. Children being used in the sex industry would be considered to be caught
in practices similar to slavery or servitude. But in any event, under a number of child-focussed
Council of Europe conventions, the members of the Council already take into account their
more detailed obligations towards children under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,
and their obligations to undertake all appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures
for the implementation of the rights recognised in that Convention.
Since 1991 the Council of Europe has concerned itself with the sexual exploitation of children3,
and in 2001 a comprehensive Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers was adopted4,
covering pornography, prostitution, sexual slavery, sexual tourism, and trafficking. In very clear
messages to the private sector, the Committee requests member states to hold legal entities
responsible for offences involving the sexual exploitation of children. States are also requested
to ‘involve the tourism industry in raising awareness about sex tourism and the detection of it’,
and to ‘organise information campaigns intended to discourage potential travellers from
engaging in sex tourism.’
3
4
See Rec(91)11 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.
Rec(2001)16
25
For the governments in Europe, then, their commitment to the Agenda for Action against the
Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children from the Stockholm and Yokohama World
Congresses reflected existing policy, and in fact became a complementary articulation of that
policy.
The European Social Charter has been another policy directive from the Council of Europe,
which in 1996 was extended (inter alia) to strengthening the right of children and young persons
to social, legal and economic protection.
The Council of Europe has been active in following up on its policy commitments. After the first
World Congress against CSEC the Council (in April 1998) requested all states members to
present their plans and achievements for implementation of R (91) 11 and the Agenda for
Action. A similar follow-up to R (2001) 16 and to the Budapest European regional preparatory
meeting that took place prior to Yokohama is now underway. The Budapest pre-Yokohama
meeting had agreed a ‘Commitment and Plan of Action for Protection of Children from Sexual
Exploitation in Europe and Central Asia’, which provides a strong firm direction for European
states on the issue of the sexual exploitation of children. In the Plan, the private sector,
including the tourism industry, was identified as an important partner in protecting children
against sexual exploitation, while the meeting acknowledged that ‘the sexual exploitation of
children is still occurring in every country of Europe and Central Asia, and is on the increase’.
The Plan adopted by the states included the attitude of ‘zero-tolerance’ for all forms of violence
and exploitation of children, and recognised the need for criminal measures and the
implementation of the relevant international instruments. The Plan requests the Commission of
the EU, in the context of the accession process of candidate countries, to help those countries
towards fulfilling their commitments under the Stockholm Agenda for Action.
V.
European Union
Policy-making within the European Union originates within the EU treaties themselves, the
Council of Ministers and the European Parliament. There are a number of relevant strands to
the issue of child sex tourism in EU policy. The Union was founded on an economic community,
and so employment within the Union has always been a major concern. But the employment
agenda has been grounded on the principles of equality and social justice. Over the years of the
Union, those concerns have expanded to encompass a wide spectrum of social and human
rights. The European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights recognises the rights of the child,
the prohibition on child labour and the importance of protecting young people at work.
On the employment side of the coin, the EU’s concern is for proper working conditions within
Europe, which includes no child labour, and certainly not the worst forms of child labour.
Looking outwards from the Union, the concern is to prevent the trafficking of children into the
Union when the objective of such trafficking is their exploitation in domestic or sexual services.
Such policies have their logic in the concern that the European internal market not be distorted
through abusive practices. There is also another pragmatic concern, namely that the
development of the accession countries’ economies not be distorted by practices that will affect
the health and capacity of future generations of workers, or by inadequate governance on social
issues. Tourism is clearly an economic activity with the potential for providing employment to
large numbers of workers, and which is expected to assist the development of the accession
countries. But such development must take place in a structured manner and in accordance
with the EU regulatory framework.
Concern for social and human rights is the other side of the coin in relation to children for the
EU. This concern dictates that both inside and outside of the Union, EU consumers should not
abuse children as commodities.
It is these strands of EU policy that provide the logic behind the European Parliament’s
encouragement since 1995 to the European Commission to tackle child sex tourism, and its
welcoming of the Commission’s cooperation with the tourism industry in relation to codes of
conduct and self-regulatory mechanisms. Under the latest German Presidency of the
Commission, child sex tourism was put on the work programme agenda, with the Committee of
Ministers concluding that there is ‘no bridge too far in the battle against such degrading
practices’. Concern was expressed that the exploitation of children in tourism risked spoiling the
industry’s image. The EU Commission was invited to continue its actions against child sex
26
tourism. Those actions included support under the STOP and DAPHNE programmes to the
efforts of non-governmental organisations working in a multidisciplinary environment under the
general theme of combating violence against women and children.
The ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) for EU member states is another area where concern for
children can be identified in what is primarily intended as a trading and business cooperation
forum. Initiatives were started by the United Kingdom to tackle child sexual exploitation in Asian
countries under this platform.
European Legal Framework
Moving from policy to its implementation, law in Europe is made through conventions, EU
Directives and Framework Decisions, and national legislation. Under the Council of Europe, a
number of European Conventions have been developed that relate to the protection of children,
so that there is already a body of sophisticated standards and jurisprudence directing member
states on how they are to treat the children found within their jurisdictions.
Within the European Union, the relevant law-making has taken the form of Framework
Decisions adopted by the Council of Ministers. A Joint Action adopted in 1997 concerning action
to combat trafficking in human beings and the sexual exploitation of children has been replaced
by two Framework Decisions of December 2000: one on combating trafficking in human beings,
and the other on combating the sexual exploitation of children and child pornography.
Framework Decisions are a new form of law-making in the European Union, introduced by the
Amsterdam Treaty. They are decisions that are binding on member states as to their result, but
the member states have flexibility in the choice and form of their implementation. Under the
Framework decisions on trafficking and sexual exploitation of children, the Commission hopes
to overcome the problems caused by the lack of legislative harmony within the Union. The first
decision (on trafficking) seeks to address both sexual exploitation and labour exploitation. The
objective of the second decision (on child sexual exploitation) is to ensure that there are no safe
havens for child sex offenders. The legal basis for these Framework Decisions is Articles 29, 31
and 34 of the Treaty on European Union.
The Framework Decisions instruct countries members of the Union to implement certain
common legislation, including common definitions, common penalties and common responses
in relation to jurisdiction and prosecution. Under the Framework Decision on combating the
sexual exploitation of children, there is reference to the fact that the international nature of such
crimes requires procedural provisions on jurisdiction and on extradition ‘which are as clear and
as far reaching as national legal systems will allow’ in order to guard against persons evading
prosecution.
Each Member State of the European Union must ensure that conduct involving the exploitation
of a child through prostitution, or profiting or facilitating the child’s prostitution, is punishable.
They must also ensure that engaging a child in sexual conduct, where threats or coercion or
remuneration in cash or in kind is involved, is punishable. Penalties are laid down, which for
offences involving children under the age of 10 and in some other circumstances, must not be
less than 8 years imprisonment.
Member States are required to establish jurisdiction for the prosecution and examination of
offences in three situations:
•
Where the offence is committed in whole or in part on its territory, irrespective of the
nationality of the person involved;
•
Where the offender is a national, regardless of where the offence took place;
•
Where the offence is committed for the benefit of a legal person established in the
territory of the member state.
The Decision also requires states to cooperate with each other in judicial proceedings involving
the sexual exploitation of children. If there is a conflict of jurisdiction, they must consult each
other and coordinate their actions, using Europol, the liaison magistrates and the European
Judicial Network as appropriate.
27
Both Decisions cover the liability of ‘legal persons’, so that a company or business involved in
trafficking or in child sexual exploitation can be prosecuted for an offence. If offences
concerning trafficking of persons, or the sexual exploitation of children, or offences concerning
child pornography (or aiding or abetting such offences) are committed for the benefit of a legal
person, then the legal person can be held liable for the offence. Moreover, lack of supervision or
control over the employees of a legal person will make the legal person responsible. These are
important provisions for companies operating in the tourism industry. They mean that if a
company profits from activities involving the sexual exploitation of children, they can be made
responsible. If, for example, a tour company provides facilities for its customers to get access to
children for sex, then the company itself could be prosecuted, as well as the customer who used
the child. In other words, the company would be an accessory to child sexual exploitation.
As these Decisions are implemented throughout the Union by being integrated into national
legislation, we will move towards a common legal regime in Europe to deal with the sexual
exploitation of children. Currently there is no uniform criminal legal regime, due to the different
cultural and legal environments in the region, despite its common social and economic
objectives. However, there are some common trends relating to sexual exploitation of children
that can already be identified in European countries. For example:
•
Criminalisation of the customers or clients of prostituted children. The clients of minors
who sell sex will be prosecuted as criminals in Sweden, Finland, France, Ireland,
Norway, Croatia and Hungary. This development is under consideration in Denmark.
•
Abolition of the double criminality requirement.5 It is not required, or has been
abolished in Finland, Germany, Switzerland, Croatia, Hungary and Italy.
•
In Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom it is an offence to
advertise or incite for child sex tourism.
•
Many countries already apply extraterritorial jurisdiction to offences against children
committed abroad and will prosecute their nationals, and even non-nationals, for such
offences.6 Others will extradite their nationals to stand trial abroad.
However, there are still many areas of child protection where the European states have very
different standards. One example is the age of protection, because some states see the sexual
independence of young people as requiring a low age threshold, whereas others see the
standard set by the Convention on the Rights of the Child as correct. The Framework Decision,
however, defines ‘child’ as a person under the age of 18.
Another difference is in the attitude to prostitution itself. Some states consider prostitution as a
social evil and ban it. Others only criminalise certain exploitative aspects of prostitution. And
while all European countries would hold the common position that sexual exploitation of children
is wrong, many of them, especially the accession states, have very weak law enforcement
mechanisms.
But whatever the difficulties, it is clear that European states are on the road to harmonisation of
their legal systems in pursuance of a combination of policies that are resulting in improved child
protection against sexual exploitation. It is equally clear that these legal developments are
occurring in a policy framework where corporate responsibility has been identified on both the
positive and the negative side of the efforts to combat child sex tourism. On the positive side,
the tourism industry is seen as a vehicle to raise awareness, and to assist and promote legal
compliance by providing information to travellers. On the negative side, the industry is being
made to accept responsibility where it benefits from or acts as an accessory to child sexual
exploitation.
5
This is a rule that for an offence to be prosecuted in a country where it was not committed, but where the
second country is entitled to claim jurisdiction, it must also be an offence in the country in which it was
committed.
6
For more details on extraterritorial jurisdiction in 6 European countries, see ‘Extraterritorial Legislation as
a Tool to Combat Sexual Exploitation of Children’ from the ECPAT Europe Law Enforcement Group, April
1999. Available from DCI Netherlands at <[email protected]>
28
The industry should inform itself about these developments so that employees and agents
understand their responsibilities towards children and towards their clients, and act accordingly.
However, it is also to be hoped that the industry will act not only because of legal
responsibilities, but also out of a sense of shared moral commitment to the world’s children.
Power Point Presentation
Protection of Children from
• Overview of the Presentation
•
•
•
•
•
Policy at international level
Resulting international law
Policy at European level
Resulting European law
Practical responsibilities on the tourism sector
International Policy Framework
•
•
•
•
Human Rights
Children’s Rights
Sustainable development
Role for the private sector
Why examine the legal and
policy context?
• Those working in the business need to
understand why they should combat child
sex tourism
• The sectors can identify their particular
contribution
• The industry can ‘own’ the issue
• The industry needs to know the law
International legal obligations
• Convention on the Rights of the Child
• Optional Protocol to the CRC
• ILO convention 182 on worst forms of child
labour
European Policy Framework
• Defence of human rights and the rule of law
• Concern for the sexual exploitation of
children
• Strengthening the rights of children and
young persons
• Concern for equality and social justice
• Labour rights and labour protection
European Legal Framework
• Framework Decisions of the European
Council of Ministers:
– covers sexual exploitation of children and child
pornography
– common criminal provisions
– common penalties
– extraterritorial cover
Effects on the Tourism Industry
• Includes criminal liability for ‘legal
persons’
• Lack of supervision of employees no excuse
• Liability will follow across frontiers
29
Maria BURANI PROCACCINI
President
COMMISSION FOR CHILDHOOD, PARLIAMENT OF ITALY
(Italy)
Biographical Note
Maria Burani Procaccini is a journalist and writer, born in Rome on 17 May 1942. Elected
through the majority system in XVI (Lazio 2), she is a member for the Parliamentary group
Forza Italia and was a Member of Parliament during the 12th and 13th legislatures. She has
served as President of the Parliamentary Commission for Childhood since 27 September 2001,
a member of the Standing Committee XII on Social Affairs, since 21 June 2001 and a member
of the Standing Committee XIII for agriculture, since 3 September 2001. Ms. Burani Procaccini
has a degree in modern literature.
(abstract)
Italy is the only European state with a two-chamber joint commission, the Commission for
Childhood. This Commission, composed of 20 senators and 20 members of parliament,
comprises members of both the upper and lower chambers (justice commission, commission for
health and social affairs, commission on education). The Commission prepares policy
proposals, which are voted on a consensus or majority basis and, once adopted, become
persuasive documents that Parliament must take into account in its proceedings. The aims of
the Commission are to:
•
•
•
Propose suggestions covering all matters related to childhood,
Carry out inquiries on a broad range of subjects.
Draft policy proposals for the two chambers.
The Commission’s work currently focuses on the implementation and strengthening of several
provisions of law 269 and it has provided proposals to the Justice Commission on the draft text,
some of which develop those initiated under the previous government. These include the
establishment of a special crime to cover the organization and promotion of the sexual
exploitation of children in tourism (SECT), amendments to require tour operators to provide
travellers with a clear notice that involvement in SECT may constitute an international crime,
and measures to improve the operational aspect of the law, for example, through speeding up
the process for trials, effective law enforcement and the provision of assistance to victims.
A policy paper, currently under preparation, stems from two bills on children and adolescents
and addresses crimes committed by juveniles. It proposes the establishment of special sections
within courts to deal with juvenile justice. As there is no special agency for children in Italy, there
are also proposals for the establishment of an agency to serve as a visible sponsor for child
rights policies. The Commission would also like to see the establishment of a European
authority, body or agency dealing with children to ensure consistency across Europe to
counteract sexual exploitation, pornography and paedophilia, as well as European-wide
coordination of laws related to children.
30
Brunhilde IRBER
MP, Member of the Tourism Committee
BUNDESTAG
(Germany)
Biographical Note
Ms. Irber was born in Pleinting, in the county of Passau, on 27 July 1948. She is married and
has one son. After completion of secondary studies, she undertook courses in social work and
studies at colleges for administration and languages. Since 1970 she has served as
administrative employee with Osterhofen Town Council and was head of the Culture and
Tourism Department from 1982 to 1991. From 1992 until 1994, she trained as a foreignlanguage secretary.
Ms. Irber is a member of numerous associations and she has been a member of the SPD since
1971. She is chair of the Deggendorf sub-district branch of the SPD and deputy chair of the
Lower Bavaria district division of the SPD. She has served as county councillor since 1978, a
town councillor since1990 and deputy mayor since 1994. A member of the Bundestag since
1994, Ms. Irber is currently spokesperson on tourism policy for the SPD parliamentary group
and is a full member of the Bundestag Committee on Tourism and a Substitute member of the
Committee on Transport, Building and Housing
(Full Text)
I am very pleased to have been invited to this conference, even if the topic we intend to discuss
here is a very difficult as well as a very disagreeable subject.
As spokeswoman for the working party on tourism for the SPD Group in the German
Bundestag, I should like to describe to you the ways in which we in Germany are trying to
combat the sexual abuse of children.
Let me emphasize from the outset that I cannot present you with a definitive recipe for the
prevention of child prostitution in tourist destinations. But rest assured that we are moving step
by step towards a situation in which the tourism industry and holidaymakers feel committed to
the worldwide protection of children and their rights.
Tourists enjoy sunshine, white beaches and blue seas; they try exotic food and drink, and they
delight in an unfamiliar way of life. They feel free of all the everyday constraints to which they
are subject at home, and they want to recharge their batteries. They want to try things that they
may have occasionally thought about at home but were ultimately afraid to do in their local
environment.
They engage in white-water rafting, trekking expeditions or free climbing in unspoiled
mountainous areas. They try bungee jumping or exotic and dangerous sports in their quest for
the ultimate thrill.
The sad fact however is that, far away from home on their well-earned holiday, freed from the
scrutiny to which their lives are normally exposed, some men – and occasionally, though less
often, women too – also seem to consider themselves exempt from every social taboo.
And so it happens that wealthy men from industrialized countries take advantage of the social
and economic gulf between the developed and developing worlds to purchase sexual services
on their visits to distant lands.
Let me add in parenthesis that one need not travel halfway across the world to find these
economic disparities; they exist in Europe too, and I am thinking especially of our eastern
European neighbours. For example, from my home state of Bavaria, one need only travel along
31
the E50, or from Saxony along the E55, in the direction of the Czech Republic and Prague to
observe countless manifestations of the sex industry, stretching as far as the eye can see.
Let me make it clear that it is not my intention to demonise prostitution in general – the ‘oldest
profession in the world’ has always been a fact of life.
Women and men often take up prostitution because they can see no other way of earning
money.
But economic hardship is also the reason why children are also forced to sell their bodies. Their
bodies are literally used as economic inputs to supplement family incomes and, regrettably, to
ensure their families’ economic survival too.
Child prostitutes have not chosen their own fate. They are exploited, and that is a lifelong
condition, which they will never be able to escape.
Unfortunately, the rise in global tourism has also been accompanied by an increasing demand
for child prostitutes. Paedophiles take their subsequent victims under their wing and present
themselves as people who are fond of children, concealing their perverse inclinations. They
exploit their vastly superior social and economic power over their victims, who have generally
been living in extreme poverty.
And brothel operators pander to these perversions, offering the services of younger and
younger prostitutes.
But the sexual exploitation of children is the most grievous and invasive assault upon the
physical and mental integrity of small human beings.
Children and young people throughout the world are entitled to effective protection against
violence and sexual abuse. The perpetrators of such despicable offences must be
systematically prosecuted and severely punished in every part of the world.
The sexual exploitation of children for commercial gain is no longer a taboo subject in my
country. The German Bundestag Committee on Tourism, together with the Committee of Family
Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, organized a hearing on 12 June 2002 on the
subject of child prostitution and sex tourism. The experts referred to the social, cultural and
economic reasons for the commercialised sexual abuse of children that occurs in certain
countries as well as to the legal and practical problems obstructing the criminal prosecution of
offenders in those countries.
We shall continue to deal with this problem as well as with the problems of child-trafficking and
child pornography on the Internet.
Let me say here in all clarity that these are not trivial offences or misdemeanours. They are
quite simply criminal acts, and their perpetrators deserve stiff sentences.
The impaired ability of paedophiles to distinguish right from wrong remains an extremely acute
problem. These offenders still cling to the belief, especially when they are on holiday far away
from home, that they have nothing to fear, that they can shamelessly exploit the poverty, the
straitened economic circumstances, of their victims with impunity.
And they often offend in full awareness of the fact that sexual exploitation of children is a basic
criminal offence in almost every country in the world and that persons convicted for the offence
will certainly be punished on their return to Germany, thanks to the introduction of the
extraterritorial principle in 1993. Since German criminal law was amended to this effect in 1993,
the German authorities have had the legal means to institute proceedings against German
nationals who sexually abuse children in foreign countries. Irrespective of the legal position in
the country where the offence took place, sexual abuse is punishable under our criminal law
once the offender has returned to Germany.
32
The question whether a person’s right of sexual self-determination has been criminally infringed
is governed by German law (an excerpt of sections 176 and 176a of the German Penal Code is
annexed to the transcript of this address).
In our legal system, children under the age of 14 are afforded very special protection. Indecent
acts against children under 14 are regarded as child abuse, and lengthy prison sentences
attach to offences against these children. In the case of children aged 14 and 15, the offence is
treated as sexual exploitation of minors and is also punishable.
As part of the sixth revision of the German Penal Code in 1998, the maximum sentence for
sexual abuse of children was increased. This means that grievous child abuse is now classed
as a Verbrechen, a crime punishable with at least one year in prison, and is no longer simply a
Vergehen, i.e. a minor criminal offence entailing a custodial sentence of less than one year.
Under German law, this also means that a stay of proceedings is no longer possible in a sexualabuse case. There is also limited scope for the imposition of suspended sentences. Moreover,
sexual abuse is one of the criminal offences that entail compulsory prosecution, irrespective of
whether the victim has preferred charges.
Sentencing powers are defined in sections 176 and 176a of the German Penal Code, which
prescribe a minimum sentence of six months’ imprisonment and a maximum of ten years.
Among other things, sentencing judges distinguish between sexual exploitation and abuse of a
child and sexual intercourse or similar acts. This means that Germany fulfils all the obligations
arising from Article 34 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
This year, at the end of January, the Federal Government presented an action plan for the
protection of children and young people from sexual abuse and exploitation. This testifies to the
high priority we attach to effective action to combat sexual abuse of children and young people.
The aims of this interdepartmental plan are:
•
to develop the protection afforded to children and young people by our criminal
legislation,
•
to improve prevention and the protection of victims,
•
to ensure that international cooperation takes place in the field of criminal investigation
and prosecution, and
•
to support the formation of networks among the services offering aid and advice.
A package of criminal-law reforms will further stiffen the sentences laid down in the penal
provisions for sexual abuse of children. Besides the statutory rules, the action plan assigns high
priority to prevention and intervention.
Within the tourist trade, the joint prevention campaign launched by the Association of German
Travel Agents and Tour Operators (DRV), the End Child Prostitution and Trafficking (ECPAT)
organization and the crime-prevention division of the German police will be further developed
and intensified. The travel industry will become more closely involved and on a long-term basis
in the current preventive activities and information campaigns.
To this end, in a new phase of the project, the federal government, together with the European
Commission, will promote further measures towards the implementation of the Code of
Conduct, including targeted training of operators within the tourist trade and the involvement of
airlines and airport operators in the efforts to raise awareness of the problems.
Unfortunately, German airlines are no longer showing the in-flight video, which was produced by
the Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth to warn travellers against
committing acts of sexual abuse. We shall urge them to start showing this video again in order
to make travellers aware of the implications of this offence.
Back in 1999 and 2000 the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and
Youth, together with the European Commission, supported the ECPAT project Preventing Child
33
Sex Tourism, involving the introduction and piloting of a certified code of conduct for tour
operators, including a monitoring system and training courses for specialists in tourism.
In the year 2001, together with the DRV and with funding from the Federal Government, ECPAT
issued a code of conduct for its members. By accepting the code of conduct, the members
agree to support the struggle against the sexual exploitation of children, which is being waged
through the following means:
1. The DRV, in cooperation with ECPAT, has produced an information leaflet on the
protection of children from commercial sexual exploitation, and I believe that a large
batch of these leaflets – around 700,000 copies – has been printed. The content of the
leaflet has also been available for downloading from the Internet.
2. The staff of travel companies at home and in holiday destinations is being made
aware of the problem of child sex tourism with the aid of a brochure produced by the
DRV in cooperation with ECPAT.
3. Wherever possible, clauses are inserted in contracts with hotels, destination
management companies and other service providers to indicate clearly that both
parties abhor the sexual exploitation of children, and other suitable measures are
taken to convey this joint message.
4. Customers are informed and educated by measures such as the distribution of the
education leaflet by the member companies of the DRV in the home country or by tour
operators in holiday destinations.
5. The subject is dealt with in training courses for staff, travel consultants and couriers.
6. The code of conduct is taken into account in the formulation of company policy.
7. An annual report is compiled on measures taken in connection with the Code of
Conduct.
We welcome these arrangements, because they are an effective instrument enabling all
member companies to engage actively and continuously in the struggle for the rights of children
and against the sexual exploitation of minors. And we are pleased to note that this Code of
Conduct is now being introduced in many European countries.
Unfortunately, we are also aware that, in spite of all our legislative measures, child prostitution
remains a thriving business. UNICEF estimates that at least two million children fall victim to
sexual exploitation every year. This horrific figure does not relate exclusively to offences
committed by tourists. But one single sexually abused child is still one victim too many.
This problem can only be overcome through special vigilance, especially in countries that are
popular tourist destinations. It is simply unacceptable to advertise any holiday destination by
holding out the prospect of very young girls anticipating the visitor’s every wish. And we must
bolster the moral courage of decent tourists so that they do not look the other way but act
whenever they observe or suspect sexual abuse. In Brazil, for example, the national tourist
board appeals quite openly for assistance to prosecute offenders: “You too can help in the
global fight against abuse - report sex tourists and paedophiles!” With a small delegation from
the German Bundestag Committee on Tourism, we shall be travelling to Thailand before the
end of this month, and we shall raise this issue there. Thailand, of course, was the first holiday
destination to have its image tarnished by sex tourism.
The essential aim of all the so-called prosperous countries must be to improve economic
conditions for the people of the countries where sex tourism is rife. We must all attach high
priority to the fight against poverty.
34
Excerpt from the German Penal Code
Section 176 of the German Penal Code (Strafgesetzbuch) – Sexual abuse of children – is
worded as follows:
"(1) Anyone who performs sexual acts on a person under 14 years of age (a child), or induces
the child to perform such an act on him or her, shall be punished with imprisonment for six
months to ten years or, in less serious cases, with imprisonment for up to five years or a fine.
(2) The same punishment shall be imposed on anyone who compels a child to perform sexual
acts on a third party or to let a third party perform such acts on the child.
(3) Imprisonment for at least five years shall be imposed on anyone who:
1.
2.
3.
Performs sexual acts in front of a child,
Compels a child to perform sexual acts in front of him or her, or
Influences a child by showing him or her pornographic illustrations or images, by
playing to the child audio recordings with pornographic content or by speaking to the
child in a lewd or libidinous manner.”
Section 176a of the German Penal Code (Strafgesetzbuch) defines serious sexual abuse of
children as follows:
"(1) The sexual abuse of children shall be punished with imprisonment for at least one year in
the cases referred to in section 176(1) and (2) of this Act if:
1. A person over 18 years of age has sexual intercourse with the child or performs a
similar sexual act, involving bodily penetration, on a child or induces or allows the child
to perform such an act on him or her,
2. The act is committed jointly by more than one person,
3. The offender, by means of the said act, runs the risk of severely damaging the child’s
health or of seriously impairing the child’s physical or emotional development, or
4. The offender has been convicted of such a criminal offence within the last five years.
(2) In the cases referred to in section 176(1) to (4) of this Act, anyone acting as an offender or
other participant with intent to make the offence the subject of a piece of pornographic writing …
for dissemination … shall be punished with imprisonment for at least two years.
(3) In less serious cases of the types referred to in paragraph (1) above, imprisonment for three
months to five years shall be imposed; in less serious cases of the type referred to in paragraph
(2) above, imprisonment for one to ten years shall be imposed.
(4) Imprisonment for at least five years shall be imposed on anyone who, in committing an
offence referred to in section 176(1) or (2) of this Act:
1.
2.
Subjects the child to serious physical maltreatment, or
Endangers the child’s life.
(5) An offence for which the offender has been convicted abroad shall, in the case referred to in
paragraph (1)(4) above, be deemed equivalent to an offence for which the offender is convicted
in Germany, provided that it would be an offence in German criminal law under section 176(1)
or (2) of this Act.”
35
Hamish MCCULLOCH
Assistant Director
Trafficking in Human Beings
INTERPOL
Biographical Note
Mr. McCulloch is Assistant Director for Trafficking in Human Beings with Interpol. He is a
Detective Inspector from the United Kingdom, seconded to the Interpol General Secretariat,
situated in Lyon, France, by the National Crime Intelligence Service. He has 30 years police
service, 23 years of which have been spent attached to criminal investigation departments
involved in the investigation of crime, including drug trafficking, robbery, serious sexual offences
and homicide.
