Review of Initiatives To Combat Child Trafficking - SCS

Review of initiatives to combat child trafficking by
members of the Save the Children Alliance
Working paper
Prepared for:
The Save the Children Alliance Task Group on Child Trafficking
Prepared by A.M.J van Gaalen, Consultant.

Montreal, July 2003.
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Foreword
In October 2001, the Alliance Coordinating Group on Exploitation and Abuse mandated some of
its members to elaborate a Working Paper on Child Trafficking. The objectives of this exercise
were to:
• Develop a working paper for the Alliance that define child trafficking and relate it to
issues of protection, violence, and commercial and sexual exploitation and child labour.
• Capture the role of the Alliance with respect to work currently being undertaken,
including knowledge and specific competencies. It will analyse what role the Alliance
and its members can play and how we can become more involved.
• Highlight areas of good practice, look at potential areas for advocacy, programming
methods and partner involvement.
An Alliance Task Group on Child Trafficking was formed to take on this task and a consultant
was hired to make the working paper. We wish to thank the consultant, Mrs. Miek Van Gaalen
for an incredible amount of quality work accomplished in a short time.
The Working Paper will be used within the Alliance and constitutes the first step in the process of
developing a Position or Policy Paper on Child Trafficking for the Alliance representing the point
of view of the Alliance members.
The reflections and conclusions in this Working Paper are not exhaustive and do not necessarily
represent the views of all Save the Children’s member organisations. The Working Paper will,
however, be a useful tool in developing a better understanding of the way members do perceive
this issue and intervene on it.
The Alliance Task Group on Child Trafficking
Save the Children Alliance initiatives

Working Paper on Child Trafficking
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Table of contents
Foreword ............................................................................................................................. 2
Table of contents ................................................................................................................. 3
Executive summary ............................................................................................................. 4
Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. 6
Acronyms And Abbreviations............................................................................................. 7
Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 8
1. The Definition of ‘Child Trafficking’ ........................................................................... 10
1.1 International legal framework ................................................................................. 10
1.2 The Palermo Protocol.............................................................................................. 10
1.3 UNHCHR Recommended Guidelines and Principles on Human Trafficking........ 13
1.4 Child trafficking vs. human rights and children’s rights......................................... 14
1.5 Child trafficking and slavery, slavery-like practices and the sale of children ........ 16
1.6 Trafficking in persons as a labour issue .................................................................. 18
1.7 Trafficking in persons as a migration issue............................................................. 19
1.8 Alliance members’ definitions of child trafficking ................................................. 20
1.9 Definitions used by other entities............................................................................ 21
1.10 Key elements for SC Alliance work on child trafficking...................................... 22
2. SC Alliance initiatives against child trafficking ........................................................... 24
2.1.Africa....................................................................................................................... 24
2.2 South East Asia ....................................................................................................... 30
2.3 South and Central Asia............................................................................................ 35
2.4 Europe ..................................................................................................................... 44
2.5 Americas.................................................................................................................. 49
3. Examples of potentially successful practices ................................................................ 51
3.1 Research, advocacy, awareness raising................................................................... 51
3.2 Prevention, protection, reintegration and social rehabilitation ............................... 55
3.3 Capacity building, child participation and gender-specific anti-child trafficking
programmes ................................................................................................................... 56
4. Questions for future orientation of SC activities on child trafficking........................... 58
ANNEXES ........................................................................................................................ 66
ANNEX 1 - Contact list of Alliance members.................................................................. 67
ANNEX 2 - Bibliography and sources.............................................................................. 69
ANNEX 3 - Overview of SC programmes/projects dealing with child trafficking .......... 73
ANNEX 4 – Terms of reference ....................................................................................... 85
ANNEX 5 – Final Declaration of the World Summit on Children................................... 87
ANNEX 6 – Guideline 8 of the UNHCHR Guidelines on Trafficking ............................ 88

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Executive summary
The first chapter of this working paper includes an overview of the international legislation that
has been adopted in the framework of human trafficking, and more particularly, with regard to
‘child trafficking’ (CT). It refers to relevant provisions in international crime-control law, human
rights law and labour law. It also provides an overview of legal and working definitions of child
trafficking of different UN agencies, NGOs and members of the Save the Children (SC) Alliance,
and identifies key elements for a common approach on child trafficking.
Chapter two contains a description and summaries of initiatives of SC members and their partners
with regard to child trafficking in Africa, South East Asia, South and Central Asia, Europe and
the Americas. From this review, it can be concluded that, despite the fact that some organisations
have looked at this issue for a certain number of years but have often done it with a more global
perspective, most SC members and their partners organisations are in a ‘learning process’ with
regard to child trafficking programming, and approaches to child trafficking seem to differ
widely.
In almost all regions and countries, hard and reliable data on child trafficking are not available. A
number of SC members and their partners have undertaken research on child trafficking. In
Asia, research on existing legislation related to child trafficking was carried out in many
countries, yet there seems to be a need for follow-up for the enhancement of such legislation.
Participatory Action Research (PAR) and Positive Deviance Inquiry (PDI) research also seems to
have some promising preliminary results that may help the further definition of concrete
interventions. However, there also seems to be a general need for in-depth and multi-disciplinary
research in view of a general lack of information about child trafficking.
The majority of the child trafficking programs seem to aim at the prevention of child trafficking,
for example, through advocacy and awareness raising activities, including community-based
programmes and the setting up of monitoring committees. The increasing awareness of child
trafficking as a problem and the recognition of human rights violations as a consequence is an
important first step towards more concrete interventions and follow-up.
Several initiatives have focussed on providing services of assistance and protection to victims of
child trafficking, such as the setting up of ‘transit centres’. These programs tend to be complex,
and often carried out in very difficult circumstances: cross-border issues may affect the
effectiveness of such activities, which depend on the collaboration of different institutions and
counterparts. They may also include activities that facilitate the rehabilitation and social
reintegration of children into their communities and families, efforts to make them economically
independent, and the establishment of prevention mechanisms at the community-levels. The
impact of these programmes is yet difficult to measure, because they involve changes in
behaviour and governments taking more responsibilities, and therefore, results may only become
evident at the longer term.
At present, relatively few programmes are addressing the demand-side of child trafficking, for
example through the systematic identification and prosecution of traffickers, the denouncing of
exploitative employers who recruit children through trafficking, or the prevention of sex-tourism
aiming at minors. A lack of information, fear for repercussions, lack of governments’
involvement in taking the correct procedures to prevent the issue, even in some cases
governments institutions’ involvement into trafficking itself and a lack of understanding of the
complexity of the trafficking processes may explain the apparent reluctance of organisations to

