Child trafficking an €8bn industry

MILLIONS of children around the globe are being trafficked annually in an illegal industry worth €8 billion a year, rivalling the trade in illicit drugs and arms, the UN said yesterday.

UN Children’s Fund executive director Carol Bellamy urged politicians worldwide to ensure the protection of children by instituting laws that stop their exploitation and abuse.

“Parliamentarians have a choice,” Ms Bellamy said at the launch of a handbook to help politicians combat child trafficking that coincides with the Inter-Parliamentary Association’s annual meeting in the Philippines capital, Manila. “They can make decisions that ensure the protection of children, or they can make decisions that leave children vulnerable to being exploited and abused.”

She said politicians can enact legislation to protect children, allocate funds from national budgets and use the power of parliamentary inquiry to hold governments, industries and civil society accountable.

IPU President Sergio Paez said ensuring respect for the rights of children “is part of our social responsibility” and calls “not only for the expression of political will, but also for the establishment of institutions, standards and a new international culture.”

Ms Bellamy said child trafficking persists because criminal syndicates are behind the illicit trade, tourism is sometimes involved, and victims often are afraid to come forward.

Curbing poverty and ensuring that children are in school would help reduce the vulnerability of youngsters from marginalised communities, she added. There are no exact figures, but a US government report suggests 50% of all trafficked victims are children. Unicef says the trend is on the rise in an industry worth €8bn a year.