Trafficking in human beings: human rights and ... - unesdoc - Unesco

of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, 244 (OP
II) which has entered into force as part of the CRC for the ratifying States helps clarify
the defi nition of traffi cking in Article 35, defi ning the sale of children as “...any act or
transaction whereby a child is transferred by any person or group of persons to another
for remuneration or any other consideration”. A very important article in this Pro tocol is
Article 3, which provides that States Parties shall ensure the defi nition of the following acts
as a crime, irrespective of whether they are committed domestically or trans-nationally,
on an individual or organised basis: Offering, delivering or accepting, by whatever means,
a child for the purpose of Sexual exploitation of the child; Transfer of organs of the child
for profi t; Engagement of the child in forced labour. The OP II thus extends jurisdiction
over adults involved in the “sale” of children and it strengthens existing CRC provisions
regarding the sexual exploitation of minors. The Protocol only refers directly to child
traffi cking in the Preamble, where it is said that States Parties are “gravely concerned at
the signifi cant and increasing international traffi c in children for the purpose of the sale
of children, child prostitution and child por nography”. Many forms of traffi cking fi t
into the defi nition of “sale of children”, and it must be borne in mind that very often
the purpose for which children are sold coincide with the pur pose for which they are
traffi cked, which falls within the scope of Article 2. Again States have to undertake all
efforts to prevent or eliminate child traffi cking on the basis of the CRC, and they can
be held accountable for not doing so. 245 But also the other articles of the CRC which
provide protective rights, requiring States to take a range of actions to prevent violence,
neglect and exploitation of children are of importance. Article 39 (above) has as its scope
to require appropriate action for those who still fall victim. This is further emphasized
in the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution
and child pornography. States Parties to the Protocol must adopt “appropriate measures
to protect the rights and interests of child victims of the practices prohibited under the
present Protocol at all stages of the criminal justice process (Article 8). The Protocol to
Prevent, Suppress and Punish Traffi cking in Persons, Especially Women and Children,
supplementing the United Nations Convention against Trans-national Organized Crime,
in its section on “Assistance to and protection of victims of traffi cking in persons”, requires
that assistance is given to enable children to express their views and their concerns and
that these are considered at appropriate stages of criminal proceedings against offenders
(Article 6.2 (b)).
244 Which has been ratifi ed by 119 states by April 2007.
245 The monitoring body is the Committee on the Rights of the Child. The Committee on the Rights
of the Child is the body that monitors how well States are meeting their obligations under the
Convention on the Rights of the Child. When a country ratifi es the Convention, it assumes a legal
obligation to imple ment the rights recognized in the treaty. In order to monitor the compliance with
these obligation State Parties should submit reports initially two years after joining and then every
fi ve years to the Committee stating what progress and what problems there might be regarding to
the respect and implementation of the Rights of Children. In addition to the government report, the
Committee receives information on a country’s human rights situation from other sources, including
non-governmental organizations, UN agencies, other intergovernmen tal organizations, academic
institutions and the press. In the light of all the infor mation available, the Committee examines the
report together with government representatives. Based on this dialogue, the Committee publishes its
concerns and recommendations, referred to as “concluding observations”.
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