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get involved in such activities. Some programmes in Asia have been identifying traffickers
through collaboration with the judicial authorities and police, as well as the provision of support
to the victims of child trafficking.
A number of SC activities and programmes are focussing on sub-regional or regional

coordination of activities on child trafficking. This has proven to be very helpful for advocacy in
Asia and in Europe, where the existence of regional institutional frameworks has created a
favourable political environment for addressing child trafficking. In other regions, SC members
have undertaken programmes addressing child trafficking despite the absence of such networks or
coordination mechanisms. Nevertheless, there seem to be increasing efforts in most regions to
coordinate child trafficking interventions and to come to co-operation agreements among SC
members and their partners.
Chapter three includes ‘Examples of potentially successful practices and chapter four is dedicated
to a series of questions which may contribute to the future orientation of a SC policy or position
on child trafficking. On the basis of current experiences, it seems not yet possible to define a
model or a guide for how to initiate action against child trafficking, or to come to concrete
conclusions as to what to do first, where to start. Differences in the national and regional contexts,
the continuous shifting of trafficking routes and methods, the clandestine nature of child
trafficking, the lack of reliable updated information on child trafficking and the fact that most
programmes have not yet been evaluated properly make it hard to have concrete
recommendations at this point. Nevertheless, a number of questions may be raised, the answering
of which may help defining guidelines for action against child trafficking for SC members and
their partners. There seems to be agreement on the fact that every child trafficking situation has to
be studied in its proper context, and that time is needed to study and understand the phenomenon
to its fullest extent before concrete action can be defined.
One of the preliminary conclusions of this working paper is therefore that child trafficking cannot
be isolated from its context. It seems necessary to address the issue through simultaneous, multi-
level and complementary activities. Additional research may help the definition of concrete SC
action on child trafficking in terms of prevention, protection, rehabilitation and social
reintegration, and improve programming, including advocacy and awareness raising activities.
Furthermore, it may help to enhance child trafficking programmes in terms of capacity building,
child participation and a gender-specific approach to child trafficking.
Finally, it seems crucial not to work in isolation as an agency and to systematically share research
and (well-documented) programme results with local and national institutions and agencies, and
to coordinate further activities and to avoid overlap of efforts. Diversification of activities and
multiplication of partner organisations may result in the development of a variety of skills,
expertise, and know-how (capacity building) on child trafficking.

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Acknowledgements
This working paper was prepared by Ms. Miek (A.M.J.) van Gaalen, consultant for the Task
Group on Child Trafficking of the Save the Children Alliance.
Special thanks go to Martine Bernier (SC Canada), Chair of the Task Group on Child Trafficking
for her guidance, expertise, patience, flexibility and continuous support. Thanks also go to the
members of the Task Group, Andrew Dunn (SC UK), Turid Heiberg (SC Norway), Dorothee
McArthur (SC Sweden Vietnam), Archana Tamang (SC Alliance South and Central Asia), Pippo
Costella (SC Italy), Naoko Otani (SC US) and to Ola Florin (SC Sweden) whose preparative
work for this working paper was very appreciated.
Special appreciation also goes to those persons who have contributed to this document through
their valuable information, comments and sharing of their experiences and personal impressions:
Galit Wolfensohn (SC Albania): Anita Sheth, Kim Kerr and Marlen Mondaca (SC Canada);
Vernon Jones, (SC Denmark); Merja Sarikoski and Mari Luosujarvi (SC Finland); Yvonne Chow
(SC Hong Kong); Lauren McLaren and Titing Martini (SC Indonesia) Simona Pari (SC Italy);
Shova Lama (SC Nepal); Julian.Kramer (SC Norway); Khat Ty Ekvisoth (SC Norway
Cambodia); Sita Ghimire SC Norway Nepal); Archana Tamang (SC OSCAR); Mehmood Asgher
(SC Pakistan); Nwe Nwe Aye (SC SEAP); Lionel Amarakoon (SC Sri Lanka): Nguyen Ngoc
Anh (SC Sweden Viet Nam); Elkane Mooh and Carin Astrom (SC Sweden West Africa); Chris
Cunninghame, Deborah Brodie, Elizabeth Stevens and Madeleine Tearse (SC UK); Ha Thi Kim
Lien (SC UK Vietnam); Mini Bhaskar (SC UK India).
Several members of the Task Group and field offices provided feedback on the first draft.
Nevertheless, responsibility of the final text lies solely with the author, who wishes to express her
gratefulness for this opportunity to contribute to the work of the Save the Children Alliance, and
to express her willingness to the Task Group to contribute to its work for further follow-up. It is
her wish that this document may inspire future work of the SC Alliance and its partners.

