The Government of Brazil,UNICEF,  ECPAT International, and the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child are planning the World Congress III against the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents (World Congress III) to be held in Rio de Janeiro from 25-28 November 2008. These four prime partners form the Central Organising Committee whose task is to, coordinate action among governments and other stakeholders worldwide to enable World Congress III to meet its aims.

Representatives of the previous World Congresses host governments – the Government of Sweden and the Government of Japan – have a place on the Central Organising Committee as permanent advisors. Two other structures have been created to facilitate preparation for the World Congress III,  – a Congress Rapporteur and an Expert Advisory Group. (EAG)

Government of Brazil

The Government of Brazil is hosting World Congress III and will encourage countries to set up a National Working Group to include government, civil society, private sector representatives and young people.  The Working Group will review progress made since Yokohama 2001, highlighting positive national experiences, as well as identifying gaps and challenges in line with theCongress themes. The Working Group will be responsible for bringing the results of national consultations back to the arena of the World Congress

Bodies from the Brazilian government involved in the Congress include the Special Secretariat for Human Rights of the Presidency, Ministry of Social Development, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Executive Secretariat, which is installed within the Special Secretariat for Human Rights, will be coordinated by the Office for the Promotion of the Rights of Children and Adolescents. It will be staffed by full-time professionals and adolescent representatives who will provide technical and logistical support, as well as advice on children and adolescents’ participation, communications, foreign relations so as to be able to respond to demands that arise in the preparatory process and at the Congress itself.

For more information please click here.

ECPAT International

ECPAT is a network of organisations and individuals working together to eliminate the commercial sexual exploitation of children. It seeks to encourage the world community to ensure that children everywhere enjoy their fundamental rights free from all forms of commercial sexual exploitation. For more information on the organisation and its programmes please visit the ECPAT website.

As one of the lead organisers of the First and Second World Congresses, with more than 17 years of experience, and recognised internationally as one of the key experts in the field, ECPAT is strategically positioned to contribute to mounting the World Congress III against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents

One of ECPAT’s key mandates is promoting and monitoring implementation of the 1996 Stockholm Agenda for Action and the 2001 Yokohoma re-commitment.  The organisation is committed to continuing this role after World Congress III. Click here to access recent reports compiled by ECPAT on the status of action taken by countries against the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

NGO Group for the CRCf

Formed in 1983 as the Informal Ad Hoc NGO Group for the drafting of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, members of the NGO Group were actively involved in drafting the Convention.  Once the Convention had been adopted by the UN General Assembly, the NGO Group decided to continue working as a group to monitor implementation of the CRC. .

The NGO Group has the following aims:

• To be an advocate on behalf of children by raising awareness about the Convention.
• To promote and facilitate, through specific programmes and actions, the full implementation of the Convention.
• To facilitate a flow of information between the Committee on the Rights of the Child, concerned United Nations bodies and the NGO community.
• To facilitate co-operation and information sharing regarding the monitoring and implementation of the Convention within the NGO community.
• To draw up policies and strategies and undertake action in fields covered by the Convention
• To contribute to the monitoring work of the Committee on the Rights of the Child.
• To facilitate the creation and support the work of National Coalitions for the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

For more information on the organisation and its programmes please visit the CRIN website.

UNICEF

UNICEF, in partnership with governments, national and international partners including the private sector, and civil society, advocates and supports the creation of a protective environment for children.  UNICEF has been an instrumental partner in all three World Congresses: Leading up to the First and Second World Congresses, UNICEF organised regional consultations which explored what states have accomplished. Information from these consultations provided valuable topical inputs to the Congresses. To find out more, please visit the UNICEF website.

UNICEF Innocenti Research Center

The UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre (IRC) in Florence, Italy, was established in 1988 to strengthen the capacity of UNICEF and its cooperating institutions to respond to the evolving needs of children and to develop a new global ethic for children.

The UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre will be facilitating a series of thematic expert consultations in preparation for the World Congress III. These will be organised in close cooperation with Congress partners. For more information please click here.

The Central Organising Committee appointed Jaap E. Doek, former Chair of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, as the World Congress III Special Rapporteur. Supported by specialist consultants and the Experts Advisory Commission,the Special Rapporteur will consolidate contributions from all regions for the World Congress III Outcome Document. This will provide a statement on priority actions to be taken reflecting inputs from the worldwide processes of the Congress on key thematic areas, and recommend a set of specific time-bound global targets.

Jaap E. Doek is emeritus professor of Law (Family and Juvenile Law) at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam (since July 2004). He has been a member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)(1999 - 2007) and a chairperson of that Committee (2001-2007). Prof. Doek is a founding member of the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) and was a board member from 1976-1992. He has published numerous books and articles on various topics in the area of children's rights and family law in national (Dutch) and international (English) journals. More information on Jaap E.Doek can be found here.

The Expert Advisory Group (EAG) comprises several experts – representing organisers and leading child protection agencies – who, in their individual capacity, provide expert advice to the Central Organising Committee. The EAG serves as a resource to the Central Organising Committee and its Commissions as well as being a formal mechanism and forum for technical discussion and exchange of ideas as content areas of the Congress are developed.

Members of the EAG include the Congress Rapporteur, World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN), World Childhood Foundation (WCF), Innocenti Research Centre (UNICEF - IRC), Council of Europe (CoE), Inter-American Institute of the Child, Save the Children, INTERPOL, Virtual Global Task Force(VGT), Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, Office of the High Commission for Human Rights (OHCHR), Committee of Rights of the Child (CRC), International Labor Organization (ILO), Terre des Hommes International Foundation  (TDHIF)and members of the Central Organising Committee.