Commercial sexual exploitation of children is a global phenomenon:

Girls are sold to dealers or clients and are sexually exploited. Pornographic and child abuse images are produced and sold on the Internet worldwide. In many countries, children are openly offered to tourists. UNICEF estimates the number of children and young people affected worldwide at two million. Poverty, the weak social and economic position of women and children and a high level of demand are just some of the factors behind this flourishing industry.

The global scale of the problem requires international cooperation between the victims’ countries of origin and destination. Prevention, rehabilitation and reintegration of the victims, and criminal law reforms are important stages in combating this serious violation of human rights. The Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography is an important human rights instrument for protecting and promoting children.

Considering the development policy action plan for human rights “People have a right to development“, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has commissioned the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GTZ) to carry out a project to assist selected partner countries in German development cooperation in implementing the Optional Protocol and to promote international cooperation on that subject.

The following pages show how we are approaching this, who our cooperation partners are, and which regions we are active in.

Go directly to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child:

http://www.ohchr.org/english/...