PRESS CONFERENCE ON DAY FOR ABOLITION OF SLAVERY

2 December 1996

Press Briefing

19961202 FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY

At a Headquarters press conference today commemorating the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, the representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) and Chief, Centre for Human Rights, New York office, Ms. Purificacion Quisumbing, said that poverty may push parents to extreme actions, including selling their children. The struggle against inequalities and economic and social injustices were "the indispensable conditions of the fight against all forms of exploitation and abuse". She was joined at the briefing by Ruth Limjuco, Minister Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of the Philippines to the United Nations, and Bertil Lindblad, senior advisor on children in especially difficult circumstances for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Also present were Dirk Wouters, Deputy Permanent Representative of Belgium, and Kristen Timothy, Deputy Director for the Division for the Advancement for Women. Mrs. Limjuco said the commemoration began in 1994, when it was discovered in the course of drafting a resolution on women migrant workers that many of those workers had become victims of traffickers. Further research revealed that it was a growing problem of global proportions which the United Nations should address. A draft resolution entitled "Traffic in Women and Girls" emerged. Last year's resolution called for the observance on 2 December, along with a meeting of the Assembly to focus on the trafficking in human beings, especially women and children. It was the "hot topic" of the day, and one which was recognized in many United Nations forums. It was hoped that the observance would focus international attention to the problem to "nip it in the bud", while it was still manageable. Speaking on behalf of Jose Ayala-Lasso, High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Quisumbing said the International Day to Abolish Slavery commemorated the adoption in December 1949 of the International Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others. The trafficking of persons was a phenomenon which primarily affected women and girls. Such trafficking as well as the exploitation of prostitutes constituted acts of violence against women, some of whom had become victims at a very young age. They were often lured by promises of lucrative employment or marriage. She said three major routes for the trafficking had been discovered: from south-east Asia to eastern Asia and Europe; from Africa and Latin America to Europe and North America; and from eastern Europe to central Europe and Asia. Upon reaching the trafficker's destination, the women and girls would find themselves forced into prostitution at the merciless hands of their employers. Of some 30 prostitutes recently questioned by a non-governmental organization in Asia, only two were over the age of 20, she said.

Abolition of Slavery Briefing - 2 - 2 December 1996

They worked up to 14 hours a day, seeing an average of 10 clients, she continued. They received little more than one dollar a day from the owner of the prostitution ring, from which they were expected to pay for rent and food. Their living and working quarters were tiny, and corporal punishment was routine. The victims were held hostage, their passports confiscated. The Commission on Human Rights on Violence Against Women had reported on the case of five young girls who had been burned alive, unable to untie the chains which shackled them to their beds. It was impossible to speak of such trafficking without also speaking of AIDS, she said. Fear and misinformation about its transmission had increased the demand for young girls -- putting them most at risk of catching the virus. In a recent study of 19 girl prostitutes tested for the virus, 14 of them were found to be positive. Mr. Lindblad said that UNICEF was encouraged by the momentum of recent months surrounding the issues of exploitation and abuse of children, and the recognition that the issues were linked to the discrimination against women worldwide, and deep-rooted cultural traditions and practices. The World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, which took place in Stockholm last August, was a milestone. During the preparatory process for the conference, it was decided that the trafficking issue should be looked at in accordance with the United Nations mandate, which had the sale and trafficking of children for sexual purposes, child prostitution and child pornography as its main elements. The task ahead was to examine the scope and complexity of abuse and develop strategies to combat it. Unearthing such criminal clandestine activity required all kinds of sources of information, including local communities and non-governmental organizations, and local mass media, he said. Also crucial were legal reform and stepped-up efforts to enforce existing legislation. Governments were increasingly taking action. He noted on a visit to Africa a few weeks ago that several countries were discussing national plans to address exploitation and abuse of children. The UNICEF gave the matter high importance in the context of an enhanced programme for children in need of special protection measures. Sexual abuse and exploitation, in all forms, needed to be addressed and forcefully. To a correspondent who asked if the kidnapping of children, and the and "harvesting" and sale of body parts through the trafficking in children was within their general mandate, Ms. Quisumbing said that the Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Pornography had a mandate that included such activity. Contained in the first three reports was a general "situationer" on the matter. The problem with that issue was the difficulty in gathering information. To a follow-up question on the degree of interest shown by governments of eastern Europe, Mr. Wouters said those governments had made considerable efforts in the last few years, in the field of trafficking and sexual exploitation. There were some, for example, that through national legislation had made the sexual exploitation of children a criminal act. Some governments could even pursue their own nationals for engaging in those activities in their own countries and abroad. The population of his own country (Belgium) was profoundly hurt by the discovery of what appeared to be a network of trafficking of children with possible international ramifications. His Government would speak on that matter on 6 December, during the General Assembly session.

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