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Acronyms And Abbreviations
Art. Article
BNWLA Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association
CBO Community-Based Organisation
CFO Common Framework of Operations
CIDA Canadian International Development Agency
CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)
CT Child trafficking
ECOWAS Economic Cooperation of West African States
GAATW Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women
HQ Headquarters
ILO International Labour Organization
ILO-IPEC International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour of the ILO
ILO -TICW ILO- Trafficking in Children and Women Project (Mekong region)
INGO International Non-Governmental Organisation
IOM International Organization for Migration
MOU Memorandum of Understanding
NGO Non-Governmental Organization
PAR Participatory Action Research
PDI Positive Deviance Inquiry
SAARC South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
SEA South East Asia
SEAPRO South East Asian Programme
SEE South Eastern Europe
SC Save the Children
SCEP Separated Children Programme in Europe
SCUK Save the Children United Kingdom
SCUS Save the Children United States of America
STD Sexually Transmitted Disease
UN United Nations
UN-IAP United Nations Interagency Project
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNDCP United Nations Drugs Control Programme
UNHCHR United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights
UNHCR United Nations’ High Commissioner for Refugees
UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund
UNICEF ROSA United Nations Children’s Fund Regional Office for South Asia
UNIFEM United Nations Development Fund for Women
UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
USAID United States Agency for International Development
USDOL United States Department of Labour

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Introduction
The International Save the Children Alliance is the world’s largest independent movement on the
rights of children. Save the Children (hereafter SC) fights for children’s rights, delivering
immediate and long-lasting improvements to children’s lives worldwide. The aims of SC are
achieved through work in the areas of education, HIV/AIDS, prevention from and protection
against exploitation and abuse, conflict and disaster relief and activities related to the promotion
and protection of the rights of the child.
Thousands of children throughout the world are being subjected to exploitation and abuse. This
can take the form of exploitation in work or home situations, on the street, sexual exploitation and
abuse, the trafficking of children or physical /emotional abuse of children in the family,
institutions, in the community or by the State. SC believes that protecting children from sexual
abuse and trafficking requires more than establishing protection mechanisms. Equally important
is to understand and tackle the root causes behind such abuse. Systems also need to be put in
place to help those who have been subjected to abuse, to help them recover from their ordeal and
to learn not only to be children again, but to make them aware that they have basic rights, thus
preventing their exploitation by others.
The Save the Children Alliance Coordinating Group on Exploitation and Abuse, at its meeting of
11 October 2001, decided to set up a Task Group on Child Trafficking. One of the first tasks of
the task group was to develop a working paper which would recompile the experiences of the
Alliance members with activities related to combat the trafficking of children, and to come up
with a uniform working definition of ‘child trafficking’ (hereafter CT) for future reference within
the Alliance. This definition could be a means to develop a uniform Alliance position on how
trafficking conflicts with children’s rights, on prevention thereof, and on how to meet the needs of
trafficked children so that their rights are restored.
The focus of this working paper, originally defined in the Terms of Reference (See Annex IV),
which were modified slightly upon the review of the first draft, is on the relationship between
child trafficking and exploitation, sexual exploitation, violence and protection. Although the
Alliance acknowledges that there might be flows of child trafficking related to e.g. marriage and
adoption, illicit activities such as drugs trafficking and organ transplants, these issues are
excluded from the current research. In addition, since an Alliance Coordinating Group is dealing
with issues related to children in armed conflict, it has been decided not to include child
trafficking for work as soldiers in this overview.
The current research was undertaken between October and December 2002 and a review was
concluded in May 2003, through a worldwide consultation of staff members of SC Alliance
members, which have undertaken or are currently undertaking anti trafficking initiatives. The use
of a questionnaire and phone conversations have allowed for a relatively quick compilation of
information. However, in view of the limited time available, the generally overloaded agendas of
staff members, and a lack of systematic documenting of initiatives, it may be well possible that
the overview of initiatives is not complete and up-to-date. The systematic and timely sharing of
information on anti-trafficking initiatives may be considered for improvement within the SC
Alliance. In addition, a number of research reports and other publications were under preparation
at the time of this research and would be made available after submission of this report. Reference
to a simultaneously undertaken mapping exercise by SC UK is included in the bibliography,
however the content of this could unfortunately not be included in the analysis, because of time
constraints.

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In conclusion, the current research revealed a variety of initiatives of SC members and their
partners in the different regions, and although most efforts are recent or just starting, they contain
interesting indications for possible orientations and strategies of the child trafficking programmes.
Besides, there is a wealth of information available on anti-trafficking research and initiatives
available from other sources, agencies and organisations.

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1. The Definition of ‘Child Trafficking’
Trafficking in persons is a consequence of the social and economic realities of societies, which
have changed considerably under the increasing globalization and the free market economy.
Globalization has led to an increased flow of goods, services and persons over international
borders. Concrete numbers of trafficked persons are not available, due to its clandestine nature,
but figures are assumed to be very high, since trafficking in persons may occur in a variety of
situations. Trafficking routes may be shifting, which makes it hard to get accurate data on the
phenomenon. Organized groups, agents or individuals may be involved in different phases of
trafficking and in a variety of ways, dependent on the concrete national or international contexts.
Yet, the vulnerability of children and their special needs, the negative impact of trafficking on
their well-being and development, as well as the social costs these violations imply for the future,
are calling for urgent interventions to fight child trafficking. For example, victims may be at a
high risk of contracting AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases, enduring physical violence,
and suffering lifelong and emotional damage. Those who manage to escape and return home
might face shame, social stigma, family rejection, emotional distress and fear of retribution.
1.1 International legal framework

When referring to ‘trafficking’ we usually think about ‘illegal trade or commerce’. Trafficking in
human beings however, or ‘ human trafficking’, evokes comparisons with modern-day slavery,
implying more than an illegal trading or a commercial activity. According to Art. 7 of the Rome
Statute, enslavement constitutes a ‘crime against humanity1’, punishable under international law.
For trafficking in persons, the international community has not yet gone so far as to define it as a
crime against humanity, despite its similarities with, for example, enslavement. However, there is
a growing consensus on the need to address child trafficking as an urgent matter. For example,
the Final Declaration of the World Summit on Children, which was adopted unanimously in
2002, calls upon States to make maximum efforts to counter trafficking in children and to protect
children from all forms of sexual exploitation, including paedophilia, trafficking and abduction2.
On that occasion, States committed themselves to implement inter alia a large number of
strategies (see annex 5).
1.2 The Palermo Protocol3

In recent years, human trafficking has been addressed in different international and regional
forums, resulting in legal references under different sections of international law, such as
international penal law (crime-control), international human rights law and international labour
law. At present, there is a myriad of instruments dealing with different wordings of phenomena
linked to, but not necessarily identical to, human trafficking. ‘Trafficking in persons’, is not
synonymous to ‘migration’, neither to ‘smuggling’, nor to (contemporary forms of) ‘slavery’ or
‘slavery-like practices’ but a distinction is sometimes difficult.
1 For the full text of the Rome Statute see: http://www.un.org/law/icc/statute/romefra.htm.

