Government moving on important ratification
On Thursday 11 August the Parliament passed the Child and Family Protection Bill which means the New Zealand Government can now ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. This protocol was signed off by New Zealand in September of 2000 and has been waiting for Parliament to pass this important legislation.
In ratifying the Optional Protocol, a State accepts an obligation to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the enumerated rights of the child and signifies an agreement to be legally bound by the terms of the Convention. The Convention’s Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography details requirements to end the sexual exploitation and abuse of children. It also protects children from being sold for non-sexual purposes—such as other forms of forced labor, illegal adoption and organ donation.
The passage of this legislation this week coincides with the presentation of a
petition signed by over 70,000 New Zealanders calling for the Government to take stronger action in preventing the sexual exploitation of children. The petition is the result of a campaign being waged jointly by ECPAT Child ALERT and The Body Shop to stop sex trafficking children and youth and other forms of sexual exploitation. The New Zealand signatures will be added to a global petition that will total nearly 7 million signatures from around the world and that will be presented to the United Nations in Geneva during September 2011.
ECPAT Child ALERT's Comments:
This move by the Government heralds a new opportunity for New Zealand to put renewed efforts into protecting our children from all forms of sexual exploitation.We have been asking for this final act by Government to take place over a number of years since the initial signing of the protocol in the year 2000.”
“This is a national problem as well as a global problem. It is estimated that globally over 1 million children are trafficked into the illegal sex industry every year and that the illegal sex industry including child prostitution, pornography and trafficking is the second or third largest criminal revenue earner along with arms and drugs and totals the equivalent of around $NZ50 billion annually. And New Zealand is not exempt. Child prostitution and particularly child pornography are evident in this country and we should not fall into the trap of thinking this type of crime only occurs in overseas locations. We owe it to our children to be vigilant and make every effort to keep them safe from sexual abuse.”
Some key points of the Optional Protocol against the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography – and good reasons why New Zealand should ratify this convention!
(i) Offering, delivering or accepting, by whatever means, a child for the purpose of:
a. Sexual exploitation of the child;
b. Transfer of organs of the child for profit;
c. Engagement of the child in forced labour;
d. Offering, obtaining, procuring or providing a child for child prostitution;
e. Producing, distributing, disseminating, importing, exporting, offering, selling or possessing for the above purposes child pornography.
** Each State Party (signing country) shall make such offences punishable by appropriate penalties that take into account their grave nature.