Since commencing his secondment to Interpol in February 1999, Mr. McCulloch has
represented the organization at many international fora, including the United Nations in New
York, the European Parliament, the G8, the Inter American Children’s Institute, the Asia
European Meeting (ASEM) and the Second World Congress against Commercial Sexual
Exploitation of Children. As an expert in the provision of advice and training, he has undertaken
over 50 official missions in over 25 countries in North, South and Central America, Africa,
Europe and Asia, at the request of governments, law enforcement and other organisations
involved in combating the smuggling of people and crimes against women and children. He has
also presented key note speeches and facilitated training courses on issues related to the
trafficking of human beings at many international conferences, including the UNDCP’s first
international seminar on trafficking in human beings, held in Brazil, and the first training course
to combat the trafficking of women and children. This was held for senior police officers in the
Peoples Republic of China.
Immediately prior to taking up his current post, Mr. McCulloch was responsible for a child
protection unit, paedophile investigation unit and a sex offender management unit in the United
Kingdom. He was elected Vice Chair of an Area Child Protection Committee and was a member
of a second committee. These are multi-agency committees working together to determine if a
child is, or may be, at risk of significant harm and, if so, to formulate a plan to protect the child
from further abuse. In addition, these Area Child Protection Committees have responsibility for
providing child protection training to professionals involved in protecting or working with
children.
Through his work, Mr. McCulloch has also become involved with a number of governmental and
non-governmental organisations, including ECPAT International (End Child Prostitution, Child
Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes), the International Centre for
Missing and Exploited Children, the International Organization for Migration and the
International Centre for Migratory Policy and Development.
Interpol and Law Enforcement for the protection of Children from Sexual
(Abstract)
Interpol has 181 members and is structured along three bodies: the General Assembly, on
which all Member Stated are represented; the Executive Committee, a steering group; the
General Secretariat, the operational body based in Lyon, France. The main guiding principle of
Interpol is to ensure and promote the widest possible mutual assistance between criminal police
authorities in different countries, within the limits of the laws, and to promote the spirit of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Another guiding principle is the establishment and
development of all institutional linkages likely to contribute effectively to the prevention and
suppression of ordinary crimes, such as that established between Interpol and the World
Tourism Organization.
36
The type of international crimes that Interpol deals with varies in form, for example:
•
Preparation for the commission of an offence in one country, simultaneous to the
commission of the offence in another one or more countries i.e. a sex tourist buys a
ticket in one country, but travels to another country to commit offences.
•
Commission of similar, but subsequent, offences in several countries, i.e. a criminal
travels from Thailand to Cambodia or travels to another country from his home country
to commit offences against children.
•
Cross border movements by persons for the commission of an offence.
•
Cross border transfer of illicit gains or concealment of objects and/or documents used
to commit an offence in another country.
Offences against children are outlined in UN conventions, such as the UN Convention on the
Right of the Child and in various UN resolutions. Interpol’s work linked to sex tourism includes
preventing the facilitation of this crime via the Internet, trafficking in women and children and
illegal adoptions. In order to effect the best possible gathering of intelligence, Interpol carries out
international investigations through cooperation and exchange of information with law
enforcement agencies in several countries and with organizations, non-governmental
organizations and the tourism industry. Interpol has established several methods to address
such crimes:
•
Telecommunication systems:
a. Network of servers that link all 181 Member States in order to exchange
information between law enforcement agencies. These systems will soon to be
strengthened by an Internet linked secure line called I-24/7.
b. Interpol Criminal Intelligence System for storing information about details of
convicted people, including sex offenders. It is automatically archived and has
intelligence and other information linked to it with access for all 181 Member
States. Countries vary in the ways they access and use this information.
•
Issuance of International Individual Notices-Red Notices (wanted persons); Yellow
Notices (missing persons, mainly children); Green Notices (intelligence information for
Member States on convicted criminals).
Once Green Notices are issued, countries using the Interpol network enter the
information contained in them into their border control systems, so that an immigration
control officer has information about those convicted of sexually abusing children who
try to enter a country. It is up to the authorities in each country to decide whether to
allow that person to enter and it is not necessary to provide reasons for refusing entry.
Green Notices are successful tools, ones that Interpol plans to use increasingly to stop
sex offenders from travelling.
One case of a Green Notice involved an offender from New Zealand. Between 1982
and 1991, he was convicted for separate offences of photographing and sexually
abusing 12-year-old girls in Australia and New Zealand. Between 1988 and 1997,
complaints about similar behaviour were made against him in Denmark and Latvia.
During this period his laptop was seized in the UK, which evidenced pornographic
images of children, although he claimed to be a professional photographer. He was a
known member of N.A.M.B.L.A (North American Boy Love Association) and had
numerous contacts throughout the world, many of whom were involved in paedophilia.
Although he was a convicted sex offender, and had been convicted in several
countries, he travelled freely across borders. In one year, 1998, he travelled to
Australia, Thailand, Denmark, Sweden, Latvia, France, the UK, and Japan. In 1999 he
travelled from Japan to several countries within the Schengen area: France, Germany,
Finland, Denmark and Sweden. Interpol’s General Secretariat was aware of his
actions and issued a Green Notice, with the result that in March 2000 he was refused
a VISA to enter the US.
•
Specialist group on crimes against children (sex tourism, child prostitution,
management of sex offenders, missing and trafficked children).
37
•
Unit devoted to crimes committed or facilitated via the Internet, through identification
of producers of child pornography, collaboration with service providers and NGOs that
manage hotlines, identification of those who use the Internet to sexually abuse
children, to post images and to exchange information. Law enforcement agents have
seized computers from people who are in possession of child pornography.
The demand for child pornography has existed for many years, through such means
as magazines, videos, films, still photography, some of which were difficult to uncover.
However, the Internet has facilitated investigations into child pornography. Forensic
analysis goes beyond the search for images, to the search for evidence of abuse of
children, and the analysis of information to identify new hot spots and current trends.
Other tasks related to the Internet include the identification of site operators, the
identification of new law enforcement initiatives and operations and the identification of
new trends. One system that has been used by Interpol for two years to identify
children who are being abused is Project Excalibur. This complex global system is
useful to protect children, as it is capable of linking pornographic images by victim,
location, abuser or a combination of all of these categories. D
•
Circular files on paedophile activity in Europe,
•
Analytical reports for sharing of information between law enforcement agencies
around the world.
PowerPoint Presentation
European Consultation
Protection of Children
from Sexual Exploitation
in Tourism
Interpol and Law
Enforcement Protecting
Children from Sexual
Rome Italy
2nd – 3rd April 2003
Hamish McCulloch
Assistant Director, Trafficking in Human Beings
Interpol
STRUCTURE OF
INTERPOL
General Assembly
Delegates of member
States
National Central
Bureaus in Member
States
Executive Committee
• President
• 3 Vice Presidents
• 9 Members
General Secretariat
Lyon (France)
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF
INTERPOL
ARTICLE 2 :
• INTERPOL’S AIM IS TO ENSURE AND
PROMOTE THE WIDEST POSSIBLE
MUTUAL ASSISTANCE BETWEEN ALL
CRIMINAL POLICE AUTHORITIES,
WITHIN THE LIMITS OF THE LAWS
EXISTING IN THE DIFFERENT
COUNTRIES AND IN THE SPIRIT OF THE
UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN
RIGHTS,
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF
INTERPOL
• ESTABLISH AND DEVELOP ALL
INSTITUTIONS LIKELY TO
CONTRIBUTE EFFECTIVELY TO
THE PREVENTION AND
SUPPRESSION OF ORDINARY
LAW CRIMES.
38
INTERNATIONAL CRIME
• PREPARATIONS FOR COMMITTING
AN OFFENCE MADE IN ONE
COUNTRY WHILE THE ACTUAL
OFFENCE IS COMMITTED IN ONE OR
MORE COUNTRIES,
• SIMILAR OFFENCES COMMITTED
ONE AFTER THE OTHER IN SEVERAL
DIFFERENT COUNTRIES,
INTERNATIONAL CRIME
• AN OFFENDER ESCAPE ACROSS
BORDER AFTER HAVING
COMMITTED HIS OFFENCE,
• AN OFFENDER TRANSFER HIS
ILLICIT GAINS ABROAD OR
CONCEAL OBJECTS AND/OR
DOCUMENTS USED TO COMMIT THE
OFFENCE IN ANOTHER COUNTRY.
INTERPOL’S ROLE IN
COMBATING OFFENCES
COMMITED AGAINST
CHILDREN
1989
United Nations Convention
on the Rights of the Child
U.N.C.R.C. ARTICLE 19
• ALL CHILDREN MUST BE PROTECTED FROM
ALL FORMS OF ABUSE INCLUDING SEXUAL
ABUSE.
ARTICLE 34
• ALL STATES WILL TAKE ALL APPROPRIATE
NATIONAL, BILATERAL AND MULTINATIONAL
MEASURES TO PREVENT INDUCEMENT OR
COERCION OF A CHILD ENGAGED IN ANY
UNLAWFUL SEXUAL ACTIVITY, THE
EXPLOITATIVE USE OF CHILDREN IN
PROSTITUTION OR OTHER UNLAWFUL SEXUAL
PRACTICES OR IN THE PRODUCTION OF ANY
PORNOGRAPHICH PRACTICE OR MATERIAL
RESOLUTION AGN/65/RES/10
RECOMMENDED THAT MEMBER
COUNTRIES:
• MAKE PROVISION IN THEIR
NATIONAL PENAL LEGISLATION FOR
THE PROSECUTION OF PERSONS
COMMITTING OFFENCES AGAINST
CHILDREN WHILST ABROAD
The Interpol
Telecommunication
Network
39
Lyon G.S.
Databases
EASTERN
EUROPE
MIDDLE EAST
36 NCBs
WESTERN
EUROPE
NORTH
AMERICA
32 NCBs
Buenos
Aires
SOUTH
AMERICA
12 NCBs
10/12/2003
Puerto
Rico
CARIBBEAN/
CENTRAL
AMERICA
31 NCBs
Abidjan
WEST
AFRICA
26 NCBs
Nairobi
EAST AFRICA
21 NCBs
Tokyo
ASIA
23 NCBs
Canberra
OCEANIA
10 NCBs
13
The Interpol Criminal
Intelligence System
• CRIMINAL DATABASE
• SYSTEM OF ELECTRONIC
ARCHIVING WITH
COMPUTERIZED INDEX
• ELECTRONIC TEXT AND
IMAGE SERVER (ASF)
ALLOWING INTERPOL
BUREAUS INSTANT AND
REMOTE CONSULTATION
The Regional Station for all of Europe and North America is based at Lyon. The
General Secretariat pays for the equipment and running costs of 107 countries and
for the equipment only for an additional 24 countries. This represents a very
important budget in order to offer to all the NCBs the same facilities
Interpol
International
Individual
Notices
DISRUPTION OF OFFENDERS
GREEN NOTICE
SUSPECTED
CRIMINAL
• NEW ZEALAND CITIZEN
• 1982 - 1991 - CONVICTED FOR SEPARATE
OFFENCES OF PHOTOGRAPHING AND
SEXUALLY ABUSING 12 YEAR OLD GIRLS
IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
• 1988 - 1997 - SIMILAR COMPLAINTS MADE
IN DENMARK & LATVIA
• LAP TOP SEIZED IN UNITED KINGDOM
CONTAINING PORNOGRAPHIC
PHOTOGRAPHS OF CHILDREN
• CLAIMS TO BE A PROFESSIONAL
PHOTOGRAPHER
• IS A KNOWN MEMBER OF N.A.M.B.L.A.
• HAS NUMEROUS CONTACTS
THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, MANY
INVOLVED IN PAEDOPHILIA
• TRAVELS INTERNATIONALLY
40
Κ7 - 5 - 98 Κ10 - 5 - 98 Κ13 - 5 - 98 Κ17 - 5 - 98 Κ21 - 5 - 98 Κ31 - 5 - 98 Κ2 - 6 - 98 -
1998
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA
BANGKOK, THAILAND
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN
RIGA, LATVIA
1998
Κ15 - 6 - 98 - NICE, FRANCE
Κ19 - 6 - 98 - LONDON, U.K
Κ21 - 6 - 98 - TOKYO, JAPAN
Κ25 - 6 - 98 - SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
Κ29 - 6 - 98 - AUCKLAND, NEW
ZEALAND
1999
Κ29 - 3 - 99 - NARITA, JAPAN
Κ1 - 4 - 99 - NICE, FRANCE Κ5 - 6 - 99 - DEPARTS HAMBURG,
GERMANY - ARRIVES HELSINKI,
FINLAND
Κ7 - 6 - 99 - COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
Κ11 - 6 - 99 - GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN
1999
Κ20 - 6 - 99 - HAMBURG, GERMANY
Κ23 - 6 - 99 - COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
Κ27 - 6 - 99 - GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN
Κ6 - 7 - 99 - KANSAI, JAPAN
Κ10 - 7 - 99 - AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
2000
MARCH
APPLIED FOR VISA TO
ENTER THE U.S.A.
REFUSED
IPSG ISSUED A GREEN NOTICE
THE INTERPOL
SPECIALIST
GROUP ON
CRIMES AGAINST
CHILDREN
INTERPOL SPECIALIST GROUP
ON CRIMES AGAINST
CHILDREN
• FIRST MEETING - MARCH 1993
• ATTENDED BY 11 MEMBER
COUNTRIES
• HAS NOW MET ON 20 OCCASIONS
• PROFESSIONAL - PRODUCTIVE EFFICIENT
BELGIUM
FINLAND
BURKINA FASO
CANADA
DENMARK
AUSTRIA
ALGERIA
HUNGARY
IRELAND
UK
CROATIA
POLAND
SWEDEN
NORWAY
SYRIA
USA
LEBANON
SPAIN
JAPAN
PRRTUGAL
CHINA
NIGERIA
SWITZERLAND
AUSTRALIA
INDIA
GREECE
MAURITIUS
ITALY
ZIMBABWE
SOUTH AFRICA
NETHERLANDS FRANCE GERMANY
KUWAIT
BRAZIL
CHILI
41
THE SPECIALIST GROUP
THEME GROUPS:
• CHILD PORNOGRAPHY – INCLUDING
INTERNET
• MISSING & TRAFFICKING OF CHILDREN
• CHILD SEX TOURISM
• MANAGEMENT OF SEX OFFENCERS
THE SPECIALIST GROUP’S
GOALS
OPERATION’S
• INVESTIGATION INTO PAEDOPHILE
NETWORKING ON THE INTERNET
• CO-ORDINATION OF SIMILTANIOUS
POLICE RAIDS IN COUNTRIES
• CO-ORDINATION OF RESULTS
• IDENTIFYING THE RIGHT PLAYERS
• MAINTAINING MOMENTUM
• BUILD UP A CONTACT NETWORK
• DISCUSS OPERATIONAL ISSUES
• DEFINE STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE
THE FIGHT AGAINST CHILD SEX
OFFENDERS
• IDENTIFY EXPERTS FOR TRAINING
PROGRAMS
• VICTIM IDENTIFICATION
• ABUSER IDENTIFICATION
CHILD SEX TOURISM
• NEW VICTIM
LOCATIONS
• HOT SPOTS
• OFFENDERS
• INTELLIGENCE
• EVIDENCE
CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
DEMAND
• MAGAZINES
• VIDEO
• CINE FILM
• PHOTOGRAPHS
INTERNET
CRIMINAL INTELLIGENCE
PROJECTS
• 1994 - PROJECT CIRCULAR FILE ON
PAEDOPHILE ACTIVITY IN
EUROPE
• 1996 - PROJECT ‘ BABYLON ’ 133 PAGE ANALYSIS DOCUMENT
• ANALYSIS OF CRIMINAL
INVESTIGATIONS
INVESTIGATIONS
• THERE IS A CONTINUOUS NEED TO
IDENTIFY:
• PRODUCERS OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
• INVESTIGATORS IN THE COUNTRIES OF
ORIGIN WHO WILL TAKE ACTION
• COUNTRIES WHO CAN UNDERTAKE
NATIONAL OPERATIONS AND METHODS
OF INFORMATION EXCHANGE
i.e. through the specialist group network
• OTHER ORGANISATIONS &
STAKEHOLDERS
42
CURRENT AREAS OF
WORK LINKED TO SEX
TOURISM
• INTERNET
• SEX TOURISM
• TRAFFICKING IN WOMEN AND
CHILDREN
• ILLEGAL ADOPTIONS
THE INTERNET
THE INTERNET
A NEW CHALLENGE
• IDENTIFYING SITE OPERATORS COMMERCIAL & NON COMMERCIAL
• PROMOTING CO-ORDINATION
• IDENTIFYING NEW LAW
ENFORCEMENT INITIATIVES &
OPERATIONS
• IDENTIFYING NEW TRENDS
• WORKING WITH INTERNET
SERVICE PROVIDERS
• PROJECTS TO :
• IDENTIFY CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
ON THE INTERNET
• AND
• THOSE PROMOTING CHILD SEX
TOURISM AND CHILD ABUSE ON
THE INTERNET
PROJECT EXCALIBUR
A SYSTEM CABABLE
OF LINKING
PORNOGRAPHIC
IMAGES BY;
• VICTIM,
OR
• LOCATION,
OR
• ABUSER
OR
• A COMBINATION
Second Session
CAMPAIGNS, CO-OPERATION AND NETWORKING
Chairman:
H.E. Ms. Stefania PRESTIGIACOMO
Minister for Equal Opportunities, Italy
Mr. Luigi CABRINI
Regional Representative for Europe
Mr. Lucio D’AMORE
National Expert
Tourism Unit
DG Enterprise
European Commission
H.E. Ms. Stefania PRESTIGIACOMO
President
Inter-ministerial Committee for Coordination and Fight against Paedophilia
(CICLOPE)
Italy
Mr. Jean-Marc NESME
Vice-President
Human Rights Commission of the French Parliament, France
Mr. Marco SCARPATI
Professor of Comparative Family Law
University of Parma;
President, ECPAT Italy
Mgr. Piero MONNI
Permanent Observer of the Holy See to WTO
Ms. Paola VIERO
Central Technical Unit
Directorate General for Development Cooperation
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Italy
Mr. Aldo LI CASTRI
Head of International Relations
Federturismo (Confindustria)
44
Mr. Paolo DIAMANTE
Manager
International Relations and Tourism Department
Automobile Club d’Italia in representation of AIT-FIA
Ms. Camelia TEPELUS
Coordinator
Code of Conduct Secretariat, ECPAT
Ms. Patricia BARNETT
Director
Tourism Concern
United Kingdom
The second session of this conference focuses on campaigns, cooperation and networking.
Presentations will be made on inter-institutional cooperation, (on behalf of Ms. Prestigiacomo)
by Mr. Mario Se, Chef du Cabinet for the Minister of Equal Opportunities; the international
campaign against sexual exploitation in tourism by made Mr. Cabrini, the Regional
Representative for Europe with the World Tourism Organization; European Commission action
against the sexual exploitation of children in tourism made by Mr. Lucio D’Amore, a
representative of the EC; teaching civic-mindedness, respect for other cultures and human
dignity made by Jean- Marc Nesme, from the Human Rights Commission of the French
Parliament.
There shall also be an overview of the outcome of the results of a study on the profile of CSEC
clients, presented by Marco Scarpati, President of ECPAT Italy, which is an organization that is
active in countering paedophilia and human rights. This shall be followed by presentations on
religious institutions and sex tourism made by Mgr. Piero Monni, the Permanent Observer of the
Holy See of the WTO; international assistance to developing countries made by Ms. Paola
Viero, from the Central Technical Unit, Directorate General for Development Cooperation,
Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; two presentations on the public and private sector against sex
tourism, made by Mr. Aldo Li Castri, Head of International Relations, Federturismo
(Confindustria) and by Mr. Paolo Diamante, Manager of International Relations and Tourism
Development, Automobile Club of Italy, in representation of AIT-FISA. These will be followed by
presentations on the Code of Conduct for the travel and tourism industry made by Ms. Camelia
Tepelus, Coordinator of the Code of Conduct Secretariat on behalf of ECPAT and on
responsible tourism, travelling with eyes wide shut, made by Ms. Patricia Barnett, Director of
Tourism Concern in the United Kingdom
Luigi CABRINI
Regional Representative For Europe
WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION
Biographical Note
Luigi Cabrini obtained a degree in political science from the University of Pisa, in Italy. He
completed post-graduate courses in international law, history and economics. Before joining the
United Nations (UN), he worked as a language teacher, journalist and editor for several
magazines and newspapers in Rome, Italy. He began his career with the UN in 1982 as Officer
in Charge of Assistance Programmes for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
office in Guatemala City, Guatemala. From 1984 to 2002 he was responsible for various
activities for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in countries such as
Mexico, Pakistan, Somalia and Geneva. He was also UNHCR’s representative in Poland and
Spain.
Mr. Cabrini is currently the Regional Representative for Europe with the World Tourism
Organization (WTO), the leading international and intergovernmental organization in the field of
travel and tourism. The WTO serves as a global forum for tourism policy issues and a practical
source of tourism know how and statistics. In his function, Mr. Cabrini directs actions aimed at
supporting the efforts of National Tourism Administrations in Europe. He organizes seminars on
topics of particular relevance to individual or groups of countries (i.e. on tourism promotion or
rural tourism). He delivers presentations on tourism trends and other issues at conferences
organised throughout Europe. All of these activities are designed to improve the tourism
industry of each country within the region. Other specific projects that Mr. Cabrini is presently
coordinating include the Silk Road project and the protection of children from sexual exploitation
in tourism.
Mr. Cabrini speaks Italian, English, French, Spanish and Polish.
Overview of the International Campaign against
Sexual Exploitation of Children in Tourism
(Full Text)
The sexual exploitation of children is a sad reality of the world in which we live. And tourism is
not immune. However, it took some time for the tourism industry to realise that in fact tourism
could be a means to aggravate the problem and that it was necessary to assume its part of the
responsibility.
The phenomenon of sexual exploitation of children in tourism (or as it is more commonly known
as “child sex tourism”) affects at present almost every country in the world.
The World Tourism Organization (WTO) became actively involved in the struggle against
organized sex tourism, and particularly the sexual exploitation of children, more than ten years
ago, having been alerted of this phenomenon by various NGOs, notably ECPAT (End Child
Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking in Children for Sexual Exploitation in Tourism),
and a number of religious networks operating in tourist destination countries.
A few years later, in 1995, the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization adopted its
first resolution on -as it was then called- the prevention of “organised sex tourism”, in which it
denounced and condemned child sex tourism, “considering it a violation of Article 34 of the
1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and requiring strict legal action by
tourist sending and receiving countries”.
However, it was only after the First World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of
Children, held in Stockholm in 1996, that co-operation between the public and private sector,
between governments, the tourism industry and the civil society actually began. The Stockholm
Congress urged participants to “mobilize the business sector, including the tourism industry,
46
against the use of its networks and establishments for the commercial sexual exploitation of
children” and to “promote better cooperation and encourage the establishment of national and
international coalition to this effect.”
As a response to the Agenda for Action of the Stockholm Congress, the WTO, along with
ECPAT International and a number of forerunners from governments and tourism industry
associations, established an open-ended network in 1997 known as the” Child Prostitution and
Tourism Task Force”. The group was later re-baptised as “Task Force to Protect Children from
Sexual Exploitation in Tourism”. Its mission was, and still is, to “prevent, uncover, isolate and
eradicate the exploitation of children in tourism”.
An international awareness raising campaign entitled «NO Child Sex Tourism» was launched
and an international logo adopted. WTO member governments were invited to take
administrative and legal measures, such as designating focal points (contact persons) within
their national tourism administrations, strengthen national legislation against the sexual
exploitation of children in tourism and improve law enforcement. Similarly, the tourism industry
was encouraged to adopt and implement professional codes of conduct, good practices or other
forms of self-regulatory measures to fight this repulsive practice. Public-private partnerships, as
well as cooperation between tourist generating and destination countries was promoted and
supported by WTO.
An Internet site was rapidly opened and 46 countries joined our Organization in developing it;
steps to back this action were promptly taken by a number of important tourism sector
organizations worldwide. From a relatively small group of partners at the beginning, the number
of Task Force participants has increased steadily over the years.
As the movement continued to gain momentum, we have witnessed the adoption of new laws
against the sexual exploitation of children in tourism, as well as the enforcement of harsher
penalties for child abusers in most countries where legislation already existed; under these
laws, the possibility of prosecuting, in their home countries, those who perpetrate such crimes
abroad now extends to more than 30 States.
Additionally, several countries have launched national campaigns against the sexual
exploitation of children in tourism, and a number of important tourism industry organisations in
Europe have adopted codes of conduct. Some airlines have included campaign articles in their
in-flight magazines and others, such as Air France, Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines, have
screened in-flight videos on board of their planes or at airport lounges and shuttle buses.
Tourism education and hotel training establishments have incorporated special courses and
awareness-raising programmes into their curricula.
At the end of 2000, the actions undertaken by WTO acquired a new dimension thanks to the
backing of the European Union which, by virtue of an agreement signed between the two
institutions, provided a first grant of one million euros to support a number of interactive projects
jointly implemented by WTO and three NGO partners: (a) the ECPAT Group with its associates
in Austria, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom, (b) the
International Federation of Journalists, and (c) the German branch of the NGO «Terre des
hommes».
Under the first phase of this umbrella project, funded from a budget line administered by the
Tourism Unit of DG Enterprise, two regional consultations were organized by WTO (in Bangkok
and in Sao Paulo), and a workshop on the contribution of the tourism sector to the protection of
children from sexual exploitation, was held in Yokohama in conjunction with the Second World
Congress against commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children.
Additionally, WTO published four publications, of which (a) two curricula to assist educators in
integrating the subject into education programmes -one designed for tourism-related courses,
and the other for secondary school education of children aged 12 to 16; (b) a report on The
Incidence of Sexual Exploitation of Children in Tourism; and (c) a set of Guidelines for National
Tourism Administration (NTA) Focal Points, to assist officials and focal points of NTAs in
actively engaging in the protection of children from sexual exploitation in tourism.
47
Among our NGO partners, the ECPAT Group lobbied their countries’ tourism sector for the
adoption of the Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation of
Children in Travel and Tourism. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) published a
handbook entitled Putting Children in the Right, featuring guidelines and principles for reporting
on children’s issues. Terre des Hommes (Germany) developed an Internet platform offering
travellers and travel agents on-line information, with tips on how tourists can respond to the
situation in the destination countries and at home (www.child-hood.com).
A second agreement was signed between the EU and the WTO a year ago in 2002, to further
develop and reinforce actions initiated under the first project. This time, the funds were made
available from a budget line administered by the EuropeAid Cooperation Office of the European
Commission.
A new NGO partner, the Family and Child Care Centre (FCCC) in Greece has now joined the
previous project partners in the implementation of the various activities, whose focus continued
to be awareness-raising and capacity-building. Two new features have nevertheless been
added to this second phase of the project, which are (a) the dissemination by FCCC of
information material directly to travellers at international airports in Greece, Turkey and Cyprus,
and (b) the production of an information spot for TV and cinema designed for a specific target
group: the young people.
***
However, a more active engagement is being sought by WTO from governments in the prevention
of sexual exploitation of children in tourism. This engagement should result in the creation of
national and regional networks to combat this phenomenon, as recommended in the WTO
guidelines for national tourism administrations. This commitment should also lead to the
incorporation of a specific training into regular education programmes of tourism training institutes
and secondary schools, both public and private.
WTO will encourage the achievement of these two objectives throughout 2003 by means of four
regional consultations, for the first of which we have gathered here in Rome yesterday and today.
Our next regional appointments will be in San José, Costa Rica on 7-8 May 2003, followed by
Bali, Indonesia, on 26-27 June, and Dakar, Senegal on 29-20 September.
Although the commitment of the tourism sector in the field of the protection of children, as well
as the achievements obtained so far are encouraging, WTO is nonetheless aware that the
struggle is far from over. Protecting children from sexual exploitation is indeed a challenge of
enormous magnitude and we are only just beginning to realize how complex the issue is. There
is no single, simple solution to this phenomenon
***
WTO holds the view that the development of tourism cannot take place outside a moral
framework. From its inception WTO has always been active, not only in promoting the
development of tourism, but promoting responsible and socially sustainable tourism.
It is against this background that the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism was developed and
adopted in 1999 by the WTO General Assembly as a basic set of rules that should guide the
behaviour of all the stakeholders in the industry, including tourists and local communities.