2 Art 43 c) Final Declaration of World Summit on Children.
3 UN doc. A/55/383. At the moment of writing this working paper, neither the Convention not its Protocols had entered
into force. The Convention (and the respective Protocols) will enter into force after 40 States parties will have ratified
these instruments. There are 147 signatories and 37 parties. See
www.unodc.org/unodc/en/crime_cicp_signatures.html . (Visited 24/5/2003)

11
At present, the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially
Women and Children, which was adopted in 2000, (hereafter the Palermo Protocol)
supplementing the UN Convention against Trans-national Organized Crime (2000)4 contains the
most comprehensive legal definition of ‘human trafficking’ under international law. Despite the
fact that many of its provisions are related to the criminalisation of certain activities, border
measures, security, control and validity of documents, the multiple purpose of the protocol as laid
down in Article 2 includes:“…a)…To prevent and combat trafficking in persons, paying
particular attention to women and children; b) To protect and assist the victims of such
trafficking, with full respect for their human rights; and c) To promote cooperation among States
Parties in order to meet those objectives.”
The Palermo Protocol defined ‘trafficking in persons’ it in its Article 3:
Definition of trafficking in persons - Palermo Protocol
“a. ‘Trafficking in persons’ shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or
receipt of persons by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of
abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the
giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control
over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, as a minimum,
the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour
or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery. (emphasis added)
b. The consent of a victim of trafficking in persons to the intended exploitation set forth in
subparagraph (a) of this article shall be irrelevant when any of the means set forth in
subparagraph (a) has been used.
c. The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child for the purpose of
exploitation shall be considered ‘ trafficking in persons’ even if this does not involve any of the
means set forth in Paragraph (a) of this article (…).”
Five distinctive elements of human trafficking are identified, namely recruitment, transportation,
transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons. All together, and each individually, these activities
constitute ‘ trafficking in persons’, which is considered an offence, on the condition that it takes
place with the intention of exploitation. Thus, a person involved therein can be held criminally
responsible for being involved in human trafficking. Equally, It is not necessary for a victim to
have undergone all the phases of the process in order to be recognized as such. For example, a
person who has been intercepted during a recruitment process that meets the criteria mentioned,
without having reached the final destination yet, would qualify as a victim of human trafficking.
Exploitation shall include, but is not limited to, the exploitation of the prostitution of others, or
other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to
slavery, servitude or the removal of organs. These terms are defined under international human
rights law, and will be dealt with in the next section. Exploitation may have been intended from
the beginning or have been a consequence of the process of displacement.
Conform to the Palermo Protocol, States Parties have to take measures to make these elements of
trafficking criminal acts under national law. States are also called upon to adopt legislative
measures to criminalize 1) attempting to commit any one of the offences mentioned, 2)
participating as an accomplice and 3) organizing or directing other persons to commit an offence
as defined in the Protocol.5 Thus, prosecution for involvement in human trafficking can take
place if an intention to exploit can be proven, provided that the national law contains provisions
4 At the moment of writing the Palermo Protocol had 117 signatories and 26 parties.
www.unodc.org/unodc/en/crime_cicp_signatures.html. (Visited 24/5/2003)
5 Art.5 Protocol.

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to this extent. There is no requirement as to any effective personal gain, or the conclusion of any
financial transaction to have occurred.
Trafficking of an adult person is assumed when carried out “by means of the threat or use of
force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of
a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits. (…)”. The
Protocol is more categorical in the case of child trafficking: the use of any of these means makes
it irrelevant whether consent was given or not. Any person under the age of eighteen can under no
circumstances be assumed to have consented to their own trafficking or exploitation. Even if no
coercive method or deception is used against the child, and he/she agreed to leave the place of
origin, to accompany somebody who offered help in finding a job or a better future, and this
person or any of the other intermediaries involved in the process turns out to have the intention to
use this situation for the exploitation of the child, child trafficking is automatically assumed. This
includes situations in which the child knew that he/she would be transported for (exploitative)
work or sexual exploitation.
The mother-convention of the Palermo Protocol, the UN Convention on Trans-national Crime

applies to the prevention, investigation and prosecution of serious crimes of a trans-national
nature involving an organized criminal group. A crime is considered trans-national in nature if:
“(a) It is committed in more than one State; (b) It is committed in one state but a substantial part
of its preparation, planning, direction or control takes place in another State; (c) It is committed
in one State but involves an organized criminal group that engages in criminal activities in more
than one State; or (d) It is committed in one State but has substantial effects in another State.”
An ‘organized group’ is to be understood as a structured group of three or more persons, existing

for a period of time and acting in concert with the aim of committing one or more serious crimes
or offences established in secondance with the convention, in order to obtain, directly or
indirectly, a financial or other material benefit6. A ‘structured group’ shall mean a group that is
not randomly formed for the immediate commission of an offence, and that does not need to have
formally defined roles for its members, continuity of its membership or a developed structure.7
Whereas for purposes of the application of criminal law or penal law this is an important detail,
for determining the degree of culpability of a person involved in child trafficking. From a child
rights’ perspective, it may be less relevant whether the violations were committed by an
organized or structured group or whether the responsible persons is an individual who got
randomly, but knowingly, involved in such activities.
As a consequence of the definition of trafficking in persons as a trans-national crime, it excludes

cases of internal trafficking, such as the trafficking from rural areas to urban areas, unless
performed and organized in accordance with the other criteria of “ organized crime’ and ‘
organized criminal group’. This is due to the institutional framework in which this convention
was prepared, which was created for international cooperation to combat crimes of a trans-
national nature. However, the actual crossing of an international border is not a prerequisite for
the definition of an act as a trans-national crime, since other conditions such as the nationalities of
the members of the organized group or the geographic locations of their activities may be
determining additional criteria for qualifying it as such.
In terms of prevention of child trafficking, the Palermo Protocol calls on States Parties to
establish comprehensive policies, programmes and other measures to prevent and combat
6 Art 2a UN Convention on Transnational Crime.

7 Art. 2c UN Convention on Transnational Crime.

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trafficking in persons, to protect victims, especially women and children from re-victimization8,
to undertake research, information and mass media campaigns, and, to address the root causes of
trafficking such as poverty, underdevelopment and lack of equal opportunity, including through
bilateral or multilateral cooperation. Finally, States Parties are requested to discourage the
demand that fosters all forms of exploitation of persons that leads to trafficking by educational,
social or cultural measures. 9
The second section of the Palermo Protocol deals with the protection of victims of trafficking,
and calls upon States to protect the identity and privacy of victims of trafficking, whose views
and concerns should be heard in relevant court and administrative proceedings. Furthermore,
States should consider implementing measures to provide for the physical, psychological and
social recovery of victims, including cooperation with nongovernmental organisations, in
particular the provision of appropriate housing, counselling and information, medical,
psychological and material assistance, and employment, educational and training activities. The
needs of children and the age, gender and special needs of victims of trafficking should be taken
into account in this regard.
In order to avoid automatic repatriation, the receiving State is requested to consider measures to
allow for the victim to remain in its territory, temporarily or permanently.10 Emphasising the
importance of voluntary repatriation, the country of origin or the country where the victim had
permanent residence before he was trafficked, is requested to cooperate in order to ensure that the
return of the person can be undertaken without undue or unreasonable delay, for instance by
facilitating necessary travel documentation in case the persons personal documents have been
confiscated by his/her traffickers. 11
In conclusion, the Palermo Protocol, is addressed to States Parties, pointing out their obligations
and responsibilities to prevent human trafficking and to protect, rehabilitate and socially
reintegrate victims thereof, in particularly women and children. Organizations of civil society
such as the Save the Children Alliance are encouraged to the provisions of the Protocol in their
advocacy and awareness raising work.
1.3 UNHCHR Recommended Guidelines and Principles on Human Trafficking

In 2002, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR)
responded to a need for practical rights-based guidance on the trafficking issue. ‘The
Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking” 12 (hereafter
‘the UNHCHR Guidelines on Trafficking’) were prepared and presented to the Economic and
Social Council (ECOSOC), with the intention to integrate a human rights perspective into
national, regional and international anti-trafficking laws, policies and interventions. The
document has yet to be officially endorsed by other relevant UN organs. Governments,
intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations are encouraged to make use of the
principles and guidelines in their own efforts to prevent trafficking and to protect the rights of
trafficked persons.
8 Art 8.6 Palermo Protocol.

9 Art. 9.5 Palermo Protocol.
10 Art. 7 Palermo Protocol.
11 Art 8.4-5 Palermo Protocol.
12 UN doc. E/2002/68/Add.1 “ Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human trafficking.
Report of the United nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to the Economic and Social Council.”

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The document underlines that respect for human rights of trafficked persons should be at the
centre of all efforts to prevent and combat trafficking and to protect, assist and provide redress to
victims. States have a responsibility to act with due diligence to prevent trafficking, to investigate
and prosecute traffickers and to assist and protect trafficked persons. The UNHCHR Guidelines
on Trafficking are primarily addressed to States but also encourage non-governmental
organisations working with trafficked persons, to participate in monitoring and evaluating the
human rights impact of trafficking measures13. NGOs are also encouraged to collaborate with
States in the identification of trafficked persons and traffickers14, as well as in research, analysis,
evaluation and dissemination of information 15, in ensuring an adequate law enforcement
response, in providing protection and support for trafficked persons16 and in the prevention of
trafficking.
Particularly relevant for this working paper is the section on ‘ Special Measures for the Protection
and Support of Child Victims of Trafficking17 the full text of which is reproduced in annex 6 in
view of its relevance for this working paper. It particularly emphasizes the need to deal with
children separately from adult trafficked persons in terms of laws, policies, programmes, and
interventions.
1.4 Child trafficking vs. human rights and children’s rights

Trafficking in persons is a matter of security and crime control, but it also implies flagrant
violations of a wide range of fundamental human rights. As is stated in the UNHCHR Guidelines
on Trafficking, “violations of human rights are both a cause and a consequence of trafficking in
persons”.18The protection and promotion of human rights are the primary responsibility of each
State, and the creation of an environment in which these rights are respected is part of that. Anti-
trafficking laws, policies, programmes and interventions should thus not interfere with human
rights and the dignity of persons, and in particular, the rights of those who have been trafficked
should be protected and respected.
Under international human rights law, the special needs and rights of children, are recognized in
the most widely ratified human rights convention in the world, the International Convention on
the Rights of the Child (1989) (hereafter CRC).19
Art. 35 CRC specifically refers to child trafficking,
“States Parties shall take all appropriate, national, bilateral and multilateral
measures to prevent the abduction of, the sale of or traffic in children for any
purpose or in any form”.
The article does not elaborate on what is to be understood exactly by ‘sale of children’ nor ‘traffic
in children’ but the addition “for any purpose or in any form” indicates that this is to be
interpreted broadly. Most importantly, it puts the responsibility on the State to take measures to
prevent such abuses.
13 UNHCHR Guidelines on Trafficking, Guideline 1 para.7.

