Resolution on Trafficking in Women, Girls and Boys
The Third World Congress of Education International, meeting in Jomtien, Thailand, from 25 to 29 July, 2001:
1. Noting that trafficking in women and girls has become one of the fastest growing criminal enterprises in the world affecting all nations;
2. Further noting that an estimated two million women and girls are trafficked annually around the world, for the purpose of forced labor, domestic servitude or sexual exploitation;
3. Concerned that traffickers in women and girls, like narcotic traffickers, operate boldly across international borders, using modern means of communication and trade to lure victims with false promises as well as using force, deception, and coercion to enslave victims;
4. Outraged that well-established criminal organizations traffic in women, girls and boys capitalising on increased poverty, rising unemployment and disintegrating social networks in developing countries;
5. Noting that Europe, North America, the Gulf States, India and Asia are important destination points for trafficking victims;
6. Appalled that increasingly very young children are being trafficked because of fear of contracting HIV/AIDS;
The Third World Congress of Education International calls on governments to:
7. combat trafficking in women, girls and boys through public awareness campaigns that provide information on the means traffickers use to lure young women, girls and boys who are then forced into prostitution;
8. ensure that sufficient funds are available to provide law enforcement agencies with the means necessary to combat trafficking and to prosecute traffickers to the full extent of the law;
9. enact "long reach laws' that will allow for the trial in the country of origin of any person charged with soliciting an underage child;
10. treat women, girls and boys who are victims of trafficking as victims and to provide support, counselling and training to them to be able to leave prostitution and to support themselves;
11. provide free compulsory education for children and to provide the necessary transitional services for children to be able to attend school and support themselves.