Article 2 of the Code firmly condemns the sexual exploitation of children which, I quote,
“conflicts with the fundamental aims of tourism and is the negation of tourism; as such, in
accordance with international law, it should be energetically combated with the cooperation of
all States concerned and penalized without concession by the national legislation of both the
countries visited and the countries of the perpetrators of these acts, even when they are carried
out abroad”.
In this respect, the World Tourism Organization would like to assure the tourism sector and
international community of its determination to continue voicing its concern worldwide about the
violation of children’s rights and reaffirms its commitment to pursue, in cooperation with our
partners, the struggle against sexual exploitation of children in tourism.
48
By bringing together governments, intergovernmental organizations, tourism industry
associations, NGOs and experts to discuss and study this issue here in Rome, we believe that
the outcome of this consultation will give rise to more effective policies and strategies to tackle
the sexual exploitation of children in tourism, and also result in an enhanced cooperation
between the public and the private sector, both at local, national and regional levels.
Your participation in this very important endeavour is essential.
Thank you.
49
Lucio D’AMORE
National Expert
Tourism Unit
DG Enterprise
European Commission
Biographical Note
Mr. D’Amore works for the Italian Ministry for Productive Activities, Tourism Directorate-General
and was seconded in October 2000 as a National Expert to the European Commission in
Brussels, Enterprise Directorate-General Tourism Unit. His work focuses on cultural tourism and
other forms of tourism, specific categories of tourist destinations and programmes for regional
development. This is Mr. D’Amore’s second mandate as National Expert to the European
Commission. From 1991 to 1994, he worked at the Environment Directorate-General, where he
dealt with issues on the relationship between tourism and the environment within the framework
of sustainable development.
Mr D’Amore holds degrees in political sciences, Italian literature, foreign languages and
literature and has completed various specializations in international relations. He has taught in
high schools and has had several served with the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of
Tourism. As ministerial official, he has dealt with issues related to international organizations, as
well and tourism and culture.
European Commission Action
(Abstract)
The European Commission (EC) is fully aware of both the extent and seriousness of the
phenomenon of sexual exploitation of children in tourism. An effective approach to fighting
against child sex tourism implies joint action by the WTO, the industry, civil society, the media,
destination countries, the European Union and its Member States.
On November 27 1996, the EC adopted a first Communication establishing a general
framework of action to combat child sex tourism. The Commission Communication of 26 May
1999 on the implementation of measures to combat child sex tourism identified four main
actions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Raising awareness of the phenomenon of child sex tourism
Strengthening the effectiveness of laws and law enforcement, including criminal law
Intensifying efforts to stem the flow of sex tourists from Member States
Developing measures to combat child sex tourism in third countries
From 1997 to 2000 the EC supported a series of projects aimed at:
•
Raising awareness of travellers to the problem of child sex tourism
•
Creating an Internet platform against child sex tourism
•
Developing training material for tourism schools
•
Establishing a certified Code of Conduct for tour operators
•
Enhancing media awareness of the phenomenon of child sex tourism
From 2001-2002, the EC co-financed the « International Campaign against the Sexual
Exploitation of Children in Tourism », carried out by WTO, in partnership with ECPAT, the
International Federation of Journalists and terre des hommes. Project activities were aimed at:
1.
2.
Increasing understanding of the phenomenon of sexual exploitation of children in
tourism;
Encouraging the private and the public sector to fight against this practice;
50
3.
Promoting co-operation in this field amongst all tourism stakeholders at international,
national, regional and local levels.
Two EC programs that have been established to fight against child sex tourism:
1. STOP (I and II) program of incentives, exchanges, training and cooperation for persons
responsible for combating trade in human beings and the sexual exploitation of
children (1997-2000);
2. DAPHNE program on preventive measures to fight violence against children, young
persons and women (2000-2003).
The EC develops policies and programs on sustainable development of tourism, which not only
fights against poverty, but also against the sexual exploitation of children, as children represent
the future of mankind.
Commissione
European
Commission
Europea
Direzione Generale
Enterprise
Directorate-General
Imprese - Unità
--Tourism
Information
Turismo
Unitand Communication Unit
Commissione
Europea
European
Commission
Geneviève Pons
European Commission action
against sexual exploitation
of children in tourism
Arnold Böcklin, Vita somnium breve (1888)
European Conference
on the Protection of Children
(Rome, 33-4 April 2003)
EnterpriseGenerale
Direzione
Directorate-General
Imprese
Imprese--Unità
Unità
--Tourism
Information
Turismo
Turismo
Strategia
Geneviève Pons
The approach against sexual exploitation
of children in tourism
World Tourism
Organization
Industry
Civil society
& Media
European
Commission &
Member States
Destination
Countries
Presentation by Lucio d’Amore
Commissione
Europea
European
Commission
Direzione Generale
Directorate-General
Imprese
Imprese--Unità
Unità
--Tourism
Information
Turismo
Turismo
Enterprise
Unitand Communication UnitStrategia
Commissione
European
Commission
Europea
Geneviève Pons
Commission Communication of 27 November 1996
on combating child sex tourism
Three priority areas:
Direzione Generale
Enterprise
Directorate-General
Imprese
Imprese--Unità
Unità
--Tourism
Information
Turismo
Turismo
Tendenze
Geneviève Pons
Eurobarometer survey on the European’s views
on the phenomenon of child sex tourism (1998):
5%
5%
Î Deterring and punishing child sex abusers
Î 85% of Europeans is aware of the problem and feels that
12%
European Union action is essential
Î Stemming the flow of sex tourists from Member States
Î The phenomenon is seen particularly acute in Asia, Latin
America, Central and Eastern Europe and Africa
Î Helping to combat sex tourism in third countries
Î Child sex tourism is generally seen as being linked to poverty,
child sex abuse, international trafficking in children
European Parliament’s Resolution of 6 November 1997
Council’s Declaration of 26 November 1997
Î To combat child sex tourism, priority is given to punitive
measures and prevention
Commissione
Europea
European
Commission
Direzione Generale
Directorate-General
Imprese
Imprese--Unità
Unità
--Tourism
Information
Turismo
Turismo
Enterprise
Commissione
Europea
European
Commission
Geneviève Pons
Commission Communication of 26 May 1999
on the implementation of measures to combat child sex tourism
Four main actions:
Î Raising awareness of the phenomenon of child sex tourism
Î Strengthening the effectiveness of laws and law enforcement,
including criminal law
Î Intensifying efforts to stem the flow of sex tourists from Member
States
Î Developing measures to combat child sex tourism in third countries
Council’s Conclusions of 21 December 1999
European Parliament’s Resolution of 30 March 2000
Direzione Generale
Directorate-General
Imprese
Imprese--Unità
Unità
--Tourism
Information
Turismo
Turismo
Enterprise
Geneviève Pons
1997-1998 activities:
terre des hommes project
Î In-flight spot aiming at making the travellers aware of the problem of child sex
tourism
Groupe Développement/ECPAT project
Î to inform travellers by distributing a “luggage tag” accompanied by an information
leaflet
Î to train the industry by developing teaching tools for lecturers in travel and
tourism
1999- 2000 activities:
Î terre des hommes: The Internet-platform against child sex tourism
Î ECPAT: The certified Code of conduct for tour operators against child sex
tourism
Î International Federation of Journalists: Media coverage of child sex tourism
related issues
51
Commissione
Europea
European
Commission
Commissione
Europea
European
Commission
Direzione Generale
Directorate-General
Imprese
Imprese--Unità
Unità
--Tourism
Information
Turismo
Turismo
Enterprise
Geneviève Pons
2001:International Campaign against the Sexual
Exploitation of Children in Tourism
Project carried out by the World Tourism Organization in partnership with
ECPAT Sweden & partners, the International Federation of Journalists and
terre des hommes Deutschland
Objectives:
Î Awareness-raising campaign targeting host communities and national tourism
administrations at destinations countries;
Î Follow-up of the 2000 project on the certified Code of conduct for tour operators against
child sex tourism;
Î Launching of awareness-raising actions following the conclusions of the 2000 project to
enhance Media awareness of the ethical dimension of responsible tourism;
Î Follow-up actions planned after the launching by end of 2000 of the Internet-platform
against sexual exploitation of children connected to tourism.
Direzione Generale
Directorate-General
Imprese
Imprese--Unità
Unità
--Tourism
Information
Turismo
Turismo
Enterprise
Four inter-related projects assembled under the umbrella project
led by the WTO in cooperation with ECPAT, IFJ and tdh
Overall objective:
to fight sexual exploitation of children in tourism by means of awareness raising
activities both in countries of origin of tourists and in tourism destinations
Main activities:
Î dissemination of the WTO Guidelines for National Tourist
Administrations
Î incorporation of training modules into tourist operator schools
Î production of TV and radio spots and maintenance of a web-site
Î dialogue between media professionals and relevant NGOs, international agencies
and trade unions in the tourism sector
Î presence at tourist fairs and application of the Code of conduct.
European
Commission
Commissione
Europea
Studi
Enterprise
Unitand Communication
Direzione Generale
Directorate-General
Imprese
Imprese--Unità
Unità
--Tourism
Information
Turismo
Turismo
Unit
Geneviève Pons
2002:International Campaign against the Sexual
Exploitation of Children in Tourism
Commissione
Europea
European
Commission
nel 2000
Geneviève Pons
e
STOP (I and II) programme of incentives,
exchanges, training
and cooperation for persons responsible for combating trade in
human beings and the sexual exploitation of children (1997(1997-2000)
Objectives:
EnterpriseGenerale
Direzione
Directorate-General
Imprese
Imprese--Unità
Unità
--Tourism
Information
Turismo
Turismo
Unit
Unitand CommunicationProgrammi
Geneviève Pons
DAPHNE programme on preventive measures to fight violence
against children, young persons and women (2000-2003)
Objectives:
• To contribute towards ensuring a high level of protection of physical and mental
Î to encourage and support networks and practical cooperation;
Îto improve and adapt training and scientific and technical research;
Î to encourage the stepping up of cooperation with third countries and the
competent regional and international organizations.
STOP and other programmes have been merged into a
single framework programme on police and judicial
cooperation in criminal matters, AGIS (2003-2007)
Commissione
Europea
European
Commission
Turismo
Direzione Generale
Directorate-General
Imprese
Imprese--Unità
Unità
--Tourism
Information
Turismo
Turismo
Unit
Enterprise
Unitand Communication
health by the protection of children, young persons and women against violence
• To assist and encourage NGOs and other organizations active in this field
Actions:
Î transnational actions to set up multidisciplinary networks and to
ensure exchange of information, best practice and cooperation at
Community level;
Î transnational actions aimed at raising public awareness;
Î complementary actions.
Commissione
Europea
European
Commission
e CulturaGeneviève Pons
Tourism has an enormous potential to improve social
development and economic growth: it is a key factor
in the framework of intercultural dialogue and
sustainable development.
Sustainable development also implies a fight against
poverty and against sexual exploitation of children,
who represent the future of mankind.
Direzione Generale
Directorate-General
Imprese - Unità
--Tourism
Information
Turismo
Enterprise
Geneviève Pons
TOURISM UNIT WEBSITE:
http://europa
http://europa..eu.
eu.int/
int/comm/enterprise/
comm/enterprise/
services/tourism/index_en.htm
services/tourism/index_en.htm
E-mail address:
[email protected]
HUMAN RESOURCES Also in this field multiple needs have been stressed, some of them
strictly linked to those indicated in the previous Session, such as the analysis of the interaction
between economic growth /investment and creation or maintenance of employment and the
analysis of the impact of new technologies on future professions and employment. Furthermore,
the development of a comprehensive directory of colleges and courses, including distance
learning and the improvement in communication/promotion of education and training activities
have been indicated as priorities.
LEGISLATION AND FINANCING General recommendations concern the improvement of
homogeneous and co-ordinated inventories of the legislation affecting the tourism sector and of
the list of tourism infrastructure projects financed by the EU.
ENTITIES General recommendations concern the development of homogeneous and coordinated inventories of NGO's and trade association, as well as comprehensive directories of
colleges and courses, including distance learning.
DATABASES AND DOCUMENTATION The recommendations in this field focus on the
following issues: tourist indicators, complete texts, and legislation dispositions.
52
Stefania PRESTIGIACOMO
President
Inter-ministerial Committee for Coordination and Fight against Paedophilia (CICLOPE)
Italy
Biographical Note
Born in Siracusa on 16 December 1966, Ms. Prestigiacomo has a background in business. In
1990, at the age of 23, she was elected president of the Young Entrepreneurs Group of
Siracusa. In 1994 she was elected to the Italian Parliament on the Forza Italia slate.
In the 12th legislature, Ms. Prestigiacomo served as a member of the Public and Private Labour
Committee and of the Special Committee for Childhood, as well as an alternate member of the
Council of Europe and the Western European Union (WEU). In 1996, she was elected to the
single member district of Siracusa.
In the 13th legislature, she served as Deputy Head of the Forza caucus in the Chamber of
Deputies, a member of the public and private labour committee and a member of the Italy-Spain
inter-parliamentary group. Ms. Prestigiacomo was elected as a Member of Parliament in May
2001 in the single member district of Siracusa.
Inter-institutional Cooperation
(Abstract)
The Inter-ministerial Committee for the Coordination and Fight against Pedophilia (CICLOPE) is
an inter-ministerial body established by the Italian government to address the commercial
sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) and sexual exploitation in tourism (SECT). CICLOPE was
developed as one measure established within the framework of the UN call for all industrialized
countries to combat CSEC and SECT. Italy is at the forefront of the battle to combat these
problems and, in recent years, has adopted legislation and operational coordination measures
to deal address with them. However, it must be noted that addressing this issue requires
constant monitoring, broad mobilization and coordination strategies amongst countries, notably
in the light of technological advances, such as the Internet. As economic and cultural matters
have become global, so must be the protection of human rights. With Law 269, adopted in
1999, Italy became one of first countries to enact legislation dealing with CSEC and SECT and
as it covers matters of extraterritoriality, there can now be prosecution of offenders who commit
crimes, even while outside the country.
The Italian government is aware of the problem of SECT and has enacted an administration
system to combat it. Twelve ministries have set up an inter-ministerial coordination body,
CICLOPE to address this phenomenon and to cooperate with various organizations that have
dealt with the issue over a number of years. In 2003, CICLOPE developed the first national plan
to counteract pedophilia through the establishment of an observatory to collect both national
and international information. This observatory has oversight functions.
Legislation has also been adapted to new forms of on-line pedophilia and technological
developments. This necessitates intervention, good practices, and self-regulation. For example
there has been examination of service providers in order to identify those with access to
pedophilia sites.
Countering pedophilia has also been developed through the establishment of a special phone
line with a 114 number. This phone line was initiated in Milan and is currently in its experimental
stage in Milan, as well as in two other cities. The government will measure the efficacy of this
phone line over upcoming months, after which the phone line may be established on a national
scale. This initiative represents a major step and it is hoped that this line will not only deal with
denunciations of child abuse, but will be also provide links to organizations that assist children
in overcoming problem situations.
53
CICLOPE has also addressed the issue of the sexual exploitation of children in tourism. Those
who practice this form of tourism are men from rich countries, while victims are children from
poor countries, who are extremely poor. The international community has identified various
areas where this practice should be prevented and combated and where support for victims
should be provided. Many initiatives exist, including those carried out in cooperation with UN
bodies, non-governmental organizations and regional and local entities.
One initiative to address SECT, which has been carried out at the local level, is the UNICEF
program organized between Italy and the Dominican Republic. One of the aims of this program
is to strengthen local protection entities in 11 municipalities. These municipalities were selected
for the program because they were identified as high-risk areas, based on their levels of
poverty, the level of abuse within them and the fact that they represent destinations for SECT.
As a result of this program, there has also been the development of measures to identify or
establish institutional bodies to deal with preventive and recovery measures and to provide
support for victims of exploitation and abuse.
There are other programs that focus on establishing awareness raising campaigns within the
tourism industry, for example through the dissemination of brochures and videos. The tourism
industry has adopted a code of ethics addressing respect for the rights of children and
adolescents. All World Tourism Organization Member States are urged to adopt necessary
measures in order to implement this code. However, the measures are not yet sufficient in
guaranteeing the full protection of children. To this end, CICLOPE will develop programs,
notably those which have been identified by the international community as necessary to
combat SECT, such as those focusing on preventive measures and support for victims.
It is important that victims of abuse have the opportunity for a new life and that they are
reintegrated into society. They must also be assisted with overcoming psychological problems,
although these cannot be totally eliminated. States must also establish structures to train staff.
Prevention of SECT represents a major challenge and we must continue to raise awareness of
this problem.
54
Jean-Marc NESME
Vice-President of the Human Rights Commission
French Parliament
Biographical Note
Mr. Nesme is Mayor of Paray-le-Monial and is a Member of Parliament. He serves as a member
of the Foreign Affairs Commission, a member of the High Council for International Co-operation
and a member of the parliamentary study groups on human rights and child rights. He is in
charge of a mission looking at on the global application of the UN Convention on Child Rights in
the world.
Mr. Nesme’s parliamentary work on actions for the protection of children, include approaches to
the government to enhance the concepts of human dignity and respect for cultures in the
education of young people. He is currently working on a legal proposal to criminalize offences
against the human dignity of men and women in the area of advertising.
Teaching Civic-Mindedness, Respect for other Cultures and Human Dignity
(Full text of presentation, edited)
May I first express my deep gratitude for your invitation to speak at this WTO regional
consultation on the issue of sexual tourism involving children.
I am fully aware that I am speaking today at this meeting to specialists on this matter, which is
not very easy for me. Therefore, please bear with me while I make the following remarks.
I will begin my speech by quoting a phrase from Albert Camus’ thank you speech when he
received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1957:
“Each generation probably feels it has to rebuild the world. Mine, however,
knows that it will not do so. But its task is perhaps all the greater. It consists in
preventing the world from disintegrating.”
We are convened today in Rome to prevent the world from disintegrating. We are here to join
forces throughout our various countries to protect our children in our own lands, of course, but
also to try and find means of raising the level of protection for all children worldwide, especially
those forced to use their innocence to earn a living or to survive.
The topic of my speech, as you know, concerns education in civics, and respect for cultures and
the human person. This is an immense subject, so I will stick to developing three points that
appear important to me, namely:
•
•
•
I.
Disrespect for the body and sexual exploitation as promoted by the media and the
cultural environment
Sexual exploitation in tourism as promoted through globalisation
Need to combat the sexual exploitation of children in tourism through prevention, the
strengthening of penalties and education.
Disrespect For The Body And Sexual Exploitation As Promoted By The Media And The
Cultural Environment
The slavery of a child, treated as a sexual object, is incompatible with respect for human dignity
and the physical integrity of persons. Awareness that the value of the child is universal is
relatively recent. The founding texts of this recognition are the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (1948), and the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (1982). The
Stockholm Declaration (1996) and that of Yokohama (2001) against the commercial sexual
55
exploitation of children were opportunely adopted to underscore one of the contemporary
scourges of modern slavery and to recommend to states appropriate measures to combat it.
Awareness exists. Legal means are being set in place. But why are these atrocities—far from
declining—spreading, including in Europe and in France? Several factors can account for this:
1. Irresponsible individual behaviour, the permissive evolution of society and the breakdown of
families are factors feeding all kinds of deviations. Through too often allowing it to be
believed that everything is allowed, we forget that some things are fundamentally banned.
When the social models convey the opposite and acknowledge, as freedom of expression,
attitudes and gestures conflicting with responsible behaviour respectful of others, society is
being led stray. The most vulnerable of its members—children and adolescents—are the first
victims of this.
2. Society is increasingly dominated by consumer ideology. Thus, how can the bodies of
children and adolescents escape the tentacles of traffickers or perverse individuals treating
them as consumer objects? The malaise of the body is also the malaise of a civilisation. The
evolution of standards of behaviour is increasingly inconsistent with the respect for one’s
body and the body of others. The body is becoming a commonplace tool, a simple means of
satisfying one’s pleasure or one’s desire to get rich.
From relationship sexuality, we are moving on to escape sexuality and to exotic sexuality.
Excesses, disrespectful of the dignity of the human person, which our societies are
experiencing, have led to the most sordid trafficking. The commercial sexual exploitation of
children is the worst form of this.
3. Television, cinema, video, indiscriminate poster advertising and Internet all contribute to
exploitative media coverage of behaviour inconsistent with the dignity of the human person.
Pornography ‘outrages’ the body and is increasingly present in our media environment,
opening the way to commercial trafficking of vulnerable preys, children and adolescents,
through making such coverage commonplace and, in a sense, providing justification for
them.
Many child care professionals point to the risk of some images bearing ambiguous and
deviant messages, becoming the social model and then dominating the behaviour and
personality of the youngest subjects. There is a high risk that children will no longer draw a
difference between the images they see repeatedly and the reality they must live.
4. The family and school are left feeling perplexed by ever-greater media deviations. Families
are finding it increasingly difficult to lay down benchmarks or to set forth rules. Health
institutions merely give a hygienist discourse (teaching youths to protect themselves against
AIDS), without dealing with the education of genuine relationships. This issue thus remains
unaddressed for fear of becoming over-moralistic, as to do so would lead to scorn by the
media environment.
Schools are unwilling to address the issue of the affective relationship, how it is developed
over time, or the way we develop through our love life, since there is no social consensus on
the matter. Parents, for their part, often feel incompetent or too out of touch with the ‘forced’
evolution of standards of behaviour to express and state their intimate convictions in the face
of ever-greater ‘eroticisation’ and ‘merchandising’ of the body.
II. The Promotion of Sexual Exploitation in Tourism through Globalisation
Another factor contributing to this behaviour is the search for anonymity, disrespect for cultures
and customs, the feeling of superiority, and the determination to dominate, explain, without
excusing it, the deviant behaviour of sexual tourists whose increasing number resulting from the
worldwide travel boom. Specifically:
1. Poverty is one of the dominant causes of the development of the ‘sexual supply’ of children.
Poverty is to be understood as everything rendering children vulnerable and making them
easy prey. This includes: hunger which leads to selling one’s body which becomes a means
56
of personal or family survival; the isolation and solitude felt by a child within a dysfunctional
family unit; loss of parents following massive population movements or wars; illiteracy;
urbanisation; corruption.
During the parliamentary assignment I undertook in 1995 and 1996 on the international
application of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, under-development
always appeared to me to be the main cause of exploitation, of all kinds, including that of
children. Many countries are today poorer than they were thirty years ago. Over three billion
people have less than two euros a day on which to survive. One person dies of hunger ever
four seconds.
On one side, we have rich countries, on the other, poor countries. On one side, we have the
powerful, on the other, the weak. On one side, we have those who exploit children, on the
other, those forced to undergo exploitation to survive, even going as far as to sell their little
innocent body to tourists seeking exoticism and lechery.
Suppressing poverty worldwide and developing education for all are the means to effectively
combat the commercial sexual exploitation of children by putting an end to individual and
family survival needs and by preventing children from becoming vulnerable prey. Bilateral
and multilateral development and cooperation aid for poor countries are insufficient.
The President of the French Republic proposes to succeed in the crusade against poverty,
by creating a solidarity levy on the wealth created by globalisation. The international
community and, more specifically rich countries, from where sexual tourists set out, could
settle their debts to the world’s children by, for instance, budgeting for the opening of
reception centres wherever sexual tourism is rife. These centres would take in abused and
maltreated children or those who are potential prey, and provide them with care, attention
and preventive and follow- up treatment.
2. Ideological, cultural and economic divergences push human and children’s rights into the
background.
Differences in perception regarding human and children’s rights stem from fundamentally
different visions of the individual’s place in society. The individualistic conception grants
special importance to respect by the state for individual personal rights. It is based on the
institutions representing democracy, themselves being based on the political and legal
pluralism of the state’s power, which, therefore, becomes, per se, the protector of the
individual and his personal rights.
On the other hand, leaving aside any religious context, many countries with authoritarian or
collectivist regimes subordinate human and children’s rights to those of the social collectivity
to which the individual belongs. Some are reluctant to prioritise representative democracy
and the rule of law in upholding human and children’s rights.
In the economic field, under-development reaches, in some countries, such proportions that
the ‘right to development’ may prevail over ‘children’s rights’. The sex business and sexual
tourism are, for some states, a planned part of the national income and form a part of
national and family development strategies. We can therefore understand that these states
sometimes refuse to acknowledge violations of children’s rights that their societies suffer and
are loath to accede to universal instruments protecting these rights or to apply them if they
have ratified them.
3. The notion that the abuse of a situation of vulnerability should be integrated into international
law.
Poverty leads to the vulnerability of children and of their dependents. This applies to children
enrolled in armies, children forced to work and children exploited sexually to make money.
Recognition by the international community of exploitation of situations of vulnerability should
help lead to a unifying vision of crimes against the dignity of the human person, in general,
and against the dignity of children, in particular. This recognition would provide increased
legal force to international conventions and would facilitate the work of those who, in each
country, are tasked with hearing and determining cases or carrying out investigations.
57
III. The Need to Combat the Sexual Exploitation of Children in Tourism through Prevention,
Penalties and Education
The French parliament will soon be examining a bill on organised crime, which aims at likening
child pornography networks, including on the Internet, to organised gangs, a notion that forms
an aggravating circumstance under French criminal law. In February 2003, an act was passed
authorising data encryption to ensure that exchanges are secure and to force Internet hosts to
censure illicit contents, such as infringements of private life, incitement to child prostitution,
circulation and holding of pornographic photos showing minors.
In 2001, France created an institutional Internet site whereby any Internet user can signal any
site or other ‘services’ of a paedophilic nature. This site has already received over 7000
notifications. I have just tabled with the Bureau of the French National Assembly a bill creating a
personal dignity offence for advertising violations. Some advertisers use their freedom of
creation in an abusive manner and do not hesitate to exploit tendentious and degrading
representations of the female and also the male body, imposing them on all publics, whatever
the place, the busier the better (the underground, stations, roads, bus stops, roadside
billboards). Nudity, presented from a degrading and vulgar viewpoint, is indeed increasingly
used as a means of selling, despite being unrelated to the product promoted.
The merchandising of the nude human body in advertising is merely one step from the sexual
exploitation of the body. Children and adolescents see these images whether they like it or not.
Standards are imposed on them, which are inconsistent with personal dignity and with their own
dignity as growing men and women.
At the beginning of March 2003, my National Assembly colleagues and I created a standing
parliamentary delegation on children’s rights to provide information on, monitor and discuss
child abuse in France and abroad. Its work will complete that of the Observatory for Mistreated
Children set up by the Government.
In the global village, the sexual exploitation of children has become a global issue. Police and
legal cooperation must be strengthened internationally as agreed by the 191 signatories of the
International Convention on the Rights of the Child. Yet, it must be observed that international
cooperation is coming up against legal systems, which are at the heart of the cultural traditions
of nations. Their harmonisation, or even their mere approximation, no matter how necessary,
are far more complex than in the economic field, for instance, because in criminal law we are
addressing one of the foundations of national sovereignty. Nevertheless progress has been
made:
1.
2.
3.
Under French law, in accordance with Article 2 of the Global Ethics in Tourism, the socalled extraterritoriality Act, it is possible to pursue and judge in France a French
national accused of a sexual act committed abroad on a minor under 15 years old, in
exchange for remuneration, even if, in that country, this offence is not punishable.
Representatives of the French police posted abroad at embassies and at consulates
are regularly made aware of the fight against sexual tourism, particularly that of a
paedophilic nature. Through this means a hundred or so police officers, mainly
representatives of the international police technical coordination service and liaison
officers from the Central Bureau for the prevention and suppression of illicit traffic in
drugs, are made aware of this issue in approximately fifty countries.
As recently as Monday, 17 March 2003, the French Parliament convened a Congress
at Versailles and introduced an EU arrest warrant into the Constitution. This is an
automatic judicial procedure existing throughout the EU and will replace the present
extradition system, always long and complex, for 32 serious crimes, including child
pornography, as well as trafficking in human beings for both adults and children.