14 Idem Guideline 2.
16 Idem Guideline 5..
19 At present 191 countries have ratified the CRC.

15
The Optional Protocol to the CRC on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child
Pornography (hereafter ‘CRC Protocol’) adopted in 2000, was an attempt to clarify inter alia,
this article. In its Art. 2, the protocol defines the sale of children as “… any act or transaction
whereby a child is transferred by any person or group of persons to another for remuneration or
any other consideration.” In addition, Art. 3 provides that States Parties shall ensure, the
definition of the following acts as a crime, irrespective of whether they are committed
domestically or transnationally, on an individual or organized basis:
“1. Offering, delivering or accepting, by whatever means, a child for the purpose of
Sexual exploitation of the child;
Transfer of organs of the child for profit;
Engagement of the child in forced labour.”
This CRC Protocol20 intended to strengthen CRC provisions on the sexual exploitation of minors,
and to extend jurisdiction over adults involved in it. Compared with the Palermo Protocol, the
CRC Protocol goes further, by extending the scope of the Optional Protocol to the ‘sale of
children’, criminal organisations that are not trans-national in nature, as well as actions by
individuals. The protocol does however not refer to child trafficking as such but as we can see in
practice, many forms of child trafficking would fit in the definition of ‘sale of children’. The
purpose for which children are sold often coincides with those for which they are trafficked, such
as sexual exploitation or forced labour. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (hereafter
‘CRC Committee’) is the monitoring body for both the CRC and the CRC Protocol. Governments
have to submit detailed reports on the implementation of each of these provisions, two years after
ratification, and thereafter every five years. The CRC Committee also receives contributions from
NGOs. In conclusion, States have to undertake all efforts to prevent or eliminate child trafficking
on the basis of CRC, and they can be held accountable by civil society for not doing so.
Child trafficking, in its many forms and separate phases may violate a range of children’s rights.
They can roughly be divided in four categories: 1) the child’s right to life (art.6.1 CRC); 2) the
right to survival and development (art 6.2 CRC); 3) the right to protection (from
discrimination and punishment, (art. 2.2 CRC); from physical or mental violence, (art.19.1 CRC);
from economic exploitation (art.32; from sexual exploitation (art. 34): 4) and the right to
participation (art.12). Due to the wide variety of situations in which child trafficking occurs, it is
impossible to provide here a fully exhaustive list of the children’s rights that might possibly be
violated in different phases of child trafficking since this depends largely on the concrete context
and individual circumstances. Therefore, the listing hereafter is merely meant as an illustration of
possible violations of children’s rights, to which children may be exposed as a result of
trafficking.
20
At present, the CRC Protocol has been ratified by 43 States and signed by 105 States, and the provisions of the
protocol have become an integral part of the CRC for those who have ratified it.

16
Best interests of the Art 3 CRC contains the red thread of the CRC, i.e. the principle that the ‘best interests of
child the child’ prevail “ 1. …In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public
or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative
bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.” This principle is
reiterated in the UNHCHR Guidelines on Trafficking. Trafficking a child for exploitation
violates this fundamental principle.
Right to life Exposing a child to life-threatening situations, either during the transportation or during the
subsequent exploitation may imply a violation Art.6.1 CRC: “ ...Every child has the
inherent right to life”.
Right to survival and The circumstances and conditions to which a child may be exposed during all phases of the
development trafficking process as well as during or as a consequence of the subsequent exploitation may
be an obstacle for his full development and survival Art 6.2 CRC: “…States Parties shall
ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child.”
Right not to be Separating a child from his/ her family situation for the purpose of trafficking may in
separated from family certain circumstances imply a violation of Art. 9 CRC: “… a child shall not be separated
from his/her parents against their will.”
Right not to be Art. 11 CRC provides that “States Parties shall take measures to combat the illicit transfer
transferred to another and non-return of children abroad.”
country
Right to express views When decisions are taken that affect the life of the child, without consulting him/her art. 12
and be heard CRC is at stake. However, a child can never consent to his/her trafficking and/or
exploitation.
Right not to be In specific cultural contexts, such as certain countries in Asia, girls who have been
subjected to unlawful trafficked for sexual exploitation or who have been exposed to HIV/AIDS are seen to have
attack on honour and damaged their honour, and therefore, the honour of the family. Forcing children into this
reputation situation therefore may go against Art. 16 CRC, which states that: “1. No child shall be
subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, home or
correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his or her honour and reputation.”
Right to be protected Subjecting a child to exploitative work implies a violation of Art. 32 CRC, on the
from exploitation prevention of economic exploitation
Right to be protected Forcing a child to offer his/her body for sexual services goes against Art. 34 CRC that
from sexual obliges the State to take “…all appropriate national, bilateral and multilateral measures to
exploitation protect the child from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse, including (a) The
inducement or coercion of a child to engage in any unlawful sexual activity;(b) The
exploitative use of children in prostitution or other unlawful sexual practices; (c) The
exploitative use of children in pornographic performances and materials.”
But, once more, this listing is likely to be much longer once we look into more concrete situations
and individual cases of child trafficking.
1.5 Child trafficking and slavery, slavery-like practices and the sale of children
Returning to the terminology of the Palermo Protocol, as referred to in the previous section, there
is a reference ‘ slavery’ or ‘practices similar to slavery’. ‘Slavery’ was one of the first concerns of
international human rights law. Throughout the years, within the context of the UN, several
conventions addressing “slavery” and “slavery-like practices” have been adopted: amongst them
the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and
Practices Similar to Slavery (1956)21 and the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in
Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (1949)22. In practice, it may be hard
to distinguish between the different forms of slavery, and the same families and groups of people
may be victims of several kinds of modern slavery such as bonded labour, forced labour, child
labour or child prostitution. A UN Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery of experts
meets each year, to study State reports on the implementation of the respective conventions. It
21 Available online at http://193.194.138.190/html/menu3/b/30.htm .

