Excerpts from:
Draft Declaration and The Commitment
FIRST WORLD CONGRESS against
COMMERCIAL SEXUAL
EXPLOITATION
of CHILDREN
Stockholm, Sweden, August 27-31, 1996
Declaration
We, gathered in Stockholm for the World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, representing the governments of 122 countries, together with non-governmental organizations, the End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism (ECPAT) campaign, UNICEF and other agencies within the family of the United Nations, and other concerned organizations and individuals worldwide, hereby commit ourselves to a global partnership against the commercial sexual exploitation of children.
The Commitment
The World Congress reiterates its commitment to the rights of the child, bearing in mind the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and calls upon all States in cooperation with national and international organizations and civil society to:
-Accord high priority to action against the commercial sexual exploitation of children and allocate adequate resources for this purpose;
-Promote stronger cooperation between States and all sectors of society to prevent children from entering the sex trade and to strengthen the role of families in protecting children against sexual exploitation;
-Criminalize the commercial sexual exploitation of children …
-Review and Revise where appropriate, laws, policies, programs and practices to eliminate the commercial sexual exploitation of children;
-Enforce laws, policies and programs to protect children from commercial sexual exploitation and strengthen communication and cooperation between law enforcement authorities;
-Promote adoption, implementation and dissemination of laws, policies and programs supported by relevant regional, national and local mechanisms against the commercial sexual exploitation of children;
-Develop and Implement comprehensive gender-sensitive plans and programs to prevent the commercial sexual exploitation of children, to protect and assist the child victims and to facilitate their recovery and reintegration into society;
-Create a climate through education, social mobilization, and development activities to ensure that parents and others legally responsible for children are able to fulfill their rights, duties and responsibilities to protect children from commercial sexual exploitation;
-Mobilize political and other partners, national and international communities, including intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations, to assist countries in eliminating the commercial sexual exploitation of children; and
-Enhance the role of popular participation, including that of children, in preventing and eliminating the commercial sexual exploitation of children;
The World Congress adopts this Declaration and the Commitment from the Agenda for Action to assist in protecting of child rights, particularly the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other relevant instruments, to put an end to the commercial sexual exploitation of children worldwide.
Edited by Una Stevenson