The age of the consent of children remains a problem. I feel that the question of the consent of
minors under 18 years old should not be taken into consideration when it is a matter of a crime
related to sexual exploitation, such as child prostitution, child pornography and the trafficking of
children for sexual purposes. These are all prejudicial to the child’s development and should be
differentiated from the ordinary circumstances of the discovery of sexuality by an adolescent
over 15 years old. In this respect, I feel we should firmly uphold child protection until the age of
58
18, as laid down by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. We are all aware
of the inhuman existence of prostitutes. The exercise of this profession is not tolerable since it
leads to considering the body as merchandise. The commercial exploitation of the body and the
violation of human dignity, to which it leads, rule out any consent. Minors under 18 years old
who are prostitutes are victims per se and should be treated as such and entitled to the status
of victim and to assistance.
In order to combat the sexual exploitation of children in tourism, youths must be the educated,
as future international tourists, so that they will become respectful citizens in tomorrow’s world.
International citizenship requires respect for the dignity of others, whatever their nationality,
religion, sex or generation.
Many programmes have been introduced by the French Ministry of Education in schools secondary schools and sixth-form colleges- to make children and adolescents aware of their
future responsibilities. The central topic of these programmes concerns development education,
international solidarity education and advocacy of the United Nations Convention on the Rights
of the Child. It is an opportunity for all pupils to become aware of the condition of children
worldwide and the international determination to protect them.
Since the sexual exploitation of children is not limited to the commercial aspect, strengthening
protection of child victims, sexual abuse within the family or within institutions caring for children
must be combated vigorously, notably through the elaboration of preventive measures at
schools (‘passport for the country of prudence’) and through education material (a kit on sexual
education).
It should, however, be emphasised that the scourge of sexual tourism is insufficiently addressed
at primary schools and at colleges. This gap led to me to make a presentation of the WTO
module for 12 to 16 year olds on January 16 2003 to the technical adviser of the Minister
delegate with responsibility for school education. I made this presentation along with Madame
Jacqueline de Rey and Madame Sylvie Toupet, my parliamentary assistant. The aim of this
initiative is to use the module as classroom material in civic education courses. This module will
assist teachers in integrating the subject into the existing programmes. The proposal is currently
being examined. Additionally, the French government will soon announce the establishment of
an inter-ministerial working group comprised of departments for national education, tourism,
justice and foreign affairs, which will be tasked more specifically with sexual tourism.
I am fully aware that these few initiatives cannot solve so serious a problem as the sexual
exploitation of children, which itself reveals an underlying situation of crisis in our society. And it
is indeed a moral and economic crisis affecting the entire European continent, which we today
represent. The social and political responses are still insufficient. However, I personally hope
that through our determination, our competence and our courage, we will all contribute, in our
different countries, to combating and firmly denouncing the intolerable and what appears today
in the XXIst century to be a full-blown slave trade.
59
Marco SCARPATI
Professor of Comparative Family Law
University of Parma
and
President, ECPAT Italy
Biographical Note
Mr. Scarpati was born in Reggio Emilia and received a law degree from Parma University. He is
a lawyer and professor of comparative, family and juvenile law at Parma University, and a
specialist on the situation of children in Italy and in less developed countries.
Among his other posts, Mr. Scarpati is Professor of International Law at LUDES University of
Lugano (CH), President of ECPAT Italy and legal consultant for the Special Commission on
Children of the Italian Senate. He also serves as a consultant for projects on international child
protection law and CSEC for the Italian Development Cooperation (Italian Ministry of Foreign
Affairs) and for projects on child protection issues for several non-governmental organizations.
He has participated in numerous research endeavours on Italian and communitarian procedures
for cooperation in Africa, Asia and Latin America, with a focus on law pertaining to women and
children.
Mr. Scarpati volunteers as a columnist on juvenile law for the Italian weekly review “VITA”. His
publications include a book on national and international adoption, now in its third edition, and
numerous articles in Italian and international reviews and newspapers about child trafficking,
sexual exploitation of children, international adoption and rehabilitation of neglected children.
Mr. Scarpati has served as a guest speaker for Italian television and for radio programs
covering subjects on the social problems of children, trafficking, sexual exploitation,
international adoption, Internet pornography and the rehabilitation of neglected children.
Preliminary results of a study on the profile of CSEC clients:
sex tourists and internet users
(Abstract)
This presentation outlining preliminary results from a study on the profile of clients involved in
the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC), sex tourists and Internet users. It is
based on a research project coordinated by ECPAT Italy in collaboration with the University of
Parma, L.u.d.e.s. of Lugano (Switzerland) and the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia.
These institutes have collaborated in establishing a new masters program on child abuse and
sexual exploitation. The research is funded by a banking foundation, the Fondazione Pietro
Manodori (RE). Studies are undertaken on the basis of case material and archives received
from various sources, including the police, the judiciary, journalists, organizations working in the
field, individuals and Internet contacts.
The issue of CSEC was first discussed about fifteen years ago during preparatory work leading
to the enactment of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It has only been possible to
refine the definition of the “client” or the victim in recent years. In general, the term “client”, as
used in the context of CSEC, refers to a person in the judicial record, or a person who is the
subject of an investigation and found to be one of the users of CSEC. Although, there exists
other categories of clients, there are no recent studies on this group and the term “client” is not
conducive to easy descriptions, compounded by the fact that CSEC constitutes a “new social
problem.”
It is difficult to carry out a sociological study of the “client” or to precisely define this term. This is
due to several factors. One factor is that the problem is multifaceted and consists of many
forms, such as the Internet, sex tourism and child pornography and, as a result, it is often
difficult to identify the users. Further complicating their identification, is that the fact that they
comprise different nationalities.
60
What is the client searching for? The client needs to satisfy a certain need that is not permitted
by society. He generally knows that what he does is not allowed and is, in fact, forbidden. As a
result, he tries to gain acceptance within a group of peers. He also feels that he will probably not
be caught for his acts, due to the numbers involved in CSEC, estimated at two million, and the
fact that few suspected cases are actually caught.
Based on the results of the study, one must distinguish between “paedophile” and ”client” on
one hand and sexual exploitation “user” on the other. The “paedophile” recognizes his sexual
attraction for children. However, the sexual exploitation “user” is a person who makes use of
one of the forms to sexually exploit children, whether that is through the Internet, prostitution,
pornography, or sexual tourism.
One must also distinguish between “paedophiles” and “users of CSEC”. The “paedophile” is
usually older than the “user of CSEC”. Amongst paedophiles, females constitute less than 10%
of the group. Both “users” and “paedophiles” are willing to spend vast sums of money and a
great deal of time in satisfying their needs. There are similar recidivism rates for both groups.
A significant number of homosexual paedophiles and users were abused when they were young
(40%). In the majority of cases, the paedophile is aware of his sexual preference for children.
The CSEC user, particularly in cases of sexual exploitation of children in tourism, is only aware
of the social disapprobation of his choices. However, the paedophile lives his sexuality with
more anguish and his choice is more difficult to make than that for users of CSEC.
An initial analysis of the “client” in sexual tourism has shown that in 90-95% of cases, the client
is male, including those who use the Internet. The preponderance of males is due to several
factors. First, men receive different sex education to that of women. Secondly, differing social
roles between men and women also are at play, as it is often easier for men to travel alone than
females, for example for business. Third, in terms of economic factors, men have more
spending power while abroad. Another factor is due to the differing sexuality between men and
women.
There are few studies about female sexual attraction for children. However, those uncovered
tend to indicate that it occurs mainly within the family context. Females display different sexual
approaches to children, generally less of a genital nature with less frequent search for sexual
acts. Women’s sexuality appears more erotic and less pornographic. There are also less
negative societal views of women who carry out these acts because sex tourism carried out by
females is regarded as less dangerous, due to the belief by some that little boys suffer less than
girls as a result of it. However, it must be made clear that whether carried out by males or
females, the sexual exploitation is an equally dangerous social phenomenon.
There are a high number of homosexuals involved, at 25% of cases, a figure higher than that
within the general population. The client maintains contacts with peers who have the same
sexual attraction to children. He is generally between 20 to 40 years old, isn’t represented by a
specific social class and makes use of various forms of CSEC, such as the computer. When a
female is a sexual tourist, her victims tend to be older, usually adolescents.
With regards to the Internet, a review of users by the police shows that there are more males
involved, as males constitute 97% of those prosecuted for this act. Homosexuals constitute one
third of the users. However, 45% of the material sequestered is of a homosexual nature. Users
make much contact with peers. Another important fact is that Internet users are younger than
those who use other forms of CSEC, the age range being from 18 to 35 years old, and in some
cases between 15-16. Also there is a higher recidivism rate for Internet users (more than 75%)
With regards to contacts between Internet clients of child pornography, the client is searching
for peers, which may be linked to the fact that the client is becoming increasingly younger.
Internet users become aware at an earlier age that there are others like him. On-line chat tends
to be one to one, person to person, rather than forming part of a group. Those in the younger
age group log on in order to seek a friend, somebody to chat with on a regular, but not frequent,
basis. The content of chat comprises friendship, commercial trade, exchange of experiences
exchange of rules and transfer of knowledge of sites for which detection is difficult.
61
There Isn’t a “Client” Description
The Client in
C.S.E.C.: A First
Analysis
• There aren’t recent studies about the
client.
• The client is not easy to describe because
CSEC is a “new social problem.”
• The CSEC is not a unique market, but it is
a mix of different sections of the sexual
market.
• The clients have different nationalities so
they aren’t a national problem.
Prof Marco Scarpati
Prof. Of Comparative Family Law
University of Parma
Rome 3-4 April 2003
Marco Scarpati Ecpat Italia
1
A First Research On Real Cases
•
•
•
•
•
•
2
What Is the Client Searching?
Ecpat Italia in collaboration with:
University of Parma
L.u.d.e.s. of Lugano (Switzerland)
University of Modena e Reggio Emilia
Funded by Fondazione Manodori (RE)
Studies are realized on real cases
material (Carabinieri, Polizia, Personal
Archives…) and internet contacts
To Use
Children
To pay
less
To satisfy
his needs
To have
freedom
3
• He need to satisfy a
not permitted need
• He generally knows
that what he does is
not allowed
• He tries to be
accepted in a group of
peers
• He feels that probably
he will not be caught
Pedophile And Client
4
• Pedophile recognize
his sexual attraction
for children
• Sexual exploitation
user is a person who
use one of the form
of sexual
exploitation of
children (internet,
prostitution,
pornography, sexual
tourism)
The “Client” Is a Specific Gender
First Analysis on the “Client” In
Sexual Tourism
• Generally the client of sexual tourism
is a male in 90%-95% of cases
• It is the same for the internet client
• When a female is a sexual tourist, her
victims are older (adolescent) and the
phenomenon is not felt as negative
when hetero (“gigolò” is commonly
less negative than “prostitute”)
•
•
•
•
•
Is a male in 90% - 95% of cases
Is homosexual in 25% of cases
Has contacts with peers
Is generally from 20 to 40 years old
Isn’t represented in a specific social
class
• Not infrequently use other forms of
CSEC
5
6
7
62
Is There a Great Difference in
Pedophilia and CSEC Users?
Is There a Difference Between
Pedophiles and Users of C. S. E. ?
• Pedo is a little bit older (from 25)
• In pedo females are less 10%
• Both are ready to spend a lot of money
and time to satisfy their needs
• For c. prostitution users and pedo the
recidivism is similar
• A lot of gay pedo and c. prostitution users
have been abused when they were young
(40%)
• The pedophile, in the majority of
cases, is aware of his sexual
preference for children
• The CSEC user (especially in Sexual
Tourism) is only aware of the social
disapprobation of his choices
• At the beginning the pedophile lives
his sexuality with more anguish
8
The Contacts Between Internet
Clients
• The client is looking
Is It the Same for The Internet Users?
• We are studying the content of PC
sequestered by the Police
• The prosecuted are 97% males
• Homosexuals are one third of the users but
the material sequestered is 45% gay
• The user has a lot of contacts with peers
• The user is younger: from 18 to 35 years old
(with not few cases of 15-16 y.o.)
• Higher is the recidivism (more than 75%)
•
•
•
10
for peers
The chat is one to one
The youth are looking
for a friend to chat
regularly, but not so
frequently
Content of chats is:
Friendship, Trade,
Passages of Know
how, Experiences
Female Gender and Sexual Tourism
11
Why Male? A First Analysis
• Few studies about all kinds of female
sexual attraction for children
• Few cases in our experience (and a lot
of them in family contest)
• Different sexual approach (generally
less genital and not explicitly in search
of sexual act)
• The sexuality is more erotic and less
pornographic
• If hetero is considered less dangerous
9
•
•
•
•
12
Different Education
Different Social role
More money to spend
Different sexuality
ECPAT Italia
In collaboration with
University of Parma
University of Modena e
Reggio Emilia
L.U.D.E.S. of Lugano
14
13
63
Mgr. Piero MONNI
Permanent Observer of the Holy See to WTO
Biographical Note
Mgr. Piero Monni was born in Ferrara (Italy) on December 14th, 1928. In 1955 he served as
Priest of the Archdiocese of Cagliari. He worked for 15 years in many parish churches of this
Archdiocese. In 1965, he founded the Regional Centre of Assistance for Sardinian Emigrants. In
1972, he worked for the Vatican Radio and then for the Secretariat of State of the Vatican City.
Between 1983 and 1991, Mgr. Monni served as Diplomatic Counsellor in the Embassy of Italy to
the Holy See. He then worked in the First Section of the Secretariat of State of the Vatican City.
In 1993, he was appointed Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the World Tourism
Organization, for which he serves as Chief of the Permanent Mission of the Holy See to the
World Tourism Organization and Papal Representative. He has represented the Holy See in
many international meetings. In 1999, he provided commentaries on 96 Clauses of the New
Code of Canon Law edited by Prof. Pio Vito Pinto. In 2002, he was appointed Canonico of the
Basilica of San Peter.
Mgr. Monni is Doctor of Divinity and Doctor of Canon Law and the holder of a graduate degree
in journalism. He is a professor of criminal law, international law, and bioethics at the Papal
Urbaniana University of Rome. He has written numerous reports and journalistic inquiries in Italy
and abroad about religious and social problems. He has authored numerous publications,
including Puebla 1978, a report about the Latin-American Church, “ONU: quale libertà?” an
essay about thirty years of debate about the freedom of religion, “Filippine: una Chiesa su un
vulcano”, an analysis of the Catholic community in Asia, and “L’informazione: un diritto, un
dovere”, a review of international law. A new book is being prepared for publication
“L’Arcipelago della Vergogna - Pedofilia e Turismo Sessuale”, about the problems of sextourism and pedophilia.
Mgr. Monni has received numerous honours, including Chaplain of His Holiness (1973), the
Prelate of His Holiness (1983), Member of the Order of the Knights of Malta (1984),
Commendatory of the Italian Republic (1986), the Commendatory of the Saints Maurizio and
Lazzaro (1987) and the Commendatory of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre (1999)
Religious Institutions and Sex Tourism
(Full Text)
I am very honoured to attend this interesting conference and I thank the organizers. The subject
of the conference, the sexual exploitation of children, is a very topical and alarming one. Public
institutions are interested in this subject in order to estimate its spread and to develop remedies.
Tourism is a sector that is definitely rooted in the life of the people. This is the reason why it has
recently been addressed in the European Constitution. Tourism activity, undoubtedly, has many
important merits from a social, economical and cultural point of view. Nevertheless, a
“destabilizing octopus” is threatening the tourist phenomenon, the so-called “sex-tourism”.
I. SEX TOURISM
It is necessary to specify what we mean by this kind of tourism. In the International
Classification of Illnesses, which was published in 1993 by the World Health Organization,
paedophilia figures in the chapter reserved for sexual preferences and is defined as a
preference for children who are generally prepubescent or at the beginning of puberty. This
document states:
“To commit an action that is qualified as a paedophilic act, it is necessary to be at least
16 years of age and be older than the child of at least five years. These acts can be
homosexual, heterosexual or bisexual. The acts must be committed by seduction or
threat or for compensation. The acts can also be derived from an apparent consent on
the part of the child, above all when the child reveals a lack of affection that is satisfied
by the older person.”
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The sexual tourist is a man (or woman) who, with the goal of having sex with children, organizes
vacations in countries that not only tolerate child prostitution but also, many times, promote it in
order to attract tourists and gain valuable currency. Moreover, these are countries that enjoy
more liberty with regards to their customs. These are derived from traditional or religious
practices that are sometimes dangerous and at the limit of legality.
Sexual tourism feeds the market for child prostitution and assures lavish earnings for the tourist
agencies that work with ‘special’ tourists. They are involved in numerous ways, commencing
with placing advertisements for these tourists (which are sometimes camouflaged and, at other
times, clear and unequivocal) through to overseeing arrivals at the destinations to the
systemization in hotels or small residences of ‘particular services’.
The media, as well, aids in spreading the idea that a vacation is closely analogous to sexual
liberty. This allows the tourist in search of exotic adventures to put off the moral and social
constrictions that regulate his behaviour in every day life. This brings us to the knowledge of
new realities and, as told by the Canadian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Lloyd Axworthy during
the First World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, (Stockholm,
1996), sex-tourism constitutes only a minimum part of the exploitation of children as sex
objects. It is certainly lucrative and evident.
In light of recent international occurrences that have called public attention to this humiliating
phenomenon, countries have become involved in combating this form of child exploitation by
means of legal initiatives. Recently, also, the Republic of San Marino has legislated against the
crime of paedophilia. Even at this meeting today, states want to launch a clear message to
those who want to enrich themselves by feeding off of and supporting this phenomenon.
The principal destinations for sex tourists are the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, India, Ceylon,
in Asia, Mexico, Brazil and Venezuela in Latin America and Kenya in Africa. Unscrupulous
politicians, economic greed on the part of a local privileged class, poverty within certain
countries and the struggle for survival carried out by the poorest make up the humus in which
this new form of slavery develops. To this, must also be added the economic pressure applied
by foreign investors in tourism in the developing world and the attraction to consumer goods for
which the industrialized world provides the incentive.
II. LACK OF LAWS
One of the causes for the immense rise of sexual tourism is the lack of adequate laws. Even
when severe penal laws exist, there is usually a lack of effective measures for their application
because of the connivance of the police.
There are many sources from the United Nations, the European Union, UNICEF and other
institutions that denounce the global condition of the child as one that is inadequate. Millions of
children suffer from wars, from poverty, from illness, from juvenile work and from sexual
exploitation. Such degraded social conditions have deep roots. It shows a social rejection of the
respect for the fundamental values of the human being and respect for the dignity of the person.
Paedophilia leads to a manipulation of the truth and reflects a sort of relativism and scepticism
without precedent. It reveals a kind of society ruled by a consumerism without moral borders
and which rejects every objective truth.
Paedophilia is not a modern phenomenon, but, in different ways, follows the entire story of
mankind. Surely it is an old reality, a reality about which nothing was said. However, we can find
evidence of this behaviour, such as in The Life of the Twelve Caesars by Svetonio and in some
other texts from Greek and Latin libertarian literature. In ancient Greece, relationships that
nowadays we consider to be relationships of paedophilia, in a certain manner could have social
and cultural importance. In ancient Rome protective laws existed for pre-pubescent youths.
Nevertheless, it was legal to abuse a young slave. More recently, in some tribes of Latin
America, the adults have sexual intercourse with their sons in order to help them understand
their own sexuality.
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III. THE PRESENCE OF THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD OF TOURISM
The Church, considered as “Institution”, following its institutional aims and by means of its
members and its structures over the world, has always pronounced its doctrine about this
problem. Since the beginning, the Church has confirmed the incompatibility of Christian doctrine
with these kinds of sexual deviations.
It is sufficient to consider the work of the Latin and Greek pathology to understand this absolute
incompatibility. In light of the Gospel, the Church, even if has considered the weakness of
human beings, has always maintained a severe attitude about it in order to protect the
innocence of children. The archives of the Church tribunals, in the last centuries, witness the
severity with which the people who committed these crimes were punished.
For some time, the Church dialogued with the tourism sector, considering the importance of this
sector’s social and human dimensions. In 1952, the Church founded a Pontifical Commission
that eventually became the Pontifical Council for Assistance to Travellers and Pilgrims. With
their reports, Church missionaries became good promoters of new tourist destinations. Over the
world, the operative institutions of the Church (schools, centres of social assistance, hospitals,
boarding schools, universities), have always tried to temper the physical and moral plagues
stemming from the impact of tourism on the local population, populations often unaware of
sexual interests brought by the spread of tourism.
The preoccupations of the Church, due to its institutional aims, have led it to getting in contact
with every culture, including the tourist culture. Moreover, the Church has tried to stem the tide
of corruption that the tourist flows were bringing to the so-called paradises of free exotic sex.
There are many concrete initiatives of ecclesiastic people involved in the fight against the
sexual exploitation of children. I personally followed the cases of nuns who went, late into the
night, in Bangkok to look for and to provide shelter to minors who were exploited in red light
bars. Their courage, the fact that they ran up against much danger and criminals, is a memory
that I bring with me in all of my travels.
Nowadays, the Church is still an operative presence in tourist destinations in cities in Thailand,
such as Bangkok, Pattaya, Chang-Mai and all over the East.
IV. THE HERITAGE OF WAR
Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar are destinations for tourists who seek juvenile sex. In the
Philippines, consequences are being paid for the widespread immorality due to the heritage of
the Japanese invasion of 1940 and to the USA invasion. In fact, during the Second World War,
the military bases in this country became sources for the spread of paedophilia among these
populations suffering from underdevelopment. During the war in Vietnam, millions of NorthAmerican soldiers left behind the sad memory of their sexual preferences for minors.
Unfortunately, in today’s times during recent wars in various continents, including in the
European continent, many reckless soldiers had sexual intercourses with minors.
In Olonggapo, a little village in Philippines near Manila, with about 4,000 inhabitants, juvenile
prostitution has reached serious levels. It is impossible to walk in the streets of Olonggapo
without receiving “offer of minors”. In Olonggapo there are many cases of sexual violence and
death of minors due to the sexual exploitation of children committed by European tourists. The
story of Rosario Burgos Balujot includes a lesson for everyone. Rosario died tragically in 1987
after having been ‘used’ and raped by a European tourist. The tourist was subsequently
condemned and spent only two years in prison. But the death of minors caused by sexual
abuse is increasing in many states in the East and local organized criminal gangs, such as
Yakuza and the Chinese “driade”, cover all traces of these crimes. However, it is impossible to
delete the sorrow, the crying and the humiliation of the abused minors.
If we travel to the Brazilian city of Fortaleza, a big city, we encounter another centre for the
sexual exploitation of children. Even paedophiles from Italy travel to Fortaleza. Maybe they are
occasional paedophiles, but surely irresponsible when they break the innocence of children.
There are many gringos who reach Mexico and the bordering desert with the United States.
66
They go to lonely cinema studios where video clips - with minors sexually abused - are
produced.
Similar productions have been discovered in Russia (Moscow) and in ex-Soviet republics. The
humiliation caused by these films will remain with the filmed children for their entire lives. They
know that they will become objects of sexual attention in many states around the world and that
they will be placed on the list of the children involved in prostitution. Their shame becomes
pathological. This is one of the problems that must be addressed for the therapeutic recovery of
minors who are sexually abused.
V. THE COMMITMENT OF RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS
The presence of religious institutions and the structures that are ready to assist these unhappy
children, who are often reduced to human larva, remains admirable. The victims are often
rejected by their families and by society. Government structures have nothing to give them. It is
important to state that, for the most part, institutions tied to religious values are among the few
that look out for these unhappy victims.
Children have no choice but to become prostitutes, exposing themselves to AIDS and other
diseases. They are often rejected and, because they are found in these conditions, they are
considered unproductive. Only people with high spiritual values are able to offer them human
solidarity and comfort.
During the previously mentioned First World Congress held in Stockholm, dozens of religious
institutions representatives were present. Their involvement evidences their operative presence
in this sector, and the great deal of work that they have carried out to mend this disheartening
phenomenon.
Today, scenes filmed and videocassettes made, have been posted on various Internet sites that
are easily accessible, even for children. Through this means of communication, paedophiles
have found a way to pick up and capture the interest of minors.
Speaking of which, it is important to remember the activity of Telefono Arcobaleno (“Rainbow
Telephone”), directed by Don Salvatore di Noto. He and his team of young hackers have made
it easy to uncover paedophile sites, their organizers, and numerous clients. Along with Telefono
Arcobaleno and other organizations like it, we can also acknowledge the work of operators who
are responsible for guiding the Church in becoming involved in the defence of children’s rights.
We must also acknowledge the work of universities in promoting scientific research, meetings,
conventions and courses to stimulate collaboration between the children’s families and the
people who work in this sector.
There is a great deal of journalism on this subject and public opinion is aware that the Church
has always defended children’s rights. Despite recent negative exceptions, the history of the
Church confirms this fact, which is tied to the teachings of Jesus Christ.
The Latin poet Giovenale wrote: “children deserve the maximum respect”. With regards to
religious institutions operating in this field, it is written in the book of life and in history books.
The names of institutions operating in this sector and the names of the minors are not given to
the public for obvious reasons. Criminal groups have repeatedly threatened and persecuted
religious institutions that take care of minors seized from the clutches of people running houses
of prostitution and handed over to competent authorities in Italy. There aren’t many other
institutions that take care of these abandoned children.
Other than actions for the healing of minors, there are also projects promoted by the Church for
the psychological and social healing of paedophiles. Prestigious clinical departments, in several
cities, collaborate with religious institutions to develop scientific evaluation of the phenomena
and the development of new therapies for the recovery of paedophiles. In fact, I was told that
the results are very satisfying, especially regarding hypnosis treatments.
John Paul II has strongly condemned such phenomena at various occasions. With precise
reprimands he has stated: “The rights of children come before any convention and political
agreement, and it is important that the international community is conscious of this. It must
67
make a commitment to adequately formulate such rights, and to energetically make sure that
they are kept”.
During the audience granted in October 1997 to the Permanent Observer of the Holy See, the
Pope defined child prostitution as a “worldwide flagellation”. The commitment towards fighting
against this “flagellation” belongs to everyone and as the Holy Father underlined, this must
include everyone, including both Christians and non-Christians.
On the occasion of the 22nd World Tourism Day (2001), John Paul II issued a severe warning
against “superficial exoticism” of commercial vacations, urging collaboration of the institutions in
ending such immoral commercial messages. The Pope further stated that tourism could become
an opportunity for dialogue amongst differing populations and cultures, as well as a “precious
service towards peace”. However, sexual tourism, due to its enormous dimension, is “an
intolerable scandal”.
VI. RECENT INITIATIVES OF THE RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS
There is now an increase in the number of initiatives undertaken by religious institutions to fight
against paedophilia. This phenomenon has involved all institutions of the world, including
religious ones. With regards to the regrettable episodes that involved the North American
church, the Pope has pronounced himself in a resolute way and wrote a letter, two years ago,
addressed to all priests of the world.
The United States Episcopal Conference of Catholic Church approved a Charter for the
Protection of Children and Young People on the 14th of June 2002. With this Charter, the
Catholic Church reaffirms its attention to this problem. In this Charter, the American Bishops
express their great sorrow and profound regret for the damage that they caused. This damage
is devastating and long lasting and they apologize to all the children who have suffered from
abuse and to their families. In this same document, the American Bishops made proposals to:
•
•
•
Promote healing and real reconciliation with victims
Guarantee an effective response to allegations of sexual abuse of minors
Ensure procedures for the protection of the faithful in the future.
The Episcopal Conference also elaborated a series of rules to prevent the phenomenon and to
punish the culprits.
VII. DECISIONS TAKEN BY THE EPISCOPAL CONFERENCES
The Holy See supports the efforts of Bishops, who, because of the universal law of the Church,
have always considered this kind of crime to be the worst injury that a priest can perpetrate. It is
also necessary to protect the reputation of the Bishops, priests and deacons who are and have
always been faithful to the duties of their vocation, but have been offended and calumniated
without good reason. The French Episcopal Conference has taken similar decisions. Not only in
Europe and in the United States, but all over the world, the Episcopal Conferences are trying to
face, the tentacles of this “destabilizing octopus”, paedophilia.