22 Available online at http://193.194.138.190/html/menu3/b/33.htm .

17
addresses a wide range of issues related to contemporary forms of slavery, including the
trafficking of children. The working group receives information from NGOs and disposes of a
voluntary fund to allow victims to testify about their experiences. In its recent resolution, related
to the work of the working group, the UN Sub-Commission on Human Rights, which functions as
the ‘think-tank’ of the UN Commission on Human Rights called upon States “…to set action
against trafficking within a human rights framework, so that the victims of child trafficking are
fully protected and not treated as illegal immigrants.”
In addition, in recent years, issues of “child slavery” and “ the sale of children” have also been
addressed in the framework of a number of other UN thematic human rights mechanisms, such as
UN Special Rapporteurs. For example, the UN Commission on Human Rights in its resolution
2002/52 on the work of the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women affirmed that,
“…trafficking in women and girls is a result of “gender-based violence”.23 As will be discussed
hereafter, a number of SC members and their partners in some countries in Asia have dealt with
trafficking in girls as a component of projects that aim at fighting gender discrimination.
International legal instruments such as the International Convention on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women (hereafter CEDAW)24, and the Beijing Declaration and Platform
for Action25 are very important in their work. Some SC members however stated that CEDAW is
not particularly suited for working with children and they would rather base their work on CRC
provisions. Other SC member’s initiatives have addressed child trafficking for sexual exploitation
in the framework adopted by the SC Alliance in its policy-paper on Prevention of Sexual Abuse
and Sexual Exploitation. In this context, the UN Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in
Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (1949) is also a relevant instrument,
despite the absence of an independent supervisory mechanism.26
A newly elected UN Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child
Pornography in his first report to the UN Commission on Human Rights, qualified the sale of
children and the many forms of trafficking, as well as the commercial and non-commercial sexual
exploitation of children as “some of the worst human rights violations”. In his view, “…they
compromise the healthy development of children and their access to the full enjoyment of all their
rights, and they increase violence at all levels of society, producing long-term damaging effects
on the victims.”27 The UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants has also
addressed trafficking issues in her reports and during field visits. The UN thematic rapporteurs
may receive individual complaints from individuals whose rights are allegedly violated, or from
organisations that represent these persons, and they may write to Governments requesting further
investigation into these cases.
UNICEF and many international NGOs including members of the Save the Children Alliance that
have undertaken activities in the field of child trafficking are basing much of their child
trafficking work on the provisions of the CRC and dependent on the concrete context of the cases
they are dealing with, they may refer to other relevant human rights instruments.
23 E/CN.4/2002/200 para.3. Available online on www.unhchr.ch/Huridoca.

24 The full text of CEDAW is available online at: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/cedaw.htm .
25 A/CONF.177/20. available online: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/beijing/platform/index.html .
26 For the full text of the convention see: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/33.htm . The convention has 74
ratifications.
27 See E/CN.4/2002/88. 5 and 6. available online on www.unhchr.ch/Huridoca .

18
1.6 Trafficking in persons as a labour issue

By adopting the International Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour in 1999,
(hereafter “ILO Convention 182”), the International Labour Conference accepted child trafficking
as one of the “worst forms of child labour”.28 Art 3 provides that
“…the term worst forms of child labour comprises (a) all forms of slavery or
practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt
bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or
compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict; (b) the use, procuring
or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for
pornographic performances; (c) the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit
activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs as defined in the
relevant international treaties; (d) work which, by its nature or the circumstances in
which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children.”
ILO Convention 182 calls on Governments to take immediate and effective measures to secure
the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour as a matter of urgency.
Programmes of action are designed and implemented in consultation with organizations of
employers and workers, and NGOs. ILO Convention 182 emphasises the importance of education
in eliminating child labour, and the need for effective and time-bound measures that are to be
taken to (a) prevent the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour; provide the
necessary and appropriate direct assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of
child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration (c) to ensure access to free basic
education, and if possible and appropriate vocational training for all children removed from the
worst forms of child labour (d) identify and reach out to children at special risk and take account
of the special situation of girls. Another important tool is the assistance that member States are to
give each other in order to enhance international cooperation. The simultaneously adopted
Recommendation 190, which is not binding upon States but provides important guidelines, also
stresses the importance of:
a. the gathering and exchanging of information concerning criminal offences,

including those involving international networks;
b. detecting and prosecuting those involved in the sale and trafficking of children, or
in the use, procuring or offering of children for illicit activities, for prostitution, for
the production of pornography or for pornographic performances;
c. registering perpetrators of such offences.
Child trafficking is intimately linked to identified worst forms of child labour, and addressing it
through national mechanisms or systems of international cooperation created to address child
labour seem appropriate in contexts where trafficking takes place mainly for reasons of labour
exploitation. Through the International Programme on the Eradication of Child Labour (hereafter
“IPEC”) the ILO has engaged in a worldwide ratification campaign of the relevant labour
conventions. National studies have been undertaken in different regions to better understand the
causes and consequences of the worst forms of child labour including child trafficking and many
concrete intervention programmes have been funded through the ILO.29
28 For the full text of the Convention see:

http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/ipec/ratification/convention/text.htm.
29 For an updated overview of all ILO activities in the field of CT see ‘ Unbearable to the human heart. Child Trafficking
and Action to Eliminate It. Available online:

http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/ipec/publ/childtraf/unbearable.pdf .

19
Amongst the measures to be taken immediately by the Governments are the adjustments of
legislation to make the worst forms of child labour punishable, and to take immediate steps to
rescue and rehabilitate children that are victims of such situations. ILO Convention No. 182 links
up with ILO Convention No. 138 on the Minimum Age for Employment30 and its accompanying
Recommendation, which calls for the establishment of national committees on child labour and
the elaboration of National Plans of Action on Child Labour. To conform to ILO Convention 182,
many countries are in the process of developing National Action Plans on these worst forms of
child labour, including child trafficking and sexual exploitation.
1.7 Trafficking in persons as a migration issue

