"Code of Conduct" on Sex Tourism
NTTR
May 24 - 30, 2004
Striking a blow against the sex tourism industry that entraps tens of thousands of children, UNICEF on May 12, 2004 joined the World Tourism Organization (WTO) and the international advocacy group ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and the Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes) in launching a new "Code of Conduct” for the North American travel industry. The code is designed to protect children from commercial sexual exploitation.
According to a recent ECPAT report, an estimated
25 per cent of sex tourists outside the United States are American.
In 1995, Business Week Magazine reported that the United States
was host to at least 25 sex tour companies.
“The travel industry is critical in the fight
against commercial sexual exploitation,” said UNICEF Executive Director
Carol Bellamy. "We can no
longer look the other way while members of our own communities are
abusing children in the most unthinkable ways.
These are perpetrators of the worst kind.
They not only display a callous disregard for human dignity, they
do so with total impunity.”
“An effective response to the sexual exploitation
of children requires coordinated and consistent efforts at every level,"
WTO Deputy Secretary-General David de Villiers stressed. He recalled that this Code of conduct is closely related with
the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism and newly established World
Committee on Ethics for Tourism, key activities of the WTO.
Worldwide, a steadily increasing number of
children have become victims of commercial sexual exploitation. An estimated two million children – mainly girls but a
significant number of boys, are believed to be part of the multi
billion-dollar commercial sex trade.
To combat this growing problem, laws are being passed
in many countries, which make it illegal to travel overseas to engage in
sexual acts with a minor. Last February a New York based travel agency -
Big Apple Oriental Tours - was shut down by New York State Attorney
General Eliot Spitzer on allegations it was organizing "vacations"
overseas where young girls were available for sex.
Spitzer then secured a criminal indictment of the owners of Big
Apple Oriental Tours. This
is the first criminal indictment of US-based sex tour company.
“It is everyone's responsibility to protect children
from commercial sexual exploitation,” said Carol Smolenski, Director of
ECPAT USA. “The code is a
perfect example of how the travel industry can do its part in building a
protective environment for children.”
More than fifty tour operators and their
associations, hotels and travel agencies are already implementing the
code by reaching an estimated 30 million tourists with information on
commercial sexual exploitation. This is done through in-flight PSAs,
brochures in hotels, ticket slips, websites and catalogues.
By signing the code, the hotel and travel industry
commit themselves to:
Ø
Establish an ethical corporate policy against commercial sexual
exploitation
Ø
Train personnel in the country where children are sexually exploited
Ø
Introduce clauses in contracts with suppliers, stating a common
repudiation of sexual exploitation of children
Ø
Provide information on the sexual exploitation of children to travelers
Ø
Provide information to local “key persons” at destinations
Ø
Report annually
Also present at the launch was Her Majesty Queen
Silvia of Sweden and John Miller, the Senior Adviser to the Secretary of
State on Trafficking in Persons.