A major dilemma to consider is how society can address the paedophile. Opinions differ.
However, recent research suggests the need to devise a new attitude towards the problem.
Some posit the necessity of commencing work in re-education, by means of adequate social
initiatives and therapies. This is true, even if it is sometimes necessary to arrest or to imprison
the paedophile in order to prevent further exploitation.
Society must work together with institutions, whether religious or not, in displaying a more
humane and conscious attitude. We must search for a more effective defence of the
fundamental rights of human beings and a more efficacious protection of minors, minors who
are the target of pernicious attention in the dreary chapter of sex-tourism and of paedophilia.
Thank you for your attention!
68
Paola VIERO
Central Technical Unit
Directorate General for Development Cooperation
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Italy
Biographical Note
Paola Viero is Technical Senior Expert at the Central Technical Unit (CTU), Directorate General
for Development Cooperation (DGCS) with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a position she
has held since 1990.
Ms. Viero graduated with a bachelors degree in political science – Magna cum Laude – from the
University of Rome in 1970. In 1974, she received a masters degree in social sciences from the
Universitè Libre de Bruxelles-ULB. In 1976, she received a degree in pedagogy - Magna cum
Laude – from the University of Rome and a masters in family psycho therapy, also from the
University of Rome. Between 1976 and 1982, she undertook studies and research work in
France, Belgium, Great Britain, U.S.A, including a course on Project Cycle Management and
Log. Frame - E.U. and MFA- Rome. From 1970 until 1973 Ms. Viero was Assistant Professor at
the Department of Sociology, University of Rome.
In her capacity as Senior Expert for the CTU, Ms. Viero’s responsibilities include: identification,
formulation, coordination, implementation, research and monitoring of social development and
human rights projects; development of initiatives in the area of rights and social development of
children and adolescents; implementation of the Italian Guidelines on Co-operation
Development on issues concerning minors in the developing countries for projects carried out
between Italy; multilateral, multi-bilateral and bilateral stakeholders in Africa, Asia, Latin
America, the Mediterranean, the Middle East and East European countries; identification and
formulation of decentralized cooperation initiatives for young victims of armed conflicts with the
goal of peace promotion in Croatia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In relation to her work pertaining to children and adolescents, she serves as permanent senior
expert for the National Observatory of the President of the Council of Italian Government for the
children and adolescents; Member of the Italian committee for child labour at the President of
the Council ; senior expert designated by the Under Secretary of State for Human Rights of the
Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the identification and formulation of a plan of action within
the framework of the Institutional Plan of Action adopted by the Italian Government for children
end adolescents (1997); main author of the Guidelines for Children and Adolescents adopted by
The DGCS (1998).
Her responsible include: identification, formulation, budgeting, management and field monitoring
of DGCS financed initiatives in developing countries executed by UN Agencies, Italian NGO’s,
Regions and Municipalities in Africa, Asia, Latin America and South Eastern Europeans
Countries in focused on the elimination of the worst forms of Child Labour end the Trafficking in
young women, adolescents end children:
Ms. Viero is also responsible for the Special Initiative of the Italian Co-operation in support of
children and adolescents involved in armed conflicts and victims of war. The Initiative is
addressed to a number of countries in conflict and post-conflict situations, wherever there are
special needs or urgency of intervention: Guinea Conakry, Colombia, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka,
Sudan, Lebanon, Uganda, Rwanda, Mozambique, Cambodia, Bosnia, Eritrea,
Senegal/Casamance, are the countries where targeted programmes will be implemented. The
Initiative will be executed by UNICEF/UNDP (emergency/bilateral funds – total budget of US$
15 million ) in application of the ILO Convention No.182 and the ILO Declaration No.190
concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the elimination of the worst forms of Child
Labour and the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the
involvement of Children in armed conflicts and on the sale of children, child prostitution and
child pornography.
69
Prior to her current post, Ms Viero worked from 1989 – 1990 at the Italian Embassy in Buenos
Aires, Argentina on the implementation of bilateral and multilateral programmes developed by
the Ministry of Italian Foreign Affairs, including bi lateral initiatives for children and women. From
1987 to 1989, she worked at the Italian Embassy in Mozambique on developing programmes
for the most vulnerable social groups. She has also worked UNICEF (Kigali, Rwanda 1986 1987, Rome 1986), with the FAI (Fondo Aiuti Italiani) Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rome (19851986), with the IPALMO (Istituto di Politica Internazionale per l'Africa, America Latina e Medio
Oriente 1983-1985), with the CGIL - Italian Trade Union (1976-1983).
Ms. Viero has organised numerous national and international workshops and seminars in
cooperation with United Nations agencies (ILO, UNICEF) and non governmental organizations
(ECPAT) in the areas of poverty, labour exploitation and sexual exploitation. She has served on
several Italian delegations to international conferences, including the United Nations General
Assembly Preparatory Committee for the Children Summit (September 2001), and the, the
Stockholm World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (August 1996).
Ms Viero has undertaken assignments in numerous countries abroad in Africa, Asia, Europe,
North, South and Central America. She is fluent in French and English with a working
knowledge of Portuguese.
Other
Member of the "Centro di terapia relazionale e familiare" Faculty of Psycology, University of
Rome 1973
Member of the “International Institute de Sociologie" Bruxelles, Belgium, 1974
Funding Member of the Trade Union CGIL NGO "PROSVIL - Progetto Sviluppo" 1985
Funding Member and Vice President of the "Associazione Nazionale Donne Italiane- ANID”,
1988
Member of the Board of Directors of the environment association "Italia Nostra", 1988
Funding Member and a member of the Board of Directors of the “Associazione degli operatori di
cooperazione allo sviluppo ADOCS" since1992.
Funding Member and member of the Board of Directors of the ONLUS – “Ecpat Italia” (End
Child Prostitution and Tourism) and member of the Board of Directors –since 1998.
The Contribution of Development Cooperation to the Fights against the Sexual
Exploitation of Minors in Tourism
(Full Text, translated from Italian)
Thanks to the reports by ECPAT and UNICEF at the World Congresses Against Commercial
Sexual Exploitation of Children in Stockholm (1996) and Yokohama (2002), we now know that
the different forms assumed by the child sexual exploitation market represent an illegal financial
interest of very large dimensions.
Sexual tourism and the trafficking of children and adolescents for sexual exploitation have the
same roots. The victims, mostly female, are youths who are socially marginalized, abandoned,
or who have left their homes to find work in order to survive at a very tender age. Large
numbers of them come from the poor countries of Latin America, Asia, Africa, Central and
South-Eastern Europe, and this business is controlled by the same criminal organizations, both
in the case of children abducted and forced into prostitution in the brothels and streets of rich
countries or in their own countries, and in the case of the trafficking of minors with the complicity
of their family. It should be pointed out that when there is complicity on the part of the victims’
families, it is due to either need or the absence of a culture of children’s rights. This trafficking is
transnational and the unwitting victims are reduced to a state of slavery. In order combat this
phenomenon, a wide coalition is needed among the principal institutions of the generating
countries of child sex tourism and those of the destination countries (interior ministries,
ministries of social affairs, police, parliaments, etc.), international organizations, and nongovernmental organizations such as ECPAT and Terres del Hommes, which are dedicated to
this specific area, while also involving all sectors of civil society. This strategy must become a
priority if we want to mitigate one of the most serious violations of human and children’s rights.
ECPAT, as is well known, aside from its actions to fight sex tourism, also carries out monitoring
activities on organized trafficking by collaborating with the principal local institutions dedicated
70
to this specific subject and by supporting associations that are working to free young victims
from prostitution, thus exposing themselves to great risks in fighting against large criminal
organizations. Perhaps, United Nations agencies encounter difficulties in collaborating with such
associations due to the risk of entering into conflict with those local governments that cooperate
with such criminal activities. Consequently, the action of such agencies against the sexual
exploitation of minors takes concrete form mainly in social areas such as prevention and the
rehabilitation of victims, and do not directly address the dynamic that drives such trafficking.
There is, unfortunately, a certain hidden tolerance towards the clients of this exploitation and a
racist culture still persists among many people in countries with highly developed democracies,
who consider that children from poor countries have a “different sexuality” developed at a
younger age. It is even said, wrongly, that girls from the Third World, even if they are minors,
know what they are doing, that they act with full consent, and that it is normal for men to seek
out very young prostitutes. They do not yet accept the fact that minors who are prostituted and
sexually abused are always victims of violence and that their abuse constitutes a crime against
humanity. We must raise real social alarm regarding this phenomenon and create a new, more
deeply rooted culture of sensitivity to children’s rights. In order to consider ourselves worthy of
belonging to civilized countries, we must make the fight against all forms of sexual exploitation
of children and adolescents (sexual tourism, trafficking, pornography, whether by electronic
means or otherwise) a priority.
In the past few years since the launching of our Guidelines on children’s affairs in 1998, our
cooperation has always been geared more towards addressing the large issues of the defence
of the rights of children and adolescents, considered as subjects of the law, fundamental
resources for the sustainable development of the countries they belong to, and actors that
safeguard peace and democratisation processes in developing countries. In developing
countries, there now millions of young lives that are being deprived of basic human and civil
rights every day, including the right to be registered at birth, which is essential for determining
their age and thus ensuring that they receive basic social services such as health care and
education. Often, they are deprived of a family nucleus that can take care of them, and many
times, the mother is herself an illiterate and poor minor, who is a victim of exploitation and
violence. In this period dominated by globalisation, human beings are reduced to commodities,
whose value depends exclusively on their market price.
The contribution that development cooperation can make to prevent and fight against the
serious problem that is the sexual exploitation of children in tourism can be very substantial, in
my opinion. Child sex tourism happens almost exclusively in countries that are recipients of
development cooperation actions or resources. Basically, these are the countries with the
lowest development and quality-of-life indicators (per capita income, health, education, life
expectancy), where there is often a confluence of negative social factors such as widespread
violence, unemployment, social degradation, and corruption, which fuel and perpetuate a
vicious cycle of poverty and underdevelopment, and the lack of a culture based on respect for
the human and civil rights of people, not to mention children.
This is a broader interpretation of poverty, which includes not just economic poverty, but also
moral poverty, the degradation of family relations, the lack of policies for informed and
responsible motherhood and of respect for women beginning at birth, the weakening and loss of
social community networks to provide support and role models, which is what truly holds
together the social and psychological fabric. Therefore, acting in such contexts, allocating the
available resources in a targeted manner, represents a way of carrying out true social
development, specifically in favour of children and adolescents, rescuing and developing the
only true human resources on which a country can and should rely on to build its own future.
The philosophy that underlies our cooperation efforts is characterized first of all by the
protection and promotion of the rights of children starting from birth. No form of exploitation or
corruption of minors can be justified in any way. We should fight against the kind of “cultural
relativism” that is sometimes used by tourists from rich countries to justify the utilization of poor
foreign children for sexual purposes. Tourists must be well aware that there is no acceptable
justification for this. The Italian Cooperation Guidelines approved in 1998 clearly establish
among its development strategies and priorities the prevention and fight against “cultural factors
that hinder development”, forms of resistance to positive change in persons and communities,
regressive and violent factors that hold back the healthy living forces of society.
71
Analysing and addressing the deep causes of underdevelopment, a primary task of
development cooperation, makes it possible to understand the problem of the sexual
exploitation of children in tourism through analytical tools and through social work, promoting
responsibility on the part of institutions in charge of promoting child policies, as well as raising
awareness and mobilizing families and communities to prevent, control, and tackle this issue,
including actions through the mass media and the promotion of new forms of responsible
tourism.
Cooperazione Italiana, together with the competent directorates of the Ministry of External
Affairs, is committed to the implementation of the international conventions that protect the
rights of children and adolescents through the promotion and creation of cooperation policies
and initiatives. For example, at the tenth anniversary of the United Nations Declaration of the
Rights of the Child, Cooperazione Italiana suggested the inclusion of “sexual exploitation of
children in tourism” among the most serious issues affecting the fundamental rights of minors,
as it harms their proper physical and mental development. Cooperazione Italiana is also
committed to the application in different countries of the world of ILO Convention 182 and of the
associated Recommendation 190 concerning the prohibition and immediate action for the
elimination of the worst forms of child labour, which include, as is well known, the commercial
sexual exploitation of children, in application of the UN Optional Protocol to the CRC against the
traffic of children for sexual exploitation and the Palermo Protocol against the trafficking of
persons, especially women and children.
In the context of a coherent line of action inspired by such important conventions and protocols
ratified by Italy, Cooperazione Italiana proposes a two-pronged strategy of intervention, taking
into account the complex variables that come into play in tackling an issue such as the one
before us. On the one hand, it is essential to act on the level of the institutions responsible both
at the national and the decentralized levels, by reinforcing their capacity for analysis and action
through bilateral programmes (the Italian Government and the governments of other countries),
and decentralized cooperation (among regions and local entities); on the other hand, it is
imperative to act in the field, by supporting and strengthening those organizations of civil
society, whether lay or religious, chosen from among those that are most dedicated to helping
children and are most qualified, which can take charge of the corresponding needs and
necessary actions. We are already doing this with bilateral programmes in the Dominican
Republic, in six Central American countries, in six Southeast Asian countries, in Nigeria, and in
Senegal.
I am convinced that development cooperation can make a substantial and concrete contribution
towards understanding, and to the prevention and fight against the sexual exploitation of
children in tourism. In this regard, it is very important for the European Commission to raise the
awareness of the top officials of our Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the cooperation of other
European Union countries in our internal work – which is often not sufficiently recognized or
understood – in favour of the rights of children and adolescents in developing countries, and in
particular, those initiatives aimed at preventing and combating the phenomenon of sexual
exploitation in tourism. We believe more than ever that continuing to fight against these
problems represents an effective and humanly sustainable way of promoting better conditions
for the development of populations and of countries, in the conviction that the value of people is
not measured in terms of money but rather in terms of potential and opportunity.
As examples, I will cite some of the more notable initiatives financed by Cooperazione Italiana,
which are currently in progress, and which address the issue of the sexual exploitation of
children in different ways.
The programme is carried out through UNICEF in the Dominican Republic “Prevention and Fight
against the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Child Sex Tourism”. This initiative is aimed at
carrying out actions to raise awareness and monitor this phenomenon, not just in the beneficiary
country, but also insofar as it concerns Italy. In this regard, the importance of the collaboration
with ECPAT should be underlined.
The UNICRI/NIGERIA programme “Project against the Trafficking of Women and Girls from
Nigeria to Italy” (in collaboration with ECPAT). Budget: 1.5 billion liras. This programme is under
way and focuses mainly on women under 18 years of age. In light of the importance of
72
preventing this phenomenon, substantial resources will be dedicated to informing young
Nigerian women, who are potential victims of trafficking for the purpose of exploitation in
prostitution. The programme was requested by the Nigerian Government, which intends to
collaborate actively in eliminating this phenomenon. Particular attention is given to institutional
reinforcement and bilateral cooperation between Nigeria and bordering transit countries, in
order to better monitor transnational organized criminal activities. Among those involved on the
Italian side are the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Justice, the National Anti-Mafia
Directorate, regional and local authorities, and the non-governmental organizations that are
already active in the fight against the trafficking and forced prostitution of minors and young
women already in the country.
73
Aldo LI CASTRI
Head of International Relations
Federturismo (Confindustria)
Biographical Note
Born in Palermo on 29 June 1940, Mr Li Castri completed his secondary education at the Liceo
Classico “T.Tasso” in Rome, and graduated with a degree in law from “La Sapienza” University
of Rome.
Mr. Li Castri has worked as a researcher at the Research Office of the Italian National Research
Council, and then as a manager at Montedison. He has worked as a professional journalist
since 1971 and is now Head of International Relations, Press and General Affairs of
Federturismo/Confindustria. In addition to serving in this post, Mr. Li Castri is editorial
coordinator of “Industriaturismo”, an industry journal published by Federturismo.
(Full text, translated from Italian)
Federturismo, a member of Confindustria, has always supported and continues to actively
support the WTO's decision to fight against sex tourism, understood as a form of conduct and
practice that offends the dignity of young people and adults.
The war against sexual tourism is a commitment that Federturismo has assumed together with
all the associations of the tourism industry. The sector has carried out concrete initiatives, in
particular, on the part of ASTOI (association of tour operators) and ASSOTRAVEL (association
of travel agents).
Thus, public institutions (national and international) and the private sector have joined forces in
the fight against sexual tourism. This is an effort that has its legal basis in Law 269/98, the result
of a broad consensus in parliament, on the mobilization of individuals and organizations.
This awareness first emerged at the First World Congress against the Sexual Exploitation of
Children held in Stockholm (1996), and was confirmed at the second congress in Yokohama in
2000.
The same orientation is reflected in the recent Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee
of the EU on “Working Together for the Future of European Tourism” (in OJEU 14.03.2003),
which states the need to encourage a culture of tourism based upon:
• the key notions of respect and the individual;
• self-awareness and identity;
• the principles of responsibility and sustainability;
• and hospitality.
We should also note the strong initiatives motivated and inspired by the fundamental ethical
principles of the Holy See, as recalled by Monsignor Piero Monni, the Vatican's permanent
observer at the WTO. Let us keep in mind the clear, direct and precise words of His Holiness
Pope John Paul II in his message for the 23rd edition of World Tourism Day (June 2002),
celebrated each year on the initiative of the WTO, on the theme "Ecotourism, the Key to
Sustainable Development", in which tourists are invited to rediscover "the values inherent in this
human experience of contact with creation and to spur each one to respect the natural habitat
and local cultures.”
This Rome Conference (April 2003) therefore represents an opportunity to take stock of what
has been accomplished and what remains to be done. A great deal remains to be done but
everything will be made easier by sharing common values, rules and action against the sexual
exploitation of children in tourism.
74
Paolo DIAMANTE
Manager
International Relations and Tourism Department
Automobile Club d’Italia in representation of AIT-FIA
Biographical Note
Paolo Diamante has worked for the Automobile Club d’Italia (ACI) since 1976. He is currently
Manager of Internal and International Tourism Projects, Coordinator for the ACI Cartographic
Service Centre (GIS) and for the Assistance and Communication Centre.
Mr. Diamante serves as a board member of the European Road Information Centre (ERIC). He
is entrusted with ACI International Affairs. Much of Mr. Diamante’s work covers European
projects for tourism. He is a member of the AIT/FIA Tourism Commission and participates on
several national and international working groups on tourism ethics.
Paolo Diamante received a law degree from the University of Rome.
(Abstract)
Internationally, the Automobile and the Touring Clubs is a federation of two organisations, the
“Alliance Internationale de Tourisme” (AIT) and the “Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile”
(FIA), comprising 187 associations and over 100 million members. Both AIT and FIA have
always strove for ethical tourism. In 1990, they promoted the publication and distribution of the
Charter of Ethics for Tourism and Environment, drafted by leading international experts in
various fields, such as law, economics and the social sciences. In 2000, the Ethical Charter for
Tourism of Cultural Heritage was drafted in co-operation with the European University Centre
for Tourism of Cultural Heritage and this document provided an overview of the tangible and
intangible assets that testify to people’s roots and traditions. In this context, ACI increased its
participation in these domains, going beyond the formulation of proposals to working actively for
the promotion of sustainable (Italian “compatible”) tourism.
Since 1994 indeed, the Automobile Club of Italy has cooperated with the Crisis Management
Unit of the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs to furnish Italian travellers with a Call Centre and a
web site providing information on the security and health situation in 208 countries and
territories, as well as information on the best behaviour to apply in countries whose traditions
and religions differ from Italian ones. The need for such a service was evidenced by the
transformation of Italy from a destination country to one that has become a high exporter of
tourists. This transformation has led to a certain lacuna, as many Italian tourists abroad lack
knowledge of different customs, yet are often faced with serious security and health conditions
at their destinations.
Qualified personnel, who receive calls daily between 8 am to 8 pm including holidays, staff this
information service. They are responsible for updating data on the web site:
viaggiaresicuri.mae.aci.it. Additionally, information is provided about criminal laws against
paedophilia, drug use and trafficking in destination countries, in an effort to build awareness
about the need for responsible, consistent and sustainable tourism.
Over the last 30 months, over 1 million users visited the web site.
75
Camelia TEPELUS
Coordinator
Code of Conduct Secretariat
ECPAT
Biographical Note
Camelia Tepelus is Secretariat Coordinator of the Steering Committee on the Code of Conduct
for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism, a project cofunded by the European Commission and supported by the WTO. Since June 2001, the
Secretariat has been hosted at the World Tourism Organization in Madrid (Spain) and serves as
the international point of contact on the implementation of the Code by the tourism sector
worldwide.
In her capacity as Secretariat Coordinator, Ms. Tepelus is tasked with administrative, financial
and project management responsibilities, including: budgetary oversight; provision of periodic
and final reports to project partners and to the funding agency; project management tasks
including intake of correspondence and international promotion of the project; assisting project
partners in liaising with the coordinating body (WTO), and in complying with the administrative
requirements of the grant; representing the project at relevant international events.
In her work, Ms. Tepelus collaborates closely with international tourism organizations and
members of the Code Steering Committee, such as the WTO, the Tour Operators Initiative for
Sustainable Tourism Development (UNEP, UNESCO, WTO), the IH&RA, ECPAT International,
FIYTO, the Japan National Committee for UNICEF, etc.
Ms. Tepelus obtained a Master of Science in ‘Environmental Management and Policy’ from
Lund University in Sweden, with a thesis on sustainability reporting in tourism, which won the
‘2000 TUI Sustainable Tourism Development Award’, granted by the Institute for Tourism and
Transportation Studies in the Netherlands, and TUI Netherlands.
As a Research Associate based in Sweden, Ms. Tepelus has carried out academic research
and consultancy projects relating to sustainable development, ecotourism and corporate social
responsibility in developing countries in Eastern Europe, South America, and Asia. Among the
projects undertaken as Research Associate of Lund University (Sweden), there are:
environmental management audits carried out at tourism destinations in Lithuania, Ukraine and
Russia; monitoring and evaluation of environmental performances of ecotourism tour operators
in Nepal, Bhutan and Peru; project management and development of research proposals,
fundraising, presentations and conference participation.
Ms. Tepelus has a Bachelor of Sciences in Marketing from the Academy of Economic Sciences
in Bucharest, Romania, and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from
‘POLITEHNICA’ University in Romania, and she is currently a PhD candidate at Lund University
in Sweden.
Ms. Tepelus has published academic papers on sustainable tourism development and made
numerous presentations in relation to her research and the Code of Conduct project at various
international conferences and events organized by the tourism industry, the WTO and other
international organizations in countries that include Sweden, Indonesia, Senegal, USA,
Germany, the UK and Brazil.
The Code of Conduct for the Travel and Tourism Industry
(Abstract)
Projects activities undertaken pursuant to the implementation of the Code of Conduct for the
Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism specifically address the
role of the tourism private sector in the protection of children from sexual exploitation in tourism
(SECT). The ECPAT Code forms part of the international campaign coordinated by the World
Tourism Organization (WTO) and consists of various projects carried out with four project
partners: the International Federation of Journalists, (IFJ), Terre des Hommes, Germany,
76
(TDH), the Family and Child Care Centre (FCCC) and The ECPAT group. Project partners
target different actors, actors who have important roles to play in combating SECT.
First, within the range of projects activities undertaken by the WTO, there is the dissemination of
guidelines to national tourism authorities focal points on ways to prevent sexual exploitation of
children. Second, IFJ activities focus on the media through the development of international
guidelines to assist the media with considering appropriate ways to report cases of sexually
exploited children. Projects activities also focus on academia, tourism education and training
centres that have received training modules and curricula from the WTO in order to train
professionals and youth on how to handle situations of sexual exploitation. The FCCC
disseminates information on SECT to travellers at four international airports in Greece and
Cyprus. Finally, activities undertaken by ECPAT, focus on the development of the Code of
Conduct (CC) and on private sector actors.
The Code addresses the entire range of tourism companies, with the main focus on Tour
Operators (TOs), but also hotels and travel agents, in order to provide them with necessary
skills and working procedures to prevent and combat the sexual exploitation of children at
tourism destinations. The project was initiated in April 1998 through collaboration between
ECPAT Sweden and Nordic tour operators with strong support from the WTO. The Code
operates at two levels.
First, at the international level, the Steering Committee provides policy guidelines and overall
supervision on the development of the projects. Members of the Steering Committee include
important international tourism organizations, such as the WTO, IH&RA, Interpol, national NTAs
from destination countries, such as EMBRATUR (Brazil), TAT (Thailand), Tour Operators
Initiative (TOI) for Sustainable Tourism Development (initiatives from UNEP, UNESCO, WTO),
and FIYTO and many other organizations. The chair of this committee is Ms. Cynthia Messer
and Ms. Tepelus acts as the Secretariat of this committee, which is hosted by the WTO.
At the national level, within the European context, the Code operates as collaboration between
six national ECPAT groups (ECPAT Germany, ECPAT Italy, ECPAT Netherlands, ECPAT
Sweden, ECPAT UK and Respect Austria.) They have coordinated their activities in order to
promote the CC with TOs and national tourism industries in their own countries, through funding
provided by a European Commission grant.
The CC comprises six criteria, which address TOs in their relationships with tourists, suppliers,
local authorities and communities at destinations:
1. TOs must establish a corporate ethical policy specifically stating that the company does not
support any form of sexual exploitation of children in relation to their activities. All staff working
at HQ and at destinations must be made aware of this policy as part of their regular training.
2. TOs must take necessary measures to inform tourists about this policy and about facts that
they consider tourists should know at the destinations. Ways to carry out this can include
development of websites, creation of brochures or dissemination of information to tourist guides
at the destinations.
3. TOs must provide training to their personnel about the Code in both the country of origin and
at travel destinations.
4. TOs must introduce a clause in contracts with suppliers, stating a common repudiation of the
commercial sexual exploitation of children.
5. While carrying our activities at destinations, TOs must provide information to local "key
persons" at the destinations through the establishment of a communication system with local
authorities, in cases where there are occurrences of SECT.
6. TOs who agree to implement the Code must report annually, to local ECPAT groups and to
the International Steering Committee, on efforts taken to this effect.
The CC project has led to positive results with regards to raising the level of awareness of TOs
to the problem and with regards to their commitment to implementing the Code. Major TOs’
77
associations in countries such as Germany, Austria and Italy have agreed to implement the
Code. They have endeavoured to motivate their member TOs to using it at their destinations.
One important result, achieved last year, is that the TOI and its more than 23 members have
made signing the CC a prerequisite for membership within this group. In the Nordic countries,
with signatories from Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark, almost 80% of the mass tourism
market has also endorsed the Code. Collaboration this year has also been initiated with hotels
and hotel chains. In February 2003, the ACCOR hotel group in Asia signed unto the
implementation of the CC in Bangkok, in collaboration with ECPAT International.
There have been positive developments with the implementation of the CC at destinations. TOs
and tourism private sector representatives have been sensitised about this issue. There are at
least three destination countries where the CC has been fully endorsed, and local ownership
has been created: Costa Rica, Brazil and the Dominican Republic. Tourism professionals from
these countries have decided to launch this project at the national level with the support of their
governments, and to promote it in their countries. In Thailand, there have been successful pilot
projects developed in Phuket, with the support of the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the
Swedish tour operators.
However, much remains for the implementation of the project. One important challenge is the
need to overcome psychological barriers and reluctance on the part of the industry to discuss
SECT, due to concerns over damaging their public image. This concern has been addressed
through tailoring discussion with TOs to the needs of the industry, by placing the issue within
the context of sustainable tourism development. Another challenge is the need for improved cooperation between the private sector, the public sector and civil society at destination countries,
although there has been success with cooperation in South and Central America. Another
significant problem is the need for future funding for projects. Thus far, funding has come from
two European grants, one of which is current and ECPAT is searching for further funding.
In order to obtain more information on this project, please consult the website:
www.thecode.org, or contact the WTO. ECPAT has produced a CD Rom with a comprehensive
compilation of measures taken in various countries to address SECT, which is available by
contacting the Secretariat.
