ECPAT International participated in the Experts Meeting in Cairo, Egypt, which was a follow-up event to the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children held in May 2002. The theme of the meeting was ‘Review of Progress and Call for Accelerated Action towards Achieving the African Common Position on an Africa Fit for Children’. The Experts Meeting reviewed progress made by member states in implementing various commitments, including goals to reduce HIV/AIDS, better health services, universal primary education, child protection and the promotion of child and youth participation. The Experts Meeting was followed by a Ministerial Meeting that resulted in a call for accelerated action for child survival, protection, development and participation. A number of ECPAT groups were represented at the forum, including CHIN Zambia, CLOSE Benin, Ghana NGO CRC, Rede da Crianca Mozambique and the Uganda Child Rights NGO Network.

ECPAT International gave a presentation on ECPAT’s experience in combating child trafficking for sexual purposes at the MENA Regional Launch of the UNSG Study on Violence against Children. The presentation focused on training for law enforcers and caregivers based on the manual developed by the ECPAT Europe Law Enforcement Group.

ECPAT International, together with ECPAT groups and partners from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, participated in the 2nd Arab ISPCAN conference in Yemen. The focus of the conference was violence against children as well as sexual violence and exploitation, a subject which is particularly sensitive for many of the MENA countries.