Osnabrück, 4 November 2004. Child trafficking is a crime where billions are earned at the expense of the most vulnerable. Despite a growth in international awareness of the existence of child trafficking, governments are far from doing enough to combat this terrible form of exploitation of children. This was stressed by Terre des hommes at the end of the international conference against child trafficking, STOP. It was hosted by the aid agency focusing on children and related development policy in cooperation with the city of Osnabrück.
There are shortcomings particularly in dealings with the victims of child trafficking: "When children are freed from a life of slavery they need intensive care. It took a long time until I myself could believe that I was really free. I was very scared and didn’t know what would happen next," reported Mende Nazer from Sudan, who has written a book about her experiences. She was kidnapped as a young girl and later taken to Britain, where for years she led the life of a slave in household service.
The victims are also the focus of joint recommendations for action agreed by the approx. 200 conference participants from over 30 countries. "Most trafficked children are not treated properly because government departments and law enforcement are not sufficiently trained to deal with them and there is a lack of internationally binding standards," emphasised Boris Scharlowski, coordinator of the Terre des hommes Campaign against Child Trafficking, which has been running for three years. The rights of trafficked children must not be violated further, which is the case e.g. when they are treated as criminals and forced to return unaccompanied to their countries of origin.
At the same time, the STOP Conference also noted progress in the combating of child trafficking. "Fortunately we are no longer at square one. International conventions to protect children provide an adequate basis for common action. Governments must build on this to enable the many initiatives opposing child trafficking to work to greater effect," stated Scharlowski. "This means improving the cooperation between the public authorities and the aid organisations."

last update 30. 05. 2005