Code of Conduct
for the Protection of Children
from Sexual Exploitation
in Travel and Tourism
Camelia Tepelus
Steering Committee Secretariat
based at the World Tourism Organization
International efforts and tools against CSEC
• National Tourism Authorities
Guidelines for NTA focal points (WTO)
• Media
’Pact for Children’/International Guidelines (IFJ)
• Academia, tourism education and training centers
Training modules and curricula (WTO)
• For the private sector
Code of Conduct (ECPAT)
Co-funded by 2 consecutive EC grants (2000-2001, 2002-2003).
Code of Conduct
project
• Project engaging the tourism private sector
(tour operators) in preventing and
combating sexual exploitation of children
related to travel and tourism.
• Multistakeholder approach, involving both the
private, and the public sector
• Initiated 1998, by ECPAT Sweden and Nordic
tour operators
78
international level
national level
CC Project Partners in Europe
Steering Committee
•
•
•
•
WTO
IH&RA
Interpol
EMBRATUR (Brasil),
TAT(Thailand)
• Tour Operators Initiative
for Sustainable Tourism
Development
(UNEP.UNESCO.WTO)
• FIYTO
•
•
•
•
•
•
Chair: Cynthia Messer (IFWTO)
Secretariat hosted at the WTO
ECPAT – Germany
ECPAT – Italy
ECPAT – Netherlands
ECPAT – Sweden
ECPAT – UK
Respect – Austria
With the financial support of the EC, under the umbrella of the WTO.
Partner Tour Operators
Tour Operators Associations
Germany
Austria
Italy
Individual tour operators
More than 20 tour operators from Europe, Costa
Rica, Thailand
Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland
- cca.80 % of the Nordic market
23 members of the TOI (UNEP.UNESCO.WTO)
– international tour operators
Accor Hotels Asia
signed the Code
in February 2003
CODE
CRITERIA:
2
1
ETHICAL Policy
Tourists
Staff
TOUR
OPERATOR
3
4
CODE CRITERIA
• 1. Have an ethical corporate policy against
the exploitation of children in tourism
• 2. Educate and train the staff
• 3. Inform travellers
• 4. Introduce specific clause in contracts with
suppliers
• 5. Contact ’key persons’ at the destinations
• 6. Report annually
Destination 5
Suppliers
REPORT
6
...Results in destinations
Code of Conduct
Challenges
• Creating local ownership - national versions of the
Code launched in
Overcoming the psychological barriers
– Costa Rica: ACOT, ACOPROT, Fundacion Paniamor
– Brasil: EMBRATUR, Casa Renacer
– Dominican Republic: ASONAHORES
Improved cooperation between the public
sector, the private sector and the civil
society
• Pilot projects and increased awareness
– PHUKET case study (Thailand)
• Increasing number of signatory tour operators
Funding
Code of Conduct
for the Protection of Children
from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and
Tourism
www.thecode.org
Camelia Tepelus
c/o WTO, Capitán Haya 42
28020 Madrid, Spain
[email protected]
79
Patricia BARNETT
Director
Tourism Concern
United Kingdom
Biographical note
After many years of travelling and a very diverse career, Patricia Barnett completed a master’s
degree in the sociology and anthropology of travel and tourism – a new subject in the late
1980s. Following her studies, she took over the running of Tourism Concern, at that time a
small organisation with one employee and a dedicated steering group. Today Tourism Concern
is a dynamic organisation focusing on sustainable tourism, mainly in relation to outbound
tourism to the South. Tourism Concern is an advocate for the hundreds of groups and
individuals in the South who argue that tourism impacts negatively on their cultures, societies,
economies and environments. In these times, it is not unusual for people to understand that to
be sustainable, tourism has to be responsible and beneficial for everyone involved. Tourism
Concern campaigns for ethical and fairly-traded tourism and works with governments, the
tourism industry, other non-governmental organisations, schools and universities and local
people living in tourism destinations.
(Abstract)
Child sex tourism can be understood to be at the extreme end of a continuum of human rights
abuses that are directly associated with tourism. Paedophiles are identified as `the other’ and
most business travellers and holidaymakers will abhor their practices.
But little attention is paid to the human rights dimension of the tourism industry. Far more
attention is paid to growth and environment or the sustainability of the industry. The human
environment seems to have been largely ignored. There is more concern about the habitats of
flora and fauna than there is about the human population.
Few, as yet, have made any connection between the tourism industry and human rights abuses
– apart from child sex tourism. Tourism is still generally seen as beneficial and apolitical.
Tourism not only has profound implications for civil and political rights at a national level,
however, but it also has economic, environmental social and cultural impacts on local
populations.
The tourist, enjoying her right to the freedom to travel, often unwittingly collaborates in the
oppression of local peoples. We travel with our eyes wide shut.
It is important to understand what else is on the `people and human rights continuum’ and to
accept that unknowingly we can contribute to the undesirable aspects of tourism. We have to
ensure that when we travel our eyes are wide open and that we separate ourselves away from
the distorted and unbalanced dynamics that are enmeshed in what is too often the unfair trade
of tourism. Tourism must be ethical and fairly traded.
At the heavy end of this continuum are other uncomfortable issues. People are displaced from
their homes and their opportunities for managing their livelihoods are removed. There is the
abuse of scarce infrastructure resources like water. There is the constant need of the traveller
to get things as cheaply as possible. There is the demeaning of family values by giving sweets
to children. There is complete lack of respect for local traditions by wearing inappropriate
clothing. There is the desire to stay separate from local people by staying in all-inclusive hotels.
Tourism Concern works to raise awareness of how tourism impacts on local people and also
works, together with a wide network of international stakeholders, to find solutions. Full
information about resources available are to be found on the website,
www.tourismconcern.org.uk
Third Session
Education, Training and Best Practices
Chairman:
Mr. Gianni PLINIO
Coordinator
Tourism Counselors of Italian Regions
Ms. Cynthia MESSER
Extension Educator
Associate Professor
Tourism Centre
University of Minnesota
Ms. Lotta SAND
Manager
Responsible Tourism Development
Market Research and Analysis
Fritidsresor Group/TUI Nordic
Sweden
Ms. Perla GOSECO
Tourism Coordinator
ECPAT Italy
Ms. Giselle LE NOZER
General Manager
Air France
Italy
Mr. Alain CAUDRELIER-BENAC
Manager
Corporate Patronage
Sponsorships & Public Relations
ACCOR
France
Ms Lyndall DE MARCO
Executive Director
Youth Career Initiative
Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum
United Kingdom
and Trustee
International Hotel and Restaurant Association (IH&RA)
Foundation for the Future
82
Mr. Andreas MÜSELER
Environmental Manager
LTU-Touristik
Germany
Mr. Antonio TOZZI
President
FIAVET
Italy
Ms. Lina MAZZUCCO
Vice-President
ASSOTRAVEL
Italy
Ms. Ellen BERMANN
Expert
ASTOI
Italy
The third session focuses on education, training and best practices in addressing the sexual
exploitation of children in tourism. The first three presentations describe education and training
initiatives in tourist generating countries and specifically provide a description of the role of
education of the tourist sector to protect children from sexual exploitation in tourism, presented
by Ms. Cynthia Messer, Extension Educator and Associate Professor at the Tourism Centre of
the University of Minnesota; the training of tour operators and travel agents, presented by Ms.
Lotta Sand, Manager Responsible for Tourism Development and Market Research/Analysis,
Fritidsresor Group/TUI Nordic Sweden; and the training of hotel staff and local communities,
presented by Ms. Perla Gasco- Savino, Tourism Coordinator, ECPAT Italy.
The second set of presentations will provide examples of best practices and cover initiatives by
airlines, presented by Ms. Giselle Le Nozer, General Manager, Air France Italy and bt two
hotels, presented by Mr. Alain Caudrelier-Benac, Manger, Corporate Patronage, Sponsorships
and Public Relations, ACCOR France and Ms. Lyndall de Marco, Executive Director, Youth
Career Initiative, Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum.
The third set of presentations will address the role of travel agents and tour operators in
addressing sexual exploitation of children in tourism. Presentations are made by Mr. Andreas
Mueseler, Environmental Manager, LTU-Touristik, part of the German Travel Agents and Tour
Operators Association (DRV) and by three representatives of the Italian travel agents and tour
operators: Mr. Antonio Tozzi, President of FIAVET, Ms. Lina Mazzucco, Vice- President of
ASSOTRAVEL and Ms. Ellen Bermann, and expert with ASTOI. Ms. Jacqueline de Rey, Vice
President of the WTO Task Force to Protect Children from Sexual Exploitation in Tourism will
close this session by outlining final considerations for the future.
83
Cynthia MESSER
Extension Educator
Associate Professor
Tourism Centre
University of Minnesota
Biographical Note
Cynthia Messer is an Extension Educator and Associate Professor with the Tourism Centre,
University of Minnesota Extension Service. She has worked in the travel and tourism industry
for over 27 years in numerous positions. Ms. Messer began her career with an inbound tour
operator and she specialized in group tours and international travel. For the past 17 years Ms.
Messer has been providing tourism education at the college level. She holds a masters degree
in tourism development from George Washington University.
Ms. Messer’s research focuses on the areas of sustainable community tourism development
and customer service/satisfaction. Ms. Messer is the co-author of the acclaimed At Your Service
program, and the comprehensive manual Community Tourism Development. For the past eight
years, she has been engaged in the international campaign against the commercial sexual
exploitation of children in tourism. She serves as an advisor to the Executive Committee of the
Task Force, and as Chair of the Steering Committee for the Code of Conduct for the Travel and
Tourism Industry.
Ms. Messer has authored two educational modules on this phenomenon for the World Tourism
Organization.
The Role of Education of the Tourism Sector to Protect Children
(Briefing Paper)
Education is a critical component in the campaign against the sexual exploitation of children in
tourism (SECT). Over the past decade, the global campaign has raised awareness about the
phenomenon of commercial sexual exploitation of children in tourism. The international nongovernmental organization ECPAT, along with the World Tourism Organization (WTO), has
played a pivotal role in encouraging the travel and tourism industry to participate in campaign
actions. Raising awareness is an important first step in combating SECT. However, awareness
of the issue is not enough. Awareness campaigns need to be supported with training to
facilitate long-term change in behaviour of travellers and tourism industry personnel.
In the World Tourism Organization’s report The Incidence of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of
Children in Tourism (2001), researcher Chris Beddoe made a number of recommendations of
how the tourism industry can work, both in collaboration with other stakeholders and within its
own sectors, to end SECT. These recommendations included developing a working partnership
with child protection agencies, and emphasizing and providing training programmes on
preventing sexual exploitation of children in tourism.
The travel and tourism industry has increasingly indicated a willingness to participate in
awareness campaigns and training programs on the prevention of SECT. However,
comprehensive training materials, and a commitment to on-going training are needed. These,
coupled with effective collaboration between the travel and tourism industry, government and
non-governmental bodies to institutionalize this training will bring about real change.
International campaigns can provide training tools and train-the-trainer programs, but strong
national and local support to adapt, implement and evaluate is essential. The sensitivity of the
subject, the differences in educational systems, and cultural context must be considered in an
educational programme on the sexual exploitation of children in tourism.
84
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMES
A number of educational initiatives have been designed in recent years to provide education for
the travel and tourism industry. These range from structured classroom training to industry
directed trainings at destinations. One of the first vocational training efforts began in France in
1997. Created by Groupe Dévéloppement, the French national organization for ECPAT, in
cooperation with national tourism trade organizations, and the French Ministry of Education, the
programme was designed to teach tourism trainees how to combat “child sex tourism.” The
programme was successfully implemented and a goal to extend the application was set. In
1998, these French materials were shared with and adapted in pilot efforts by NGOs in the
Netherlands, Germany and Belgium.
During today’s session, several examples of programmes, recognized as best practices, will be
presented. Most focus on specific sectors of the travel and tourism industry, and are either
industry initiated or in close cooperation with NGOs. Each demonstrates the benefits and
effectiveness of training and collaboration.
Three factors are common in each. These
programmes:
•
•
•
Establish a foundation of knowledge
Provide concrete tools and methods to address the issue
Empower tourism personnel to act
In addition to the programmes presented today, there are two programmes that should be
highlighted.
WTO Modules
Responding to the need for training tools on this issue, WTO commissioned the development of
two training modules in 2001. These modules were developed within the context of the
international campaign against sexual exploitation of children in tourism, and were funded by
the European Commission. The first module is designed to assist educators in integrating the
subject of SECT into existing tourism-related courses at higher education and vocational
training institutions. The materials are designed to use approximately 4 to 8 hours of classroom
time. The module includes a suggested outline for lecture, in-depth background information,
structured lecture notes, discussion questions, exercises, case studies and projects, an
overhead slide programme and a resource list. Teachers are encouraged to adapt the materials
to include local issues, culture and laws, and to invite appropriate guest lecturers from law
enforcement, non-governmental agencies and industry to address the class.
Taking into account the differences in educational systems, delivery methods and requirements
in different countries, the materials provide the background and content on the subject. The
global context for discussing the sexual exploitation of children in tourism is grounded in
Sustainable and Responsible Tourism. Teachers and national Ministries of Tourism or
Education are encouraged to add the local cultural context by adapting the materials, the
suggested activities and presentation ideas. This adaptation is critical to enable students to
engage in dialogue and action associated with the issue.
The second module is designed as a resource for teachers of students ages 12 to 16, to assist
in introducing the subjects of children’s rights, responsible tourism and sexual exploitation of
children in tourism to students. It is valuable for the education of the travel and tourism industry
is paralleled with introduction of the subject at an earlier age.
These materials are available from WTO to be adapted to local needs. They are particularly
applicable in tourism-generating countries with a tourism training infrastructure in place.
Collaboration between the travel and tourism industry, non-governmental agencies, and
government departments of tourism, education and youth is important in modifying these
materials to be appropriate and relevant to local or national educational systems.
85
Child Wise Tourism
Another programme that is designed to be adapted to local context is Child Wise Tourism. Child
Wise (ECPAT in Australia) conducts Child Wise Tourism training workshops in several countries
in Southeast Asia. This training programme provides information and teacher training on the
prevention of SECT in tourism destinations.
Child Wise connects the tourism industry and
community based organizations to work together, training local trainers to adapt, deliver, and
evaluate the programme. It is an interactive approach to training on this sensitive subject that
engages participants through case studies, role-plays and discussion. Child Wise has been
used effectively in destinations to help national tourism authorities and the tourism sector adopt
policies and strategies that promote a child safe tourism environment.
CONCLUSION
The sensitivity of the subject, the differences in educational systems, and cultural context for
these discussions are critical considerations in creating or adapting an educational programme
on the sexual exploitation of children in tourism. A collaborative approach that engages the
travel and tourism industry, governmental agencies and nongovernmental organizations is the
optimum.
The programmes presented today stress these factors, and take into account the following
recommendations.
•
Content should provide an overview of the phenomenon.
•
Training modules must be culturally appropriate and relevant.
•
Modules can be integrated into existing tourism training and education curricula.
•
Appropriately trained teachers and trainers are needed.
•
Training should be on-going and maintained to be current.
•
Training should be measured for effectiveness.
These recommendations will ensure an education and training effort that is effective and
sustained. Existing campaigns have had success in mobilizing support and raising international
awareness of the issue. These awareness campaigns now need to be supported with training
programmes of tourism personnel, and even school children, to facilitate long-term change.
Education of the Tourism Sector
to Protect
Children from Sexual
Cynthia C. Messer
WTO Regional Consultation
April 4, 2003
86
Global Campaign
Awareness campaigns need
to be supported with training
Has successfully raised awareness
Encouraged participation of the
travel & tourism industry
Background information
Prevention Strategies
Culturally relative methods
Motivate action
Education programmes
should be
International Campaigns
Training tools
Train-the-trainer models
On-going
Integrated
Inclusive
National / Local Leadership
Adapt
Implement
Evaluate
Evaluation component
Educational Initiatives
Common Factors
Establish a foundation of knowledge
Provide concrete tools and methods
Empower tourism personnel to act
Protection of Children
from Sexual
Exploitation in
Tourism
WTO’s
Tourism Training Module
87
WTO Tourism Training Module
Integrates into existing curricula
Adaptable to local needs
Flexible
Provides content and
global context
Delivery
Curriculum Includes:
Curriculum
Teacher
Content
&
Global Context
of Issue
Local Context
cultural values
appropriate exercises
applications
Student
Background notes
Outline for lecture
Full lecture notes
Exercises and projects
Powerpoint presentation
Case studies
Resources
Content Format
Uses ICON pictures on left,
full lecture text on right
Module for Youth
(ages 12-16)
Includes:
Lesson Plan
Presentation outline
Activity ideas
Background notes
Case studies
Powerpoint presentation
Resources
Scripted Lecture notes with
Discussion questions
Exercise ideas
Project ideas
Child Wise Tourism
Recommendations
Developed by Child
Wise (ECPAT in
Australia)
Content provides an overview
Interactive
Can be integrated into existing curricula
Effectively used in
destinations in
Southeast Asia
Culturally appropriate & relevant
Trained teachers
On-going training
Evaluation component
88
Lotta SAND
Manager
Market Research and Analysis
Fritidsresor Group/TUI Nordic
Sweden
Biographical Note
Ms Lotta Sand is a trained psychotherapist and holds a masters degree in the History of Ideas.
She has worked in the travel and tourism industry for over 20 years, including assignments as
overseas representative and head of a department for overseas staff and customers services.
Her professional challenge has been putting theory into practise.
Ms. Sand is involved on a daily basis with staff training and the provision of information to
customers. In the late 1980s she started to elaborate what was going to become the Crises
Management, Emergency Procedures and Health and Safety guidelines for the company. In the
mid-1990s, she outlined the structure and the theoretical approach for TUI Nordic’s Responsible
Tourism Development. In 1998, representing TUI Nordic, Ms. Sand started to collaborate with
ECPAT Sweden on the elaboration of the Code of Conduct against Commercial Sexual
Exploitation of Children an Travel and Tourism. She is the Tour Operators Initiative
(www.toiniative.org) representative to the Steering Committee of the Code. Since 2001, Ms.
Sand has also worked in the area of research and business intelligence reporting.
(Summary of audio presentation)
TUI Nordic operations cover markets in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. Training on the
sexual exploitation of children in tourism (SECT) is compulsory for new overseas
representatives attending the Blue Academy at TUI Nordic Head Office in Stockholm. The
practical aspect of this training program is conducted at destinations and TUI’s partner for the
training program is ECPAT Sweden
When training on SECT commenced four years ago, trainers noted the difficulty in
communicating the issue to students, due to the nature of this problem. Thus, it was decided to
place this program within a context of responsible tourism development. Amongst training
material included is the 20-minute video Children Are Not For Sale produced by ECPAT
Sweden, which describes the work of ECPAT Sweden on both the commercial sexual
exploitation of children (CSEC) and SECT. Another material used is the English version of the
documentary novel Rosario is Dead by Swedish author Maj Gull Axelsson, which describes the
life of a Philippine girl sexually abused by a European physician. This novel is used for the
training program because it provides an introduction to the subject in the context of a real life
situation. During the training process, groups are formed and discussions are held amongst
participants. Tasks that focus on practical implementation of the subject matter are assigned to
each group.
In terms of lessons learned from previous training sessions, it is important to identify a
company’s position and responsibility in addressing SECT. It is insufficient to present the
problem without also providing the setting for it, a full explanation of the reason for which the
company must address it and the company’s responsibility in so doing. It is also very important
to clarify the role and responsibility of the tour leaders in the event that they encounter SECT.
The clear message that must be provided to tour leaders is that SECT is a crime and should be
reported to the police and to the authorities. Finally, it is important to describe the issue in the
context of responsible tourism development, adapted to varying contexts, through a variety of
materials, such as information meetings, TUI’s Internet site, brochures and in-flight videos.
Once students complete the training program, an evaluation is conducted of both the student’s
knowledge of the subject matter, as well as their evaluation of the program. Results indicate that
since the subjects of CSEC and SECT were introduced over four years ago, as a compulsory
89
subject, there has been a great increase in awareness of them. There has also been an
increase in the number of initiatives to address them, for example reporting on and raising the
subjects at destinations. In short, employees are both aware of and active in dealing with the
problem and have come to understand the connection between the service industry and its
economic and social impacts at local levels.
Brief Description of the
Programme
Education and Training for the
Protection of Children from
Sexual Exploitation
in Travel and Tourism
a case study

The audience is the Blue Academy, a
compulsory introduction and training for
new overseas representatives conducted at
the TUI Nordic Head Office in Stockholm

The training on CSEC is a three hour
session in the context of Responsible
Tourism Development
Lotta Sand
TUI Nordic
[email protected]
Cont. Brief Description….

Material used: company policy, the video
Children are not for sale, the English
version of the book Rosario is Dead by the
Swedish author Maj Gull Axelsson

Other material: group tasks for discussions
on practical implementation

Obstacles and
opportunities

Important to identify the company’s position
and responsibility

Important to clarify the role and
responsibility of the tour leader

Important to describe the context of
Partners: ECPAT Sweden
Evaluation of methods
used

Each participant fills in an evaluation
scheme

Each participant is tested
Outcomes

Since the training was introduced on a
compulsory level the awareness has
increased radically

Staff understand the connection between
the service industry and social impacts on
an a local level
90
Perla GOSECO
Tourism Coordinator
ECPAT Italy
Biographical Note
Born in the Philippines and Italian by marriage, Perla Goseco-Savino obtained her university
degree in sociology at the University of Urbino (Italy). She worked in the private sector in Rome
for over 20 years in the area of travel and related services. Upon retirement, she has worked as
a volunteer in the immigration centre of Caritas Rome and, since 1996, has dedicated her
volunteer work exclusively to the protection of children through ECPAT Italia, as a tourism
consultant.
In 2001, Ms. Goseco-Savino served as Project Coordinator of the first International Campaign
for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Tourism, a project co-financed by the
European Commission and coordinated by World Tourism Organization. Since 2002, Ms.
Goseco-Savino has served as an external consultant for the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on
the issue of the protection of children from sexual exploitation in tourism.
Training of Hotel Staff and Local Communities at Destination Countries
(Full text)
It takes a village.... an extended village... a real village wherein the tourism structure is located.
The fact that a hotel is "All Inclusive" does not mean that it is self-contained - i.e. completely
detached from the community hosting it. This lesson was learned during the implementation of
the Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Tourism, which
took place in the Dominican Republic.
In September last year, an Italian Tour Operator, Viaggi del Ventaglio - a signatory to the Code
of Conduct - arranged for the implementation of the Code in their hotel in the Dominican
Republic. ECPAT Italy had expected to train only the key personnel of their hotel - the
Ventaclub Gran Dominicus. Surprisingly, the hotel management also invited representatives of
other hotels in the area, such as key managers for excursions and logistics, housekeeping,
security, external relations, police officers from the POLITUR (the local tourism police), a former
Under-Secretary for Tourism, community leaders, local community school teachers, and a
UNICEF representative in the Dominican Republic
Tourist-sending countries should bear in mind that to bring about a successful awareness
campaign in Europe, all actors of the "community" should be involved. Involvement of all the
components of a community... whether this is a town ... or a country can achieve cultural and
socio-cultural change.
But let us go back to the seminars held in the hotel with the various representatives of the
community - La Romana-Bayahibe (a region located in the south-eastern part of the Dominican
Republic.). Upon seeing the variety of participants from different sectors of the community, it
was decided that it was necessary to change what had been planned for the seminars. With a
different target audience, a new approach was needed. Only one thing had to remain
unchanged and this was the necessity of finding out how much each of the participants knew
about sexual exploitation of children in tourism. Sure enough, some knew more than others and
many admitted that it does exist but that they would like to know more about it. Which other
countries are afflicted by it? All agreed that something had to be done about it. Children and
minors should be protected from commercial sex. But how?
To begin with, ideas and terminologies had to be clearly defined. For example, we must be use of
the words "prostituted child" instead of "child prostitute”. We have to be careful when we discuss
about children and minors who are “involved” or “trapped” in the business of prostitution. There
are no “child prostitutes”, there are only “prostituted children”. Even adolescents who appear to be
experts in enticing sex customers were lured and trained by adults when they were younger. Let’s
avoid using the terminology "sex tourism" - as much as possible for the simple reason that "sex
91
tourism" is not a tourism product. The prostitution of children and minors in tourism has nothing to
do with real tourism. Tourism is hard work. On the other hand, the commercial exploitation of
children is easy money... promoted by unscrupulous persons who, unfortunately, sometimes
infiltrate the tourism industry. This brings us to the need to make a clear distinction between the
tourism industry and the sex industry. We will never get anywhere if we do not separate these two
industries.
During the seminars, the rights of the child and the role of the adult to protect those rights were
highlighted. Italian Law 269/98 - the specific articles referring to the role of the tourism industry
in fighting prostitution of children- were discussed. The participants were asked how the Italian
law compared with the Dominican Codigo del Menor. Are they being implemented? Could they
be improved? The Code Conduct adopted by the Italian tourism industry was analysed point by
point. Might the local tourism industry adopt a similar Code that commits itself to protecting
children and to taking measures above and beyond what is already required by law?
Many other issues were discussed. Who are the abusers? Only paedophiles? What about
family men who are good fathers when they are home with their families? Why do they abuse
children when they are far away from home? And why do young travellers - men in their
twenties who definitely are not paedophiles - abuse young girls in destination countries? Is it
true that there are women who seek out sex with young boys in some destination countries?
What are the causes of sexual exploitation of children? Is extreme poverty the only cause?
What about materialism, the unfortunate belief that money can buy anything? What is the role of
consumerism in this rotten business? What are governments of tourist-sending countries doing
to stop commercial sexual exploitation of children? What can the tourism industry in both touristsending countries and destination countries do to protect children, bearing in mind that in
protecting children it also protects itself from being infiltrated by the sex industry which in many
countries is managed by organized crime and the local mafias?
Many suggestions and a lively discussion followed, especially after the showing of several 30second video spots, already shown either on TV or by some airlines on long-haul flights.
What was achieved after those seminars? Plenty! First and foremost, the Code of Conduct was
adopted and adapted to their needs. They made it their own. Since it is their own initiative, they
simply have to make it work. One month after the seminar was held, the leader of the group that
attended the seminars drafted and mailed the official commitment. Ms. Ellen Bermann of Viaggi
del Ventaglio, who will speak later, will provide more details of this.
Three months after the seminar was held, we received a request for training material, as three
hotels in another community would like to adopt the Code of Conduct. The first group became a
promoter of the Code. Five months later, we received the suggestion that we get together again
to draft a manual of procedures on what can be done should they come across strong, wellfounded signs of child sexual abuse within the community. Might the local police, in the spirit of
synergy, work on this manual together with law enforcement representative of a tourist-sending
country, a person with experience in child protection? The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
which has undertaken a project on child protection in tourism in the Dominican Republic, is
looking into this proposal. We shall, of course, ask the tour operator Viaggi del Ventaglio... for
assistance with logistics.
We said that it takes a community to bring about cultural change. In Italy, the tourism industry
signed the Code of Conduct, tour operators, travel agents, a computer reservations system
(Galileo), an airline, an association of hotels, car rental agencies, convention centres, airlines &
travel agents and labour unions, as well as a consumer association. In other words, different
actors within the tourism business.
We are also here today to find out what the National Tourism Administrations (NTA) of different
European countries can do - as a community - to promote child protection. Yesterday, we spoke
about the need to harmonize laws to enhance legal effectiveness. Today we should come out
with clearer ideas on how NTAs can interface with partners in the tourism industry, the
government (Ministry of Education, Ministry of Interior and Foreign Affairs, Labour, Equal
Opportunities, Health, Productive Activities, Justice and Defence), partners among intergovernmental organizations (UNICEF, World Health Organization, WTO/OMT, the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (refugee camps unfortunately are sources of
92
trafficking in children and minors especially after wars) and partners within the media who have
the important role of responsible and knowledgeable journalism. Last but not least, we need to
interface with non-governmental organizations such as terre des hommes, Save the Children,
ECPAT and religious groups working for children. Together, working as a community, our efforts
toward protecting children and minors will definitely be more effective.
Addendum: In November 2002, two months after the holding of the seminars and the launch
of the Child Protection Project of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Hotel &
Restaurants Association of the Dominican Rep. (ASONAHORES) instituted a Task Force for
Child Protection, an on-going committee within the association itself. Since then, the
President of ASONAHORES (Asociacion Nacional de Hoteles y Restaurantes) has, actively
participated in the activities of the World Tourism Organization.
93
Giselle LE NOZER
General Manager
Air France – Italy
Biographical Note
Ms. Le Nozer has worked for Air France for almost 20 years and is currently Director of
Commercial Operations for Air France Italy. Previous responsibilities in the company include
marketing, promotion and coordination of commercial affairs for the regional office for Nice/Cote
D ’Azur.
Ms. Le Nozer received her DESS in Economics from the University of Geneva. She is fluent in
English and Spanish.
The New ECPAT Campaign against Sex Tourism Involving Children
with the Support of Air France
(Full text)
Air France has been working with ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, pornography And Trafficking
of children for sexual purposes) since 1994. Today, the Company renews its commitment to
ECPAT in a drive to combat sex tourism involving children.
ECPAT’s mission is to combat sexual and commercial exploitation of children, which is to say all
forms of child prostitution and pornography, as well as all sale of and trafficking in children for
sexual purposes. The ECPAT campaign was started at the initiative of a number of
organisations based in Southeast Asia, which launched a call to action at the end of the
Eighties. ECPAT is now an international network present in more than 60 countries around the
world.
ECPAT is engaged in a variety of projects aimed at:
• Tightening laws and reinforcing their application
• Developing programmes for reintegration and rehabilitation of children
• Sensitising the public as to the realities of sexual and commercial exploitation of children
• Training in the key professions (social work and education, tourism, police, etc.)
• Promoting the implementation of the Agenda for Action drawn up at the 1st World Congress
against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, held in Stockholm in 1996 at the
initiative of ECPAT.
One of the ECPAT priorities is to combat sex tourism involving children. The role of tourism
professionals is crucial in this fight because, as the people who generate and sell travel, they
are the central link in the network via which information is circulated to travellers. Many
programmes to inform and sensitise travellers have been put in place with tourism professionals
worldwide.
On the occasion of the Salon mundial de tourisme, ECPAT is launching a new campaign to
increase public awareness, with the backing of the French Ministries of Tourism and Foreign
Affairs. The campaign is using three means of communication. First, brochures and posters
distributed mainly in travel agencies and at airport counters. In addition, a film has been
produced, directed by Nils Tavernier. The director, who offered his services for free to make the
film, is known for his contribution in the fight against drugs and trafficking in children.
Air France will inform travellers about the new ECPAT campaign in its ticket offices. The film will
be screened on board all long-haul Air France flights beginning on 1 April 2003 and will also be
publicised on television. The television campaign was developed free of charge by BETC
EURO RSCG, in its capacity as Air France's advertising agency. Many tourism professionals
have agreed to publicise the campaign, including Afat, Accor, Fram Voyages, Havas Voyages,
Nouvelles Frontières and SNAV.
94
The new campaign highlights the existence of laws against sex tourism involving children and
gives some concrete examples of the legal penalties incurred. The aim is to impress, and to
make people aware of the many types of punishment imposed in both the country where the
crime is committed and in the country of origin of the traveller. Whereas the previous campaign
focused on the victim, the present one, more official in tone, is designed as an open and
unmistakable denouncement of the potential aggressor.
In France, the law, now in effect, makes it possible to judge any sex abuse perpetrated on a
child abroad. Such acts are punishable by 7 years of imprisonment and fines of 100,000 euros.
Sentences may extend to imprisonment for 20 years under certain circumstances. Other
countries have also adopted this kind of extra-territorial law, including the members of the EU,
Japan, Switzerland, New Zealand, the United States and Canada.
In 1996, Air France promoted the adoption of the IATA resolution condemning sexual and
commercial exploitation of children and encouraging the counter-measures taken by Airlines.
Today, Air France continues its drive to stamp out this scourge through its partnership with
ECPAT. In practical terms, this means that the company has decided to consolidate its
collaboration with ECPAT by committing to a ten-year protocol.
THE TOURIST: a film for ECPAT
Against sex tourism involving children, shown of Air France long-haul flights on 1st April 2003
Script:
In a sordid room, a man with his back turned, who looks like an ordinary tourist between 40 and
50 years old, is getting undressed. We see a close-up of him, still with his back turned, taking
off his shirt.
Superimposed onto the screen:
More and more children are victims of sex tourism.
The man then takes off his belt, then his trousers and underpants. Only his halting and difficult
breathing can be heard. Naked, he starts to move forward slowly in the dark.
From the ground and his steps, the camera moves upwards so that we can see a prison
corridor. The camera moves round, and we discover that the man actually got undressed in
front of the local prison wardens.
Superimposed:
More and more culprits are arrested at the scene of the crime or in their country of origin.
The naked man turns around to face the wall, standing up, ready to be searched before being
locked up.
The names of culprits then appear under this heading, with their length of sentence and where
they were tried.
The ECPAT logo appears at the bottom right of the screen.
I would like to conclude my intervention with some, still current, fine words of our company’s
president, Mr Jean-Cyril Spinetta, during his speech at the Conference « To protect children
from sex tourism - 5 years to win » in 1997. He said:
«We are not going to resolve everything, but if it’s true that we are not going to
resolve the problem of all children, it will be enough to resolve the problem of one
child, to save all the world. It is a matter of getting back our self-respect ».
Thank you
95
Alain CAUDRELIER-BENAC
Manager
Corporate Patronage
Sponsorships & Public Relations
ACCOR, France
Biographical Note
Alain Caudrelier-Benac has an educational background in architecture. He competed as a highlevel athlete for ten years. In 1984, he created “CHALLENGE” an events-based communication
company serving corporate clients and agencies. In 1996, Mr. Caudrelier-Benac developed a
partnership between ACCOR and the World Cup football project. He later headed the program
for Patronage, Sponsorship & Public Relations within ACCOR’S Corporate Communications
Department.
Accor and Ecpat Join Forces to Prevent Sexual Exploitation of Children
(Abstract)
1. Accor & Ecpat Partnership: Key Actions
• 2000:
Accor established a partnership with French organization “Groupe
Développement” – Ecpat affiliate in France- and financed economic. development
programs in Egypt, Mali, Senegal, Chad, Columbia, Romania.
• 2001: Partnership is extended to supporting Ecpat in France. Accor participates in
Ecpat’s “No Child Sex Tourism” campaign targeted at public opinion and tourists in
France.
• 2002: Accor in Asia reinforces partnership initiatives by working with Ecpat International
in Bangkok to develop activities to raise awareness and educate guests and employees.
• 2003: Accor signs Ecpat Code of Conduct for the protection of children from sexual
exploitation in travel and tourism.
2. Code of Conduct Initiatives
• Development of ethical policy through program launched in 2002.
• Provision of information to travellers through campaigns in France and Thailand in 2001
and 2002.
• Training of staff through NGO Child Wise’s program launched in 2002.
3. Focus on Training Program
•
Presentation kit is distributed to all human resources and training managers in Thailand
with support of Ecpat and Child Wise Tourism in order to “train the trainer” on how to
deliver Child Wise style of training.
4. Accor & Ecpat Partnership: Results
•
•
1422 out of a total of 3711 hotel staff members attended training program from October
2002 to January 2003.
Genuine and positive partnership.
5. Next Steps
•
•
•
Participate in fieldwork of Ecpat development programs in Thailand.
Extend training program to hotels in Indonesia, Laos and Cambodia.
Participate in Ecpat’s new awareness campaign in France and other key Accor
countries.
96
Accor, a unique position in the world
4 000 hotels, 450 000 rooms in 90 countries
Europe ( excl. France)
816 hotels
North America
1 234 hotels
Accor and Ecpat
Join Forces to Prevent Sexual
Exploitation of Children
France
1 276 hotels
Africa / Middle-East
153 hotels
Latin America
149 hotels
Asia-Pacific
201 hotels
+ ACCOR SERVICES in 32 countries
1
Accor Corporate Communications & External Relations – March 2003
Accor & Ecpat Partnership : Key Actions
Accor, European leader and worldwide group in hotels and
services
3 800 hotels (425 000 chambres) in 90 countries
• From economy to luxury
• 120 million clients / year
2000 Accor partners with French organization « Groupe
Développement » - Ecpat affiliate in France - and finances
economic development programs in Egypt, Mali, Senegal,
Chad, Columbia, Romania.
To corporate clients and public institutions
• 13 million users per year in 32 countries
2001 Partnership is extended to supporting Ecpat in France,
as the objective was to set-up corporate projects illustrating
the Group’s strategy for sustainable, equitable and
responsible tourism :
Accor participates tp Ecpat’s « NO CHILD SEX
TOURISM » campaign targeted at pubic opinion and tourists
in France.
500 000 information leaflets were distributed with travel
tickets
Supplied through Accor Travel agencies (over 260) and 600
posters were displayed within these same agencies.
Meet life essentials
Improve performance
Enhance well-being
Accor & Ecpat Partnership : Key Actions
Establish an ethical policy regarding commercial
sexual exploitation of children,
Provide information to travelers by means of
catalogues, brochures, web-sites, posters, etc
Accor’s Fabrice Tessier,
Jean-Marc Loustalet with
Ecpat’s Sendrine Fabie and
Yanne Courcoux
Introduce a clause in contracts with travel agents,
tour operators and ground operators stating the
common repudiation of commercial sexual
exploitation of children,
Report annually
4
Accor & Ecpat Partnership : Code of Conduct – Initiations
5
Accor & Ecpat Partnership : Training Program Focus
15 Key Points to help trainers explain important issues featured on
Child Wise Tourism Training Video:
5 about protecting children :
1. The customer is not always right. Child abuse should be reported to the authorities.
2. All children have the right to live free from sexual abuse and violence.
3. All countries should have a national plan to protect children.
4. Travel and Tourism professionals need to know the law.
5. Child sex tourism can ruin a destination.
5 about what each hotel must do :
1. Develop a policy to protect children.
2. Ongoing training for staff and managers.
3. Report child abuse to authorities.
4. Raise awareness in your company.
5. Raise money and provide opportunities to help children and young people.
5 to be told to other people :
1. Speak up, don’t ignore child abuse and exploitation. You can do something to help.
2. Child abuse can happen anywhere.
3. Sex offenders can be any age, nationality, religion or social status.
4. Culture should never be used as an excuse for the abuse of a child.
5. There are national laws in each country to punish people who abuse and exploit
children. Over 30 countries have extra-territorial laws.
3 first points have been initiated :
Ethical Policy : Program launched in 2002.
Information to travelers : Campaign in France 2001 and Thailand 2002,
Training personnel : Training Program started in October 2002
The training of staff is part of a global
education program to develop capacity of the
Accor personnel to prevent sexual
exploitation of children.
A presentation kit has been distributed to all
Human Resources Manager and Training
Manager in Thailand with support of Ecpat and
Child Wise Tourism in order to train the trainer
on how to deliver child wise style of training to
hotel staff.
Train the personnel in the coujtry of company
activities,
Provide information to local official « key persons »
at the destination,
2003 Accor in Asia signs Ecpat Code of Conduct for the
Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel
and Tourism, based on 6 criteria.
Train the Trainer on how to deliver child
wise style of training to hotel staff by
Chris Beddoe at Novotel Bangkok Siam
Square
3
Accor & Ecpat Partnership : Code of Conduct – 6 Criteria
2002 Accor in Asia reinforces partnership by working
with Ecpat International based in Bangkok to develop
activities in order to raise awareness and educate guests and
employees:
Information posters on sexual tourism and on the
commitments of Accor to Ecpat and to he Tourism Office of
Thailand are posted in the lobby and in the staff area of all
hotels, Novotel and Mercure in Thailand.
Accor Human Resources Department develops and
implements with Ecpat and Child Wise Tourism a training
and awareness program for hotel staff.
2
6
Accor & Ecpat Partnership : Results
7
Accor & Ecpat Partnership : Next Steps
In Asia :
Participate to field works of Ecpat development in Thailand.
Extend training program to hotels in Indonesia, Laos and
Cambodia.
Total number of Accor hotels staff having attended
Child Wise Tourism Awareness training program form
October 2002 to January 2003 :
1422 out of a total of 3711 hotel staff.
In France :
Participate to Ecpat’s new awareness
campaign through 300 Accor Travel agencies
by including 1 000 000 leaflets in travel tickets.
Awareness & different attitude from the trained staff.
Genuine & positive partnership :
Illustrating the philosophy of Accor’s corporate
patronage policy based on staff involvement and
use of the wide network’s strength.
In other Accor key countries:
Partnership to be extended
8
9
97
Lyndall DE MARCO
Executive Director, Youth Career Initiative
Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum, United Kingdom
Trustee of the International Hotel and Restaurant Association (IH&RA)
Foundation for the Future
Biographical Note
Lyndall De Marco was the Corporate Director for Education for Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts
for seven years where she was responsible for the establishment of a learning organisation, the
development of a values-based company culture and an the development of educational and
training system. These were aimed at ensuring the business success of the hotels, which were
operating in eleven countries.
In her role as Corporate Director, Lyndall was responsible for the pre-opening education for
seven new Pan Pacific Hotels. She was also responsible for the establishment of competencybased education, development and succession models for all associates, a unique “earn as you
learn concept”, as well as the design and establishment of a company-wide management
system based on operational quality standards and competencies. To further develop Pan
Pacific’s learning culture, Ms De Marco established four accredited hotel schools, linked to
international universities in Australia, Micronesia, Malaysia and Singapore. In addition to her
corporate role, she has assumed responsibility as General Manager of properties in Malaysia,
Bangladesh and Borneo.
Ms. De Marco founded the award winning Youth Career Development Program (YCDP) as a
community education initiative in 1995 with the hotel sector in Thailand and the Philippines. In
1997, Lyndall secured the endorsement of the 100,00-member International Hotel and
Restaurant Association who adopted the initiative as their 50th anniversary project. In 1998
UNAIDS recognised the program as one of the best practices in the world for the prevention of
AIDS.
In 1999 Ms. De Marco represented the hotel industry and presented the YCDP and the
education programs of Pan Pacific to the Commission on Sustainable Development on Tourism
at the United Nations in New York. She has continued to promote and develop this program
and has secured strong support from Brazilian, Caribbean and South African Hotels
Associations. She has also established an education scholarship “fund” for which hoteliers and
the general public can pay the tuition fees of a university scholarship for graduates of the
program to attend an open university in their own countries. The International Hotel and
Restaurant’s Association’s foundation for the future, a registered Swiss charity, have endorsed
this effort and embraced the concept and will offer this sponsorship to their membership and
hoteliers worldwide.
Ms. De Marco joined The Prince of Wales International Business Leaders forum to promote the
initiative globally known as the Youth Careers Initiative to assist with the fight against poverty
and the exploitation of children.
Youth Career Initiative: Career development in the
hospitality industry for young people at risk
(Abstract)
The Youth Career Initiative (YCI) uses resources within the hotel industry to prepare young
people in poor countries for careers in hospitality and other service sectors. The focus is on high
school graduates from impoverished communities, where young people have limited options
and are most vulnerable to exploitation. The aim of the program is to ensure participants’ longterm social and economic security by providing them with professional training and experience
that enhances their earning potential, their self-esteem and their ability to make informed
decisions about their lives.
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The program began in Bangkok in 1995 with one hotel, nine high school graduates and two
visionary leaders from UNICEF and the Pan Pacific Hotel Group. Now it is a unique global
partnership of hotels, government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Twenty-three
hotels have joined the scheme in Bangkok and in Manila and 550 graduates have gone on to
work in hotels, banks and hospitals or are continuing their education.
In Northern Thailand the program has significantly reduced the numbers of young girls forced
into prostitution. The initiative is cited by UNAIDS as a best practice for the prevention of
HIV/AIDS, and in 1999 the YCI was presented during the 7th Session of the UN Commission on
Sustainable Development in New York. International tourism organizations are now working
with the International Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) to implement the
program in South Africa, Brazil, the Caribbean, Mexico and South America, with funding from
the UK Department for International Development (DFID).
Background
Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts originated the scheme in Bangkok as the Youth Career
Development Program, a community initiative to “give something back” to society and
demonstrate the company’s commitment to lifelong learning. Lyndall De Marco, Pan Pacific’s
Corporate Director of Education, and Dr Kitiya Phornsadja, Child Protection Officer for UNICEF
Thailand, created the model.
The program began with eight girls and one boy from welfare schools in Northern Thailand who
followed a 20-week course at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Bangkok. The hotel’s managers were the
teachers. This not only ensured that students were trained directly by hospitality professionals,
but also led hotel staff in talking a personal interest in the progress of the trainees and the
outcome of the program. The scheme was so successful for both the students and the hotel that
it was expanded to allow more young people and hotel companies to participate. In 1998 the
scheme was implemented at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Manila, and by the end of 2002 a total of
23 hotel companies in Bangkok and Manila had become involved, training 150 participants per
year.
Participants
Program participants are high school graduates who are chosen for their desire to succeed and
their potential to work in the service sector. Priority is given to applicants in difficult
circumstances who would be at greatest risk without outside intervention. In Thailand, for
example, teenage girls are chosen as they are considered to be at greatest risk, while in Manila
both girls and boys are chosen, usually from church-run shelters. In South Africa, both boys and
girls will be selected from amongst high schools in poor townships.
Approach
Candidates are chosen during attendance in their final year of secondary education. Application
forms and information about the scheme are sent to schools, and two weeks later, human
resource personnel from participating hotels visit the schools to interview candidates. Those
who are selected for the program are trained over a 20-week period in technical areas such as
housekeeping, laundry, engineering, kitchens, food and beverage service.
A typical day includes three hours of instruction in theory and four hours of hands-on training in
technical areas. Every week, trainees receive three hours of instruction in basic English. Every
two weeks, trainees from participating hotels meet for joint sessions on life skills that include
computer training, service etiquette and first aid. The Pan Pacific curriculum is the model for
each hotel, but flexibility is built in to meet the requirements of different hotels. Training
resources are shared. At the end of each training programme a graduation ceremony is held at
one of the hotels, with all of the catering provided by the trainees. Graduates are awarded an
official certificate with the logos of all participating hotels. The certificate is highly valued and
has helped to motivate other children in participating schools to complete their education.
UNICEF keeps track of all the graduates, and individual hotels track the graduates for which
they have been responsible.
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Partners and Sponsors
A feature of the scheme is the combined support of companies, NGOs and governments. All
services are donated. In Thailand, for example, UNICEF arranges participants’ transport,
accommodation, support and guidance, and UNICEF Canada sponsors accommodation for
trainees in the local Girl Guide Association hostel. The Ministry of Education liases with welfare
schools and co-ordinates travel arrangements. Companies such as AIA and Colgate provide
insurance and amenities for trainees. In 2000 Bumrungrad Hospital, one of Bangkok’s leading
hospitals, recruited nine graduates from the Youth Career Initiative to train for careers in
nursing, and the following year 20 nursing scholarships were offered to YCI graduates.
Support from the Tourism Industry
The International Hotel and Restaurant Association (IH&RA) has officially endorsed the
programme as an industry best practice and is working with international agencies to expand
the scheme worldwide. The World Tourism Organization (WTO) has also declared its support.
Both organizations regard the program as an important tool in the fight against child exploitation
and sex tourism. The IH&RA and WTO are working with the IBLF, an international charity that
promotes responsible business practices, in order to implement the program worldwide.
Further support for lifelong learning is being developed through the IH&RA Foundation for the
Future, a Swiss-registered charity convened by Trustees of the IH&RA. A proportion of the
scholarships that the foundation awards every year will be allocated to YCI graduates for the
purpose of distance learning in accredited university degree programs.
Global Expansion
The IBLF has publicly supported the YCI since 1999, and in 2002 assumed responsibility for the
global expansion of the program. Lyndall De Marco, who retired from Pan Pacific in 2001, is
now employed by the IBLF as Executive Director of the YCI worldwide. She is working with
IHR&A, IBLF and WTO to expand the program to South Africa, Brazil, the Caribbean, Mexico
and South America. A Youth Career Council is also being established to set standards for the
YCI program worldwide. Dr Phornsajda continues as mentor for the program.
The YCI is adapted to the particular circumstances of each country in which it is implemented.
In South Africa, for example, where the YCI will be launched in July 2003, the training program
will consist of 12 rather than five months, in order to qualify for a national “learnership” scheme
that provides allowances for trainees and awards tax deductions to participating hotels. The
National Standards Framework has been incorporated into the curriculum, which means that
South African YCI graduates will automatically qualify for, and earn one year of credit towards, a
two-year diploma program. The first of its kind in the country, the YCI program will help in an
indirect way to raise standards in South Africa’s hotel industry.
Summary
The YCI shows how a partnership approach and effective use of existing resources in the
hospitality industry can dramatically benefit both companies and communities. From the
beginning, the goal of the YCI programme was not only to provide a training scheme for the
hospitality industry, but also to empower disadvantaged young people. Hotels benefit from
reduced staff turnover and a growing pool of trainee graduates, and participants gain career
opportunities to which they would not otherwise have access. This is a compelling example of
ways in which hotels and tourism companies in poor countries can contribute significantly to
good quality human resource development and poverty alleviation.
Further reading
Summary Booklet of Best Practices. Issue 1. UNAIDS, Geneva. (June 1999)
http://www.unaids.org/bestpractice/summary/JC216-SummBook-I-E.pdf
Youth Career Initiative -- Empowering and protecting our children
http://www.iblf.org/csr/csrwebassist.nsf/content/f1c2a3t4.html
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Youth Career Initiative
“YCI”
Empowering and protecting our children
History of YCDP and YCI
• The Youth Career Development was initiated in 1995 by The Pan Pacific
Bangkok as a community service in keeping Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts’
(PPHR) commitment to community and lifelong learning
• The model was created by PPHR’s Lyndall DeMarco, Corporate Director of
Education, and Dr Kitiya Phornsadja, UNICEF Thailand
• The first programme intake of 8 girls and 1 boy, had only one participating
hotel – The Pan Pacific Bangkok
• Due to the success of the first programme, UNICEF asked if more children
could participate
• Pan Pacific asked other hotels to be their partners
• In 1996 the programme was expanded to include 5 other hotels with a total of
35 trainees
Program Design
• Trainees spend a total of 20 weeks in the program covering
technical areas such as housekeeping, laundry, engineering,
kitchens, food and beverage service
• A typical day will include 3 hours of theory instruction, and 4
hours of hands-on training in technical areas with a
departmental trainer.
• Each week, they spend a minimum of 3 hours on basic
English-as-a-second language training
• The hotels combine for a joint training session on life skill
topics, such as computer skills training, service etiquette, first
aid training and an education session on responsible
parenthood.
• The curriculum in the participating hotels follows the Pan
Pacific model but is kept flexible, and training resources of the
hotels are shared.
Participating HotelsThailand– 2000
Trainee Selection - Bangkok
• Thailand’s ministry of education operate a large
number of welfare schools in the upcountry areas
• Application forms are sent to schools in early
February along with video tapes and other
information
• In late February human resources personnel from
the participating hotels visit the schools and
interview all applicants
• All girls must be 17 years and over and a High
School graduate.
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Joint Hotel
Day
Graduation Ceremony
Graduation Ceremony
Thailand -2000
Thailand’s Representative
to the United Nations
presenting certificates
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Placementof graduates1995-2000
3.7%
12.7%
2.2%
1.5%
11.9%
60.1%
1.5%
4.5%
Business Partnerships
Bangkok
•
•
•
•
UNICEF Thailand is our partner. They arrange transport,
accommodation, support and guidance for participants
Via sponsorship from UNICEF Canada, trainees are accommodated in
the local girl guide association hostel
Other organizations sponsor amenities for the trainees –
lions,insurance (AIA) and toiletries (Colgate)
The ministry of education in Thailand are instrumental as our liaison
with welfare schools and coordinating trainee travel
Certificates from Bumrungrad Hospital
1.9%
Hotel
Restaurant
Teaching
Retail
Self Employ
Study
Housewife
Hospital
Unrecorded
Program Development
• In 2000 we approached other private sector
organization's to assist
• 9 graduate trainees of the 2000 programme
were able to commence training in one of
bangkok’s leading hospitals with the goal of a
full time career in nursing
The International Hotel
& Restaurant Association
• The IH&RA has officially endorsed the programme
and actively works with international agencies to
gain recognition and support for the programme and
to expand it around the world
• This programme is promoted by the IH&RA as one
of the examples of “best practice” in the fight
against child exploitation and “no sex tourism”
The Loose Change Envelope
“Foundation for the Future”
• This envelope is placed in all guest rooms
so that guest can donate their loose change
to the YCDP
• Monies are used to provide short
education courses for graduates
Scholarship
This is a registered Swiss Charity convened by a board of
Trustees from the IHR&A
Members will be able to pay the fees for graduates from
the programme who wish to go to University
Scholarship opportunities will be available to those
graduates who have been working for one year and who
fulfill the entry criteria.
Winners are chosen by the “Youth Career Council”
(includes HR Managers, General Managers, UNICEF, IHRA
etc)
Sponsors will directly pay the University for tuition fees
The average scholarship is $US400 per year
United Nations Recognition
Presentation
Past graduates receiving
their university scholarships
from-
• UN aids has recognized the program as one of
the 10 best practices for the prevention of aids
• In 1999 the programme was presented to the
UN Commission for Sustainable Development
as an industry benchmark
• Pan Pacific Hotels &
Resorts,
•IH&RA’s Foundation for the
Future and
•Tokyu Association of
Thailand
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Strategic Focus
• The YCDP is a successful example of how partnerships
and existing resources can be utilised and maximised for
the benefit of others
• The goal from the commencement of this program was not
to be seen only as a hospitality industry training program
but an “empowerment tool”
• The YCDP is a program that provides life skills, education
and opportunities to young people who otherwise would
have little or no options in life, and particularly for those
young people “at risk”
• The focus is on the mobilising of existing resources to
demonstrate how simple it is to make a difference to
people’s lives
The program was driven by the
Private Sector and supported by
the public sector.
The program had no
Bureaucracy
“Helping people is not rocket science”
Why has the Youth Career
Program been so successful and
continued to grow over the past 8
years
The success was built on
partnerships
There was strict adherance to
standards
and continued followup
Corporate Citizenship
This is not just a program, it is
the development of a culture.
• The Private sector can play an important part in maximising the
energies and talents of young people by partnering with NGOs
and government agencies
• Private industries bring skills, technologies and knowledge to
developing countries. These resources can be used to benefit the
community as well as the economy
• The Private sector can be the catalyst, provide the lead, show the
way and lend support.
• A Hotel has over 35 areas of expertise that can be shared with
young people to give them valuable vocational skills.
• But there are many other industries, particularly operating in
developing countries, who could copy this model
In Summary
• The YCDP has proven that charity does not only have to be in the
form of cash
• Empowering children thus preventing them from exploitation
does not require vast sums of money
• It does require the private sector, governments and ngos to look
outside of the box and work proactively together for the good of
children
• The hotel industry is showing the way
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Andreas MÜSELER
Environmental Manager
LTU-Touristik
Biographical Note
Mr. Mueseler is the Environmental Manager for LTU-Touristik, German Travel Agents & Tour
Operators Association (DRV).
After completion of studies in mechanical engineering and air and space technology, Mr.
Mueseler obtained a degree to become an academically qualified engineer. He started his
professional career as a designer in the areas of mechanical and chemical engineering with the
company Imotech Engineering. He specialized in environmental technologies by completing
further vocational training to become an eco-auditor for the company, a post in which he served
as the company’s representative in charge of environmental conditions, such as water recycling,
energy savings, prevention of air pollution and other environmental issues. After several years,
he was appointed Personnel Manager and, later, Managing Director of the company, where he
acted as a self-employed consultant for environmental technology.
