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Event Detail

Tokyo International Symposium on the Trafficking of Children

Venue Information

Event Details

A year has passed since the success of the Second World Conference Against the Commercial Sexual exploitation of Children, held in December 2001 in Yokohama, Japan. The adoption of "Yokohama Global Commitment 2001," which stipulates future commitments for a fight against CSEC, was an epoch-making event. Child trafficking is one of the main issues of commercial and sexual exploitation of children (CSEC). Combating child trafficking requires multidisciplinary cooperation at national, regional and international levels. This is the reason why the Japanese government took an initiative to bring together key players in anti-trafficking efforts in the South-East Asian region to enhance cooperation among partners and countries. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and UNICEF are the primary sponsors of this symposium.

The symposium will focus on the role of local NGOs that are directly involved in combating child trafficking and CSEC. NGOs active in this area will be invited to share their experiences and problems faced in the field. Future perspectives on the situation of CSEC and possible steps to combat trafficking will also be discussed. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Saisuree Chitikul, Vice Chairperson of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. There will be a total of four sessions over the course of two days in which participants and panelists will discuss a wide range of issues pertaining to the trafficking of children. The first session will cover preventative measures of trafficking in children. The second session will cover the protection and rehabilitation of affected children. The third session will discuss repatriation and reintegration of victims, and the fourth will cover legal measures needed to prosecute offenders of child sexual exploitation.