Protecting children from sexual exploitation through Information Technologies
ECPAT International is advocating greater protection measures for children at the final phase of the UN World Summit on the Information Society which ends in November. The World Summit is setting policies and standards for the development of the Internet and its expansion into poor, rural and developing areas for the coming decades.

To put child protection on the WSIS agenda, ECPAT International is working with governments, UN Special Rapporteurs, the Independent Expert for the UN Study on Violence Against Children, UNICEF, the ITU and other child rights groups.
:: Submission on the Tunis Declaration :: Expert Panels
ECPAT International has submitted a written contribution to the second phase of WSIS to strengthen child protection measures in the draft Tunis Declaration.

• ECPAT Submission WSIS-II/PC-3/CONTR/46-E in English » Executive Summary
» Full Text

• ECPAT Submission WSIS-II/PC-3/CONTR/46-S in Spanish
» Executive Summary
 » Full Text

You can help us to make governments give greater attention to child protection on the WSIS agenda by:

• Sending a statement supporting the ECPAT contribution WSIS-II/PC-3/CONTR/46 to: wsis-contributions@itu.int (Don’t forget to cc: media@ecpat.net)

• Email the following governments to ask that their WSIS delegations support ECPAT’s submission and include child protection measures in the Tunis Declaration:


» Swiss Government, host of PrepCom-3, 19-30th September, at mission-geneve-oi@eda.admin.ch

» Tunisian Government, host of the World Summit, 16th-18th November at mission.tunisia@ties-itu.int

» Swedish Government, host of the first World Congress against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children at mission.sweden@bluewin.ch

» Japanese Government, host of the second World Congress against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children at mission@ge-japan.ch

» Your own Government. A list of permanent missions in Geneva can be found at: http://www.cagi.ch/fr/missions.htm

 ECPAT and UNICEF are holding two expert panels on WSIS and protecting children from sexual exploitation through Information Technologies.

• PrepCom-3, Geneva – ‘WSIS and e-child protection’, 13:00-15:00 hours, 20th September, Room XXII, Palais des Nations, Geneva

The expansion of the Internet and ICTs offers many benefits to children and young people, but also poses many dangers. Sexual exploitation and other abuses of children are among the worst and fastest-growing computer-related crimes worldwide. These crimes include an explosion in child pornography and the abuse of children to make it, exposure to sexual predators and to illegal and harmful materials. The WSIS implementing mechanisms offer an unprecedented the opportunity to combat these crimes against children on a global level. The panel and audience will discuss the scale and nature of the dangers to children and young people from ICTs, and how WSIS implementing mechanisms could provide a multi-sectoral framework for combating this exploitation on a global level.

The panelists include:
• Prof. Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, Independent Expert leading the UN Study on Violence against Children
• Ms Carmen Madrinan, executive director, ECPAT International. ECPAT runs the global make-IT-safe campaign and is writing the report on violence against children in cyberspace for the UN Study on Violence Against Children
• Ms Pamela Shifman, child protection programme, UNICEF
• Ms Karin Johansson, serious crimes department, Council of Europe
… And speakers from the IT sector and governments

Sandwiches and refreshments provided. Attendance is for registered PrepCom-3 participants only.

• World Summit, Tunis – ‘WSIS and e-child protection’, date and time to be confirmed

Panelists so far include:
• Ms Sigma Huda, UN Special Rappporteur on the Trafficking of Human Beings (especially women and children) [ more ... ]
• John Carr, Internet safety advisor, NCH and Children’s Charities Coalition for Internet Safety, UK
• For more information on protecting children from sexual exploitation through Information Technologies, go to www.make-IT-safe.net or email info@make-IT-safe.net
• For more information on the World Summit on the Information Society, go to www.itu.int/wsis/