During this period, Mr. Mueseler came into contact with the tourism industry. In 1996, he was
employed at ITS Reisen, the package tour operator for the REWE Trading Group, which was
later renamed LTU Touristik. Upon entering ITS Reisen, he became the company's
representative to the "Committee on Environment and Culture" established by the Association of
German Travel Agents and Tour Operators (DRV). Since its launch in 2000, Mr. Mueseler has
been a board member of the "Tour Operators Initiative for Sustainable Tourism Development",
which is supported by such organizations as the United Nations Environmental Program and
UNESCO.
Responsible for the environmental department of LTU Touristik, Mr. Mueseler deals with all
environmental, social and ethical issues that concern tour operators. He undertakes special
activities aimed at the improvement of partnerships with suppliers and destination stakeholders
in order to develop better tourism products.
German Travel Agents & Tour Operators
(Full Text)
At the beginning of 2001, ECPAT-Germany and the DRV (Association of German Travel Agents
and Tour Operators (TOs)) agreed on the Code of Conduct for the protection of children from
sexual exploitation. This makes it clear that in recent years this subject has increasingly moved
into the consciousness of travellers and the tourism industry. The increasing activities of
organisations such as ECPAT, Terre des Hommes and other non-governmental organizations,
as well as the political atmosphere have contributed to this development.
The DRV as the representative organisation of the German tourist industry and ECPATGermany, view the Code of Conduct as an effective instrument with which all members of the
association can stand up for children’s rights and against the sexual exploitation of minors in an
active and sustained manner. We the Tour Operators at LTU Touristik, as well as most of our
competitors, use the existing structures in Germany to deal with themes, which are of common
interest to the whole tourism industry.
The DRV has about 5,200 members, including 4,300 ordinary members, who comprise travel
agents and TOs and 900 associated members from hotels, airlines, tourist offices and others.
This shows that nearly the whole German tourism industry is represented by the DRV. As a tour
operator, we have worked for many years worked successfully with our competitors on several
committees at DRV. An example would be the Committee on Environment and Culture and the
Committee on Destinations. Within these committees we deal with many issues that affect the
tourism business.
Most of the issues are of common interest to the industry and should not be a subject for
competition. The fight against the sexual exploitation of children is one of these issues.
Therefore, it makes sense to join forces and sign the Code of Conduct between the DRV and
105
ECPAT Germany, an organisation that has long been concerned with the protection of children
from sexual exploitation.
In Germany we have established a working group to coordinate activities undertaken by
individual companies and to share experiences. In February, the DRV published an activity
report, which summarizes which activities have been carried out so far by the German tourism
industry.
This report will detail, with examples, provisions of the Code of Conduct that have been
implemented and what further steps are now priorities.
Implementation of the Code of Conduct
Code One: The DRV promotes the agreements and supports them within the framework of its
European association membership in the international fight against the sexual exploitation of
children.
The DRV has informed the ECTAA (Group of National Travel Agents' and Tour Operators'
Associations within the EU), as well as the IFTO, (International Federation of Tour Operators),
which include the most important European tour operators, about these activities and
emphasised the measures that have been established within the framework of the Code. The
subject was discussed at several international meetings.
Code Two: Creation of an information leaflet by the DRV, in cooperation with the ECPAT,
concerning the protection of children from commercial sexual exploitation.
On the occasion of the DRV’s annual conference in 2001 in Leipzig, the leaflet “Kleine Seelen,
große Gefahr” created jointly by the partners in this campaign was presented. It will be used to
sensitise and inform travellers about this problem. It provides advice on how to act if you
discover this type of occurrence whilst on holiday. It also shows what opportunities are available
here for individuals to fight against this. It particularly stresses the “courage“needed by
individuals if they discover this type of problem in their areas. The leaflet also gives support to
employees of tour operators, in particular to tour guides at holiday destinations and helps them
to be suitably educated, informed and prepared in order to be able to deal with this issue.
The leaflets will be widely distributed by the companies. For example, distribution takes place
either with travel documents or at holiday destinations during the first meeting of the tour guides
and their guests, according to opportunity and the philosophy of the individual companies. The
leaflet is also included on the Internet pages of large companies, so that all interested parties
have the opportunity to download it. In addition, it is included in information folders, which can
be found in the contracted hotels of the tour operators, so that this problem is addressed with
customers who use the folder.
The experience of LTU Touristik shows that our guests read this folder at least once because it
is a source of useful and needed information, such as information on day trips, departure
transfers and other practical information. We are sure this is a very effective tool as it reaches
nearly 100% of our guests. Thus, the question is not how many leaflets have been distributed,
but how many guests we have in a given destination.
Appropriate advice can also be found in the internal publications of the large companies, as well
as on radio programmes at the disposal of the operators at the holiday destinations. For
example, we issue an internal magazine called “Meeting Point” every three months, which is
distributed to 7,000 employees worldwide. We have had several articles about this issue over
the past two years.
Code Three: Informing and sensitising employees in the country of origin and the country of
destination using the brochure created by the DRV in conjunction with ECPAT.
As already mentioned, this brochure will be widely distributed and made available to all tour
guides, partly through the Internet and partly through in-house publications of operators. We
sent it to our destination officers. From discussions that were carried out on the fringes of the
joint event with ECPAT in Bangkok in February 2003, it was clear that wide usage was being
made of this publication by tour guide organizations in order to guarantee the sensitisation of
106
employees on this subject. This subject is also mentioned in the official training sessions of the
tour operators and the brochure is also used as training material.
Code Four: The broadest possible inclusion of clauses in contracts with hotels, incoming
agencies and other service providers or other suitable measures which make clear a joint
rejection of the sexual exploitation of children.
The DRV legal department, with the agreement of the operators’ lawyers working on the legal
committee of the association, has created a passage which has been made available to all tour
operators in a circular mailing and used as a sample wording of this issue and as a suggestion
which could be incorporated into documentation. With regards to the use of this sample text, it
should be noted that, to date, not all companies have taken this step and included relevant
notes in contracts to be concluded in different holiday destinations. Many argue that they will
gradually include such aspects within the context of issuing new contracts or extending existing
hotel contracts.
Everyone agrees that this point is of high importance and they make it clear to local service
providers that non-cooperation with such agreements may lead to measures by operators
including the cancellation of existing contractual relationships. This should make it clear to the
hotels, but also to other service providers, what risks they take in tolerating child prostitution and
what consequences there could be for their commercial relations with German companies.
For example, LTU-Touristik included a relevant note in all hotel contracts. We use this version of
the contract worldwide, in several languages and in all cases when a new contract is issued. As
a contract will not be renewed every year, it takes some time, some years, to achieve 100 %
implementation. The note will give us the possibility of cancelling the contract without notice in
any cases of criminal activities, especially that of tolerating or supporting child prostitution.
Code Five: Informing and sensitising customers through the distribution of information leaflets
by members of the DRV in the country of origin or by tour operators in the country of destination
As has already been explained, the distribution of the information leaflet in the country of
destination is increasingly being carried out by the tour guide organizations of the tour
operators. On the other hand, something that needs further consideration and expansion is the
distribution of the leaflets by the travel agents with whom the customers book their holidays. It
must be made increasingly clear to sales department what problems exist and what is the aim
of this campaign.
On this point, the sensitisation of customers prior to their travel is of considerable importance
from a political viewpoint. This, amongst other things, was made clear during a meeting of the
German Bundestag Committee for Tourism held in June of 2002. A survey carried out by
delegates of travel agents in their home constituencies showed that little was known about the
leaflet and that it was rarely used. The DRV will promote this opportunity more strongly and
encourage its members to participate in this campaign.
Recently, LTU-Touristik started promotion of this campaign and recommended the distribution
of the leaflets to our company-owned and our contracted travel agencies. In January of this
year, we presented the campaign to our sales representatives during their scheduled meetings
and we encouraged them to inform the travel agents during their visits in the agencies.
Code Six: Inclusion of this subject in the training of employees, forwarding clerks and tour
guides working at holiday destinations.
As has already been mentioned, the information documents developed by the DRV and ECPAT
are increasingly used in the training of tour operators’ employees. This is happening in the
company headquarters, as well as at the individual holiday destinations.
Following the failure of last year’s project to implement special training measures relating to this
subject, including those from external institutes, a further attempt will be made during the
current year. Its aim is to offer, using external service providers, appropriate opportunities to
such companies who, for various reasons, cannot cover this subject within the framework of
their in-house measures. It should also be considered to what extent this subject can be
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adopted as part of the training of the employees of travel agents and tour operators and, above
all, whether this subject should be addressed in the technical college classes, which accompany
the training. The next step could be informing and sensitising teachers at technical colleges
within the context of the regular information event held each November by the association for
technical college teachers.
Code Seven: Taking into account the Code of Conduct during the establishment of company
policies.
Short-term implementation of this point of the Code is not possible without further action. Such a
process needs a certain amount of time. Operators will not necessarily be interested in
changing their internal company policies in the short term. The DRV will therefore periodically
refer to this aspect and will speak specifically to companies where they are aware that a
revision of the company policies is taking place. Otherwise, this is a process that can certainly
be implemented gradually over the course of time.
Code Eight: Annual report on measures carried out with regard to the Code of Conduct
With this report, the association has for the first time fulfilled its obligation. From our point of
view, the industry as a whole has fulfilled the obligations it entered into voluntarily. However,
development must continue in order to achieve concrete results. We are convinced that the
positive cooperation between ECPAT-Germany and the DRV should and will continue.
108
Antonio TOZZI
President
FIAVET
Biographical Note
Mr. Antonio Tozzi was born in Rome on 27 December 1944. He is currently President of travel
agency Ameropa S.r.l, President of the Italian Federation of Associations of Travel and Tourism
Enterprises (FIAVET), President of Monti Simbruini Consortium; Vice- President of Confturismo
and General Manager of the Hotel Livata S.r..l.
THE SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF MINORS IN TOURISM
(Full Text –translated from Italian)
A business that moves more than 5 billion dollars annually. One million children around the
world entering the sex trade or exploited for pornography each year. 500,000 girls and
adolescents engaged in prostitution just in Brazil. In Thailand this figure could be over 800,000
according to the Foundation for Children in Bangkok. In India, according to estimates by ”India
Today”, there are 400,000 to 500,000 children working in the sex trade: 20% of the girls are
under 18 years of age and half of them are HIV-positive. These few but significant figures are
enough to give an idea of the true scope of the phenomenon that we are facing.
Since the first encounters on the subject dating back to December 1996, FIAVET has had a
strong interest in this issue, and it has signed together with all the other members of ECTAA,
the organization of European travel agents and tour operators' associations, a document
strongly condemning all forms of exploitation of children in prostitution. By signing the document
all the parties made a commitment to observe certain fundamental rules aimed at combating
this phenomenon, including a commitment not to promote travel for sexual purposes or travel
programmes for the purpose of paedophilia, and to fight this aberrant phenomenon with
targeted actions in their relations with customers and by adequately sensitising the governments
of the countries involved and inviting them to take the necessary punitive measures against
transgressors.
The joint commitment of the Federation and ECPAT Italia led to the enactment of Law 269 of
3/8/98 that formally established the obligation of tour operators that organize group and
individual trips abroad to include, for at least three years, in itineraries, brochures, all types of
publicity materials and travel documents a message saying "Italian law punishes with
imprisonment crimes related to prostitution and pornography involving children, even when such
are committed abroad."
Five years after the passage of that law, it is now time to take another look at the issue,
considering that this phenomenon has not only failed to subside, but has probably even
increased, due to facilities afforded by new communication technologies. We have found, in
fact, that the use of the Internet and the promotion of heavily discounted trips to the destinations
most at risk, have nullified any active deterrent or filtering function travel agents may have had.
The Minister for Equal Opportunity, Stefania Prestigiacomo, recently announced that the
government could address the issue once again with a specifically designed law (which would
be appropriate, considering, among other things, that the three-year period established by Law
269/98 for the mandatory warning has lapsed), while the parliamentary commission for
children's affairs has asked for the establishment of an agency for the protection of minors.
Governments, associations and civil society must all get involved in the to break down the wall
of indifference that protect those who abuse children sexually and who feed the sex tourism
market, and to stop the exploitation of minors. FIAVET reaffirms its own commitment to this
cause and that of all its members.
109
Lina MAZZUCCO
Vice-President
ASSOTRAVEL
Italy
Biographical Note
Lina Mazzucco was born on 1st February 1951 in Minturno, Italy. She received a Bachelor of
Arts from the State University of Cortland (New York - U.S.A.) and a Master of Arts from the
State University of Binghamton (New York - U.S.A.), where she was enrolled in the doctoral
program. Subsequent to her university studies, she completed numerous courses in
management, marketing, communication, mediation and negotiation.
Upon completion of her studies Ms. Mazzucco worked for four years as an educator in Italy and
in the US. From 1979, she began working for American Express (Amex) with progressively
senior responsibility for a wide variety of areas including product management, sales,
communication and marketing. From 1992 until 1997, Ms Mazzucco served as Head of Travel
for Amex, responsible for 15 travel agencies and 12 representative offices with a business of
over 400 billion lira and about 150 travel employees. She worked in the areas of tourism, trade,
business travel, meetings, conventions and financial services, reporting to two European senior
vice-presidents, responsible for business travel and tourism/financial services. From 1997 until
2000, Ms Mazzucco worked for Amex as the area Ombudsperson for Europe, the Middle East
and Africa.
In 2000 Ms. Mazzucco returned to work in the travel division of Amex and, until 2002, she
worked as Head of Corporate Travel Italy, with responsibilities for meetings, conventions,
quality control, central support as well as business travel, at both the local and multi-national
levels with a major concentration on developing a travel strategy for American Express. As a
result, in 2002 a Joint Venture was created and, as of this date Ms. Mazzucco became CoManaging Director of UVET American Express Corporate Travel, in addition to her
responsibilities for operations, account management, central support and quality.
Ms. Mazzucco has been part of the ASSOTRAVEL Association for many years and in January
2001 was appointed Vice President of ASSOTRAVEL. ASSOTRAVEL is a member of
Confindustria, which is an institution that represents the interests of national and European
corporations. The objective of association’s activities are to respect ethical and moral principals
contained in national and European systems, the Confindustria's articles of association and in
the Association’s rules of competition for all travel agencies and tour operators.
Ms Mazzucco is married with two children. She speaks English, French and basic Spanish.
Italian Travel Agents and Tour Operators
(Abstract)
Paedophiles constitute a minority group, as most people have sexual inclinations that do not
involve young people or children. Very few travel agencies and tour operators support the
exploitation of children. Most companies operating in the tourism field do not want to be
involved in or support paedophilia.
The world tourism market has grown over the past five years. Many factors have led to this
growth, including the growth of air transportation. As air travel costs have decreased, it has
become easier to travel to faraway places. Tourists can bring wealth and well being abroad.
However, they can also bring malaise. There are destinations that are now exposed to sex
tourism and to paedophiles, which export their depravities to countries where there is no
legislation or where the legislation is not enforced as vigorously as in their own countries.
We cannot accept any occurrence of this practice in a civilized world. Children are prostituted
and this type of behaviour does not constitute a natural relationship. In certain areas of the
world, adult prostitution is possible and becomes widespread, including through tourists. We
must be concerned about this, as well as the environment and culture in destination countries.
We must deal with these problems in a consistent and appropriate fashion.
110
According to Article 5 of the Italian criminal legislation, Law 269 of 1998, whoever organizes and
promotes travel, which aims at sexually exploiting minors, is criminally liable. Violators are
subject to severe penalties, including the imposition of fines and the closing down of their
businesses. Unfortunately, tourism is a means through which people can go to destinations
where the laws are not as harsh as in their own countries and, thus, laws must also be enforced
in destination countries. Thus, we must look into all legal provisions that punish businesses,
which organize trips aimed at sexually exploiting children.
We also recognize and identify instances of this phenomenon where the channel for sexual
exploitation of children is subtler or is concealed. A few years ago when paedophilia became
better known, ASSOTRAVEL associations considered the issue of how to identify paedophiles
amongst those who use their services and whether their associations’ activities may support the
behaviour of paedophiles, as it is difficult for tour operators to identify paedophiles. Paedophiles
have their own channels and would not necessarily come to a travel agency, but can purchase
their tickets on the web. Compounding matters further is the fact that there are also tourists who
seize upon opportunities while abroad to have sex with prostitutes and may accept to exploit to
children, although they may not have initially set out to do so. Such “occasional” paedophiles
must also be made aware of the Italian law and punishment for their behaviour while abroad.
The tourism industry cannot identify all paedophiles that may use their services. It has
considered what measures can be enacted to address this problem, beginning from the
assumption that the identification and apprehension of paedophiles is very difficult and is an
area in which law enforcement authorities must be involved. What the industry can do, however,
is to undertake initiatives to restrict the room for manoeuvre of paedophiles within tourism
channels through raising awareness amongst staff and business partners, circulating laws and
training workers about compliance with the laws.
The fact that this issue is discussed at all is not irrelevant, as so doing can contribute to
combating it. The Code of Conduct also assists efforts in making it more difficult to carry out.
The Code commits us to informing co-workers about the phenomenon and about the laws. In an
upcoming renewal of collective labour agreements, the Italian law and the Code will be annexed
to the agreement. There is also a need to include foreign businesses in this agreement,
especially at destinations where sexual exploitation of children occurs. If hotels cannot monitor
or prevent this activity, we must exclude them from our agreements. We need to send a strong
message that we do not want to support and aid paedophiles.
In terms of the business aspect, there must be recognition of the fact that as most people are
not paedophiles, they do not want to stay in a hotel where activities related to it occur. Hotels
must be selected on the basis of our requirements and needs and we must not deal with hotels
that harbour these people. Additionally, advertising campaigns must not suggest that there is
support for this kind of activity.
ASSOTRAVEL has signed the Code, undertaken many awareness raising campaigns, and has
invested in marketing activities. However, there remains much to be done. Although there are
laws in place, they must be enforced appropriately. We need to find the right way to make our
choices known and ensure that others share them. ASSOTRAVEL will soon launch a new
campaign for travel agencies, through its website. We must identify the TOs, as well as travel
agencies who are most committed to the Code and increase the numbers of who adhere to it.
111
Ellen BERMANN
Expert
ASTOI
Italy
Biographical Note
Born in Paderno Dugnano, Italy, on 24/05/1965. German and Italian citizenship.
Degree in Geology in 1994 from the Università degli Studi di Milano, with a thesis on
vulcanology carried out in Costa Rica.
She has worked for the Viaggi del Ventaglio Group since 1996, first as an assistant with the
General Management, and since 2000, as Head of the Tourism and Environment Division,
whose main mission is to steer the company towards sustainable tourism development.
Since 2001 she has been collaborating with various universities and other tourism education
institutions as a lecturer on sustainable tourism.
She speaks 5 languages fluently and is an avid traveller.
The Creation and Implementation of the ECPAT Code of Conduct: The Role of Tour
Operators
(full text translated from Italian)
Considering the ethical dimension as an integral part of corporate responsibility, ASTOI has, for
the past several years, been promoting awareness-raising actions among its members
regarding the problem of child prostitution in tourism. Initially, this effort was carried out with
awareness-raising campaigns in collaboration with “Terre des Hommes” and then with the
active support to ECPAT through our adoption of its Code of Conduct.
Although it is aware that this phenomenon does not "travel" mainly through organized tourism
channels but rather through secondary channels, the tourism industry still has an important and
strategic role to play in terms of raising awareness.
Since 2000, the Ventaglio group, a member of ASTOI, has been active in initiatives to enhance
the sustainability of mass tourism, where the fight against the sexual exploitation of minors
represents an area of priority action and forms part of the socio-cultural dimension of
"environmental" issues, understood in a broad sense.
This commitment is motivated by sense of responsibility and ethics, as well as by the need to
strive for quality in tourism, lest the tourism destination deteriorate leading to its abandonment
by part of the market, especially the family-oriented segment.
Thus in 2002, Ventaglio in collaboration with ECPAT Italia, undertook a pilot project in the
Dominican Republic, with the following initiatives and results:
- awareness-raising and training of staff at the Ventaclub Gran Dominicus resort village
- involvement of other accommodation establishments in the area, the local hotel
association, the tourism police and the media in meetings/workshops.
- communication aimed at resort guests
- involvement of local communities
- definition of future and follow-up actions:
o regular briefings to concerned parties and distribution of a statement of
commitment
o awareness-raising spot on closed-circuit TV
o informing service providers about this commitment.
Ventaglio officially signed the Code of Conduct in March 2003.
There has been a great deal of activity at the international level: TOI (Tour Operators’ Initiative
for Sustainable Tourism Development”), a voluntary international association supported by
UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme), UNESCO and the WTO (World Tourism
112
Organization), has made it mandatory for its members (including Ventaglio) to adopt the ECPAT
Code by November 2003.
The tourism industry in some northern European countries, and especially in the Scandinavian
countries, is certainly better geared and more motivated to make an active commitment insofar
as consumers explicitly demand such commitment. However, there is still a need for further
reflection on how to make the application of the ECPAT Code of Conduct more streamlined and
less onerous for Italian tour operators, in light of the fact that ongoing training and monitoring
activities require financial resources and time.
L’IMPLEMENTAZIONE
DEL CODICE DI
CONDOTTA ECPAT
Ellen Bermann –
ASTOI
(Associazione
Tour Operator
Italiani)
IL RUOLO DEI TOUR OPERATOR
4 APRILE 2003
IL RUOLO DEL
TOUR OPERATOR
Dirige il flusso dei turisti
Influenza lo sviluppo delle destinazioni
Influenza la filiera turistica
Influenza il comportamento e le scelte
TURISMO DI QUALITA’
INGLOBA LE TRE DIMENSIONI DELLO
SVILUPPO SOSTENIBILE:
AMBIENTALE
ECONOMICA
SOCIO-CULTURALE
dei consumatori
PRINCIPI
ETICA
RESPONSABILITA’ SOCIALE
CORPORATIVA
IMPEGNO DI ASTOI
1997: INIZIATIVA DI COMUNICAZIONE
SOCIALE CONTRO LA VIOLENZA SUI
MINORI IN COLLABORAZIONE CON
“TERRE DES HOMMES”
1998: ADESIONE ALLA CAMPAGNA DI
COMUNICAZIONE SOCIALE “ECPAT”
IMPEGNO DI
PROMOZIONE DELLO SVILUPPO
SOSTENIBILE DEL TURISMO PRESSO I
PROPRI ASSOCIATI
PER SENSIBILIZZARE I VIAGGIATORI
PER DISTINGUERE LO SVILUPPO DELLE
ATTIVITA’ DEGLI ASSOCIATI PER CRITERI
ETICI E DEONTOLOGICI
IMPEGNO DI ASTOI
1999: SOSTEGNO AD ECPAT E
PROMOZIONE DEL “CODICE DI
CONDOTTA DELL’INDUSTRIA
TURISTICA ITALIANA”
2000: PARTECIPAZIONE AL CONVEGNO
ECPAT PER LA CERTIFICAZIONE DEL
CODICE DI CONDOTTA E PER
L’INDIVIDUAZIONE DI UN SISTEMA DI
MONITORAGGIO
113
COME ANDARE OLTRE ?
Comunicazioni agli utenti secondo la
GRUPPO
Legge 269/98 - Articolo 16
Gli operatori turistici che
organizzano viaggi hanno l’obbligo
di inserire in maniera evidente la
seguente comunicazione:
“La legge italiana punisce con la pena
della reclusione i reati inerenti alla
prostituzione e alla pornografia
minorile, anche se gli stessi sono
commessi all'estero".
Dal 2000
DIVISIONE
TURISMO & AMBIENTE
MEMBRO DELLA “TOI” (Tour Operators’
Initiative for Sustainable Tourism
Development)
2002: PILOT TESTING DI
VENTAGLIO
e l’impegno per uno
sviluppo turistico
sostenibile
NUOVO IMPEGNO PER I
MEMBRI “TOI”
Tutti i membri devono firmare e
mettere in pratica il codice di condotta
Ecpat per combattere lo sfruttamento
sessuale dei bambini nel turismo entro
novembre 2003. Nuovi membri devono
firmarlo prima di essere ammessi nella
TOI.
2002: PILOT TESTING
in Repubblica Dominicana
IN COLLABORAZIONE CON
ECPAT ITALIA NELLA
REPUBBLICA DOMINICANA
PRESSO IL VILLAGGIO DI
PROPRIETA’ GRAN DOMINICUS
INIZIATIVE E RISULTATI
SENSIBILIZZAZIONE E FORMAZIONE
DEL PERSONALE DEL PROPRIO
VILLAGGIO
COINVOLGIMENTO ALBERGHI,
ASSOCIAZIONI, ALTRI STAKEHOLDERS
COMUNICAZIONE OSPITI
COINVOLGIMENTO COMUNITA’ LOCALI
AZIONI PREVISTE A
LIVELLO CORPORATIVO
INDIVIDUAZIONE DELLE PRINCIPALI
(PAX/ANNO) DESTINAZIONI PROGRAMMATE
PIU’ INTERESSATE DAL FENOMENO DELLA
PROSTITUZIONE MINORILE
CUBA
TAILANDIA
BRASILE
MESSICO
SVILUPPO PIANO D’AZIONE
INDIVIDUAZIONE
AZIONI FUTURE
BRIEFING REGOLARI A STAFF E
DISTRIBUZIONE DICHIARAZIONE
D’IMPEGNO
SVILUPPO MATERIALE DI COMUNICAZIONE
PER OSPITI E PROIEZIONE SPOT DI
SENSIBILIZZAZIONE NELLA TV CIRCUITO
CHIUSO
INFORMARE FORNITORI DI SERVIZIO
INFORMARE TOUR OPERATORS PARTNER
RIFLESSIONI CONCLUSIVE
SVILUPPARE IL TURISMO IN MODO
SOSTENIBILE RICHIEDE MOLTI ED INEDITI
IMPEGNI AGLI OPERATORI TURISTICI
Necessità di integrare anche il codice Ecpat
Individuare le azioni più importanti, ottimizzando
le risorse di tempo e denaro
Sinergia con altre associazioni di categoria, enti,
ecc. per ottimizzare e ampliare la comunicazione
agli utenti
Final considerations for future actions
Jacqueline DE REY
Vice-President
Task Force to Protect Children from Sexual Exploitation in Tourism
Final Considerations For Future Actions
(Abstract)
Much has been accomplished over the course of this campaign. When it commenced in 1992,
there were few who worked on it and those who did were often ignored, as no government
wanted to tackle such a taboo subject. Furthermore, there were few men involved, although the
campaign can only be successful with the involvement of men. The presence and participation
of men at this meeting is testimony to the fact that we are on the right course. During this
meeting, many experts in the medical, legal and academic field have made excellent
presentations, including Mr. Antonio Guidi, Ms. Maria Burani-Procaccini, Ms. Paolo Viero and
Ms. Muireann O’Briain.
Over 85% of children globally are sexually abused within the family circle. About 8-10% are
abused in their own countries, as is the case in France. In France, there are now about 80
people in jail for abusing French children, with a much smaller percentage abused within the
tourism context. However, the abuse of even two children is too many.
What the industry has done is extraordinary as no other trade or industry has collaborated to the
same extent on a humanitarian subject. In so doing, the industry has helped the children of the
world. In France, until five or six years ago, it was not a crime, but only an offence, to abuse
children. Now, in almost every country, thanks to industry initiatives, laws have been enacted to
criminalize it. However, we must use the strength of this industry to continue working for
children.
There is one part of the clientele that we have not as yet tackled during meetings, namely the
business traveller. According to the WTO, tourists are defined as those who spend one night
outside their home countries. This definition thus encompasses and allows us to address truck
drivers, many of whom exploit children. However, the definition does not cover the business or
corporate traveller, many of whom perpetrate this crime. Thus, in the future we must look more
closely at this category of travellers.
CLOSING REMARKS
Ing. Franco Vitale
General Director
General Directorate for Tourism
Ministry of Productive Activities
Closing Remarks
(Abstract)
Participants at this regional consultation have focused on important issues, issues to which all
are committed. Government has been represented at the highest levels. All have participated
with their hearts and with their minds. The problem addressed is one that is related to
education, to awareness and to legislation. Tourists and travellers should take pleasure in
travelling, but must not do so in the ways denounced at this meeting. Initiatives must be taken
further and we must work together to prevent children from being abused.