AG/RES. 2148 (XXXV - O/05)

COMBATING THE COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION AND SMUGGLING OF
AND TRAFFICKING IN CHILDREN IN THE HEMISPHERE

(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 7, 2005)

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THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 

CONSIDERING the importance of ensuring comprehensive and effective protection of children through appropriate mechanisms that guarantee respect for their rights; 

            RECOGNIZING that commercial sexual exploitation today, including the circulation of child pornography through the Internet and other media, and the smuggling of and trafficking in children are of concern both regionally and worldwide, and that this problem jeopardizes the rights of children, enshrined in a number of international instruments; 

            TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man; the American Convention on Human Rights, Article 19 of which establishes that “[e]very minor child has the right to the measures of protection required by his condition as a minor on the part of his family, society, and the state”; and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, in which the states parties undertake to protect the child from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (Article 34); 

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT ALSO other international instruments relating to the fight against commercial sexual exploitation of children and against the smuggling of and trafficking in children in the Hemisphere, among them the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (adopted in 2000); the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (adopted in 1980); the Inter-American Convention on International Traffic in Minors (adopted in 1994); the Inter-American Convention on the International Return of Children (adopted in 1989); the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo Convention); and International Labour Organization Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour; 

            BEARING IN MIND the efforts on the matter already under way in various organs, agencies, and entities of the Organization and in other forums, in particular the consideration of this matter by the Inter-American Juridical Committee (CJI) in 2000, the conclusion of which was that it was necessary to have as much information as possible before considering the need for an inter-American convention to fight sexual crimes against children beyond national borders; the coordination strategy which is being developed by the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM) on trafficking in women and children for purposes of sexual exploitation in the Americas; and the subregional workshops organized by the Inter-American Children's Institute (IIN) on trafficking in children for purposes of sexual exploitation and child pornography; and 

            RECOGNIZING that ensuring success in the fight against the commercial sexual exploitation of children and against the smuggling of and trafficking in children in the Hemisphere calls for a global approach in which all factors contributing to the problem may be addressed and for measures to facilitate international cooperation, both legal and judicial, to ensure effective protection of the rights of children, 

RESOLVES: 

1. To reaffirm that the principles and standards set forth in the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and in the American Convention on Human Rights take on special importance with respect to protection of the rights of children. 

2. To urge member states to consider signing and ratifying, ratifying, or acceding to, as the case may be, the international instruments relating to the fight against commercial sexual exploitation of children and against the smuggling of and trafficking in children in the Hemisphere, among them the Convention on the Rights of the Child (adopted in 1989); the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (adopted in 2000); the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (adopted in 1980); the Inter-American Convention on International Traffic in Minors (adopted in 1994); and the Inter-American Convention on the International Return of Children (adopted in 1989); and to urge states parties to take the necessary measures to guarantee the rights contained in those instruments.

3. To request the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM), in coordination with the Inter-American Children's Institute (IIN) and in the context of the draft it is preparing on the smuggling of and trafficking in women and children for purposes of sexual exploitation in the Americas, to present to the Permanent Council, before December 31, 2005, for its consideration, a study on trafficking in children for purposes of commercial sexual exploitation in the Hemisphere. 

4. To acknowledge with appreciation the work of the IIN and the contributions by member states in connection with the preparation of the report on trafficking in persons presented to the Permanent Council during the first quarter of 2005. 

5. To request the Justice Studies Center of the Americas (JSCA) to present to the Permanent Council (Special Committee on Transnational Organized Crime), before December 31, 2005, for its consideration, a report, to the extent that funding is available, on the present capacity of judicial systems in the member states to deal with the problems of commercial sexual exploitation of, smuggling of, and trafficking in, children in the Hemisphere and on their enforcement of domestic and international law. 

6. To instruct the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to consider Advisory Opinion OC-17/2002, “Juridical Condition and Human Rights of the Child,” issued by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on August 28, 2002, with a view to preparing a study on the implications of the conclusions of that Advisory Opinion for the inter-American system for the protection and promotion of human rights. 

7. To request the CIM, the IIN, the JSCA, and the IACHR to cooperate in the preparation of these studies. 

8. To instruct the Permanent Council to convene a special meeting of the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs (CAJP), during 2005, to consider the documents presented by the CIM, the IIN, the JSCA, and the IACHR and to recommend future measures to be taken in this regard, taking into account the results of the meeting of high authorities on trafficking in persons, in order to address the topic from a comprehensive and all-inclusive perspective within the framework of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo Convention), and to invite relevant organizations working in these areas, such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and others, to attend the special meeting of the CAJP. 

9. To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-sixth regular session on the implementation of this resolution, which will be carried out within the resources allocated in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources.