UNITED NATIONS Press Release
8 November 2005
The Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and
child pornography of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Juan
Miguel Petit, issued the following statement on 7 November:
In my capacity as Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child
prostitution and child pornography, I carried out an official visit in
Albania from 31 October to 7 November 2005. I visited Tirana, Korca and
Elbasan. I had over 40 meetings and interacted with over 100 persons.
The invitation of the Government to visit the country is very much
appreciated considering how new this government is. It is a promising sign
of openness and commitment to address human rights and social matters as
the one we are discussing today. I thank the Government and in particular
the Minister of Foreign Affairs for having opened its doors and given me
the possibility to meet all relevant public authorities. I also wish to
express my warmest gratitude to the UNICEF Office in Albania, which
facilitated the visit and prepared an intense and comprehensive agenda.
During the visit, I had the honour to meet the Chairperson of the
Parliament, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs,
the Minister of Interior, the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Labour,
Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, and the Minister of Education and
Science. I met representatives of the local authorities, the police, the
judiciary and prosecutors. I had meetings with international
organizations, donors, NGOs, and media. I visited shelters, schools and
programmes delivering social services to children.
This visit will be followed by a visit to Greece, which will start
tomorrow and will last another week. This will enable me to better
understand the trans-national elements of phenomena like child trafficking
and migration flows of unaccompanied children.
This is the first remark I want to make. Child trafficking is not a
problem of Albania only. It is a global problem. Countries of destination
have their responsibilities as well. It is time they assume them. Albanian
victims of trafficking are exploited in Greece, Italy, and other European
states. These countries have legal obligations and duties vis-à-vis these
victims and victims have rights that too often are not respected.
Albania is a country in transition. Somebody told me that it is a painful
transition. This is true. At the same time, it is a time of opportunities,
a time when the decisions taken today will shape the future of the next
years.
In the area of child trafficking, Albania has several achievements to
report: the legislative and policy frameworks are in place; there is more
awareness in society; the police is better trained to deal and investigate
this crime; border control improved; the establishment of the court of
serious crimes and the prosecutors' office for serious crimes increased
the prosecution capacity; NGOs gained a valuable expertise in delivering
rehabilitation programmes for victims of trafficking and in providing
social services to communities.
All this did not exist 5 years ago. They are important achievements.
I was pleased to learn that the present government expressed a commitment
to promote children's rights and indicate child trafficking and education
as priorities of this government.
Nevertheless, we all know there is a long way to go.
Child trafficking is not an isolated social phenomenon. It is an
expression, an alarming symptom of unsolved socio-economic problems. It is
not enough to treat the symptom to cure the disease. And the disease is
poverty, families without opportunities for development, communities
lacking social services, stigmatised minorities, persistent discriminatory
practices against women, an educational system inadequate for today's
challenges. This is what makes children leaving their communities, in most
cases in dangerous conditions. This is what puts them at risk of
exploitation and trafficking. This is the disease we have to treat.
Prevention is the best treatment. A strong child protection system needs
to be put in place, with a firm investment in education and social
services, together with strengthened child protection component of police,
health and justice. NGOs have been providing a good range of social
programmes in these areas, almost exclusively through international aid.
It is time for the state to take up responsibilities in social matters,
capitalising on the experiences of NGOs and supporting their activities
and programmes.
In my report on the visit, I will elaborate more on the concrete
recommendations I suggest in order to achieve the overarching objective of
a functioning child protection system. Some preliminary recommendations
are:
- Give priority to the implementation of the national strategy on children
and the one on combating child trafficking. Adequate resources are to be
allocated to that end and a monitoring system established
- Ensure that children's rights are protected through an adequate national
institutional set up (a functioning and high profile Committee on
Children's Rights within the government with focal points in regions)
- Focus action against trafficking on prevention in communities with
social work, community centres and family support
- Prioritise the creation of services for trafficked children with
specially trained staff to provide protection and long-term reintegration
support
- Strengthen the role of local social services in: 1) proactively
identifying and referring children at risk; and 2) monitoring standards of
care
- Sign and implement the bilateral agreement between Greece and Albania on
the return of unaccompanied children
- Introduce community based care services, such as foster care systems
- Take measures to address domestic child abuse and violence
- Establish procedures and protocols so that key professionals in
contact with children, e.g. teachers, health practitioners and social
workers, know how to identify, report and refer cases of suspected abuse
and a follow up procedure is in place
- Facilitate procedures for birth registration
- Research the phenomenon of child sexual exploitation in Albania and take
measures to address it, including measures to avoid a black market of
child prostitution
I want to conclude these preliminary comments with a call to the media.
Being a journalist myself, I am aware of the impact that media can have in
society. In a positive and negative way. I call my media colleagues in
Albania to report on children not only in a way that is fully respectful
of their rights, but which is also instrumental for the protection and
promotion of children's rights. Many experiences in this area already
exist in the world and can be replicated in Albania. New ones can be
developed creatively.
--
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