§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent co-ordination of efforts has been made between countries to reduce the incidence of child sex abuse by tourists; and if he will make a statement. [32136]
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§ Beverley HughesThe Government abhor the sexual abuse of children, whether in a commercial or domestic context, whether committed by British citizens in the United Kingdom or abroad or by visitors to the United Kingdom and other countries. Officials attended on my behalf the second World Congress on the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children held in Yokohama, Japan, in late December 2001. Reducing the incidence of sexual abuse of children is central to the aims of the congress.
Domestically, part two of the Sex Offenders Act 1997 provides the jurisdiction for the prosecution here of British residents or citizens who commit sex offences against children abroad. We have also implemented legislation introduced by the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 requiring sex offenders subject to the requirements of the Sex Offenders Act 1997 (the register) to notify the police if they intend to travel abroad for a period of eight days or longer. In relevant cases, the police will share this information with the authorities in other countries.
The United Kingdom is one of the strongest supporters of the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) Convention 182, on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, such as prostitution. In ratifying this instrument, the United Kingdom committed itself to assisting other members of the ILO through "enhanced international co-operation and/or assistance including support for social and economic development, poverty eradication programmes and universal education". This commitment is being taken forward through the work of the Department for International Development. We have also ratified the key international instruments such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, and the United Nations (UN) Slavery Convention. We are promoting their widest possible ratification and supporting their practical implementation to achieve real change.
We are supporting the Centre for Europe's Children to maintain the ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) Child Welfare Initiative Resource Centre. The centre maintains a web site which aims to share best practice and stimulate international discussion and cooperation in the field of child protection.
The Government, through the Department for International Development, has also given £3 million for the International Labour Organisation's International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) programme in the Greater Mekong region (parts of Cambodia, China, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam). This involves a number of inter-linked interventions to raise awareness and prevent the trafficking of women and children, including those trafficked for sexual exploitation, and to withdraw women and children from labour exploitation and reintegrate them back into their own or new communities. And we are supporting nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) working with tour operators to develop a code of practice for the travel industry to eliminate child sex tourism.
More details of the United Kingdom's extensive portfolio of action to tackle the sexual abuse of children can be found in our "National Plan for Safeguarding Children from Commercial Sexual Exploitation", which was published in September 2001.