There is an important distinction between regular migration and trafficking in persons. Whereas
the first implies a voluntary displacement from one region to another, including from one country
to another, the situation of trafficking is different. The displacement of a trafficked person may in
principle be ‘voluntary’, in the sense that the person has provided his/her consent, however, such
consent or the subsequent exploitation was obtained by means of coercion, deception or any of
the other means mentioned in the Palermo Protocol. Concerning trafficking for sexual purposes
for example, the most common deception in a trans-national trafficking situation seems to be
related to the conditions of the sex work abroad, i.e., the fact that the victims presumed that they
would exercise greater independence and control over their earnings. Whereas human trafficking
is an illegal activity, (transborder) migration is not necessarily illegal, and may allow for people
to legally seek better opportunities or to exercise other rights such as the right to seek asylum.
Smuggling of persons is distinct of regular migration in the sense that a person who wants to be
smuggled, agrees to pay his smuggler or an intermediary for certain services, to enter another
country of which he is not a national or permanent resident. Thus, a smuggler obtains directly, or
indirectly a financial or material benefit from the smuggling process. At an international level,
and in the context of international crime-control, States have agreed that smuggling, like
trafficking in persons is a phenomenon that needs to be prevented, since, in their view, it may
interfere with public (international) security. For this purpose, a second protocol to the UN
Convention against Transnational Organized Crime was adopted.31 One key purpose of this
protocol is to prevent and combat the smuggling of migrants by making it a criminal act. What
distinguishes smuggling from trafficking is the exploitative purpose of the process. A trafficked
person does not necessarily have to pay, directly or indirectly, for the separation from his/her
community: his/her trafficker may from the beginning of the process intend to exploit him/her, or
may decide to do so after the displacement the person has taken place, for example to make
him/her ‘pay back’ for transportation costs. Smuggling may bring children in a situation that
makes them very vulnerable for further trafficking or exploitation, because it may result in a
situation of illegal residence in the place of arrival. In Europe for example, smuggling followed
by trafficking is on the increase as a result of the restricted immigration regulations. They are
leaving potential asylum-seekers no option than to recur to smugglers in order to exercise their
right to demand asylum, with the possible consequence of falling in the hands of traffickers.
Whereas the Palermo Protocol explicitly refers to the protection of trafficked persons, the
objective of the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants is mainly to prevent and combat the
30 See full text of that convention: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/ipec/ratification/convention/text.htm..

31 This Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants, adopted simultaneously with the Palermo Protocol establishes that
“…smuggling of migrants shall mean the procurement in order to obtain directly or indirectly a financial or other
material benefit of the illegal entry of a person into a State Party of which the person ins not a national or a permanent
resident:” (art.3a). At the moment of writing this report there are 122 signatories and 22 parties to the Protocol. For the
full text of the Protocol see online: http://www.uodc/org/unodc/en/crime_cicp_signatories.html. (visited 24/05/2003)

20
smuggling of migrants. In practice it may be hard to draw a clear line between trafficking in
persons and smuggling in migrants. Since both are forms of irregular migration, it seems
appropriate to address current trends and patterns in migration and their causes as part of the
analysis of child trafficking. From a child rights perspective, the priority is to address and prevent
the violations that may occur as a result of either of these activities.
Even though the Palermo Protocol does provide for some, mostly optional, victim protection
measures, current international efforts of Governments to fight trafficking in persons seem to
focus on crime-control. Anti-trafficking legislation tends to emphasise the crime-control aspects,
often not allowing for protection of the rights of victims and not child-focussed. In many cases,
victims of human trafficking, including children, are treated as illegal migrants or criminals and
not as victims of human rights violations. In their efforts to control migratory flows, Governments
may not be necessarily motivated by humanitarian interests. They frequently expel people to their
countries of origin without any redress or recognition of the fact that their human rights have been
violated. The UNHCHR Guidelines on Trafficking reiterate therefore the role of NGOs to see to it
that the human rights of victims of trafficking are respected, and that victims are rehabilitated and
compensated for such violations.
1.8 Alliance members’ definitions of child trafficking

Notwithstanding the questions that may remain unanswered regarding the exact definition of
child trafficking under the different instruments, members of the SC Alliance have generally
accepted the definition of human trafficking of the Palermo Protocol. The majority of SC
members considered the Palermo Protocol as the guiding document for their initiatives regarding,
however, many of them singled out its limitations, in particular the exclusion of internal
trafficking. They also indicated that the protocol, does not necessarily serve fit to promote respect
for, or protection of, child rights. There seems to be a general agreement that the work of the Save
the Children Alliance as an organisation of civil society that works for the promotion and
protection of children’s rights should be based on provisions of the CRC, including the CRC
Protocol, and that child trafficking should be considered as a violation of different child’s rights.
Notwithstanding, in order to be effective at the longer term, SC staff members concluded that
crime-control aspects would also need to be addressed.
SC UK India is still using the 1994 UNGA definition of trafficking in persons:
“… The illicit and clandestine movement of persons across national borders, largely
from developing countries and some countries with economies in transition, with the
end goal of forcing women and girl children into sexually or economically
oppressive and exploitative situations for profit of recruiters, traffickers and crime
syndicates, as well as other illegal activities related to trafficking such as forced
domestic labour, false marriages, clandestine employment and false adoption”’.
In addition, it was suggested to add ‘ inter-provincial border’ within the country and to include
bonded labour and other worst forms of child labour such as laid down in ILO Convention No.
182 in the definition since trafficking for child labour is a large-scale problem in the region.
SC members have only exceptionally adopted their own working definition. An example is SC
Mexico which bases itself on national legislation that defines child trafficking as “the
displacement or transportation of children from one territory to another, without consent of the
child, separating him from his/her family, community or social environment”.

21
Most SC members are open to include ‘all forms of exploitation’ in the child trafficking
definition, and are waiting for a common SC Alliance working definition. Only in recent years,
SC members have started to deal with child trafficking as a separate issue. Many organisations
consider child trafficking as an issue of sexual exploitation (Asia) others as an issue of labour
exploitation (Asia, Africa) or gender-based violence (Asia).
In conclusion, as a consequence of the varying national/regional contexts, anti-child trafficking

initiatives of members of the SC Alliance or their partners are using different international
instruments in their work, due to the different focuses and approaches in their activities. The most
frequently quoted instruments for anti-child trafficking work, