AG

AG/RES. 2050 (XXXIV - O/04)

COMBATING THE COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION AND SMUGGLING OF
AND TRAFFICKING IN CHILDREN IN THE HEMISPHERE

(Resolution adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 8, 2004)

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

CONSIDERING the importance of ensuring comprehensive and effective protection of children through appropriate mechanisms that guarantee respect for their rights;

RECOGNIZING that commercial sexual exploitation today, including the circulation of child pornography through the Internet and other media, and the smuggling of and trafficking in children are of concern both regionally and worldwide, and that this problem jeopardizes the rights of children, enshrined in a number of international instruments;

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man; the American Convention on Human Rights, which, in Article 19, establishes that “every minor child has the right to the measures of protection required by his condition as a minor on the part of his family, society, and the state”; and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, in which the states parties undertake to protect the child from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (Article 34);

ALSO TAKING INTO ACCOUNT other international instruments relating to the fight against commercial sexual exploitation of children and against the smuggling of and trafficking in children in the Hemisphere, among them the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (adopted in 2000); the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (adopted in 1980); the Inter-American Convention on International Traffic in Minors (adopted in 1994); the Inter-American Convention on the International Return of Children (adopted in 1989); the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime; and ILO Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour;

BEARING IN MIND the efforts on the matter already under way at various organs, agencies and entities of the Organization and in other forums, in particular the consideration of this matter by the Inter-American Juridical Committee in 2000, the conclusion of which was that it was necessary to have as much information as possible before considering the need for an inter-American convention to fight sexual crimes against children beyond national borders; the coordination strategy which is being developed by the Inter-American Commission of Women on trafficking in women and children for purposes of sexual exploitation in the Americas; and the subregional workshops organized by the Inter-American Children's Institute on trafficking in children for purposes of sexual exploitation and child pornography; and

RECOGNIZING that ensuring success in the fight against the commercial sexual exploitation of children and against the smuggling of and trafficking in children in the Hemisphere calls for a global approach in which all factors contributing to the problem can be addressed and measures to facilitate international cooperation, both legal and judicial, to ensure effective protection of the rights of children,

RESOLVES:

1. To reaffirm that the principles and standards set forth in the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and in the American Convention on Human Rights take on special importance with respect to protection of the rights of children.

2. To urge the member states to consider the signature and ratification of, ratification of, or accession to, as the case may be, the international instruments relating to the fight against commercial sexual exploitation of children and against trafficking in children in the Hemisphere, among them the Convention on the Rights of the Child (adopted in 1989); the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (adopted in 2000); the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (adopted in 1980); the Inter-American Convention on International Traffic in Minors (adopted in 1994); and the Inter-American Convention on the International Return of Children (adopted in 1989); and that states parties take the necessary measures to guarantee the rights contained in those instruments.

3. To request the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM), in the context of the draft it is developing on the smuggling of and trafficking in women and children, for purposes of sexual exploitation in the Americas, to present to the Permanent Council, before December 31, 2004, for its consideration, a study on trafficking in children for purposes of commercial sexual exploitation in the Hemisphere.

4. To request the Inter-American Children's Institute (IIN) to present to the Permanent Council, before December 31, 2004, for its consideration:

a. A report study on the situation of children subjected to trafficking in the Hemisphere for purposes of sexual exploitation, so as to expand upon existing information on the smuggling of and trafficking in children and make possible the future design of actions and measures to fight the commercial sexual exploitation of, and trafficking in, children in the Hemisphere; and

b. A report on the existing framework of laws in the member states concerning these problems, especially at the criminal and procedural levels.

5. To request the Justice Studies Center of the Americas (JSCA) to present to the Permanent Council, before December 31, 2004, for its consideration, a report on the present capacity of judicial systems in the member states to deal with the problems of commercial sexual exploitation of, smuggling of and trafficking in, children in the Hemisphere and on their application of domestic and international law.

6. To instruct the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to consider Advisory Opinion OC-17/2002 on the Legal Status and Human Rights of the Child, issued by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on August 28, 2002, with a view to preparing a study on the implications of the conclusions of that Advisory Opinion for the inter-American system for the promotion and protection of human rights.

7. To request the CIM, the IIN, JSCA and the IACHR to cooperate in the preparation of these studies.

8. To instruct the Permanent Council to convene a special meeting of the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs, during the first quarter of 2005, to consider the documents presented by the CIM, the IIN, and the JSCA, and to recommend future measures to be taken in this regard.

9. To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-fifth regular session on the implementation of this resolution, which shall be carried out in accordance with resources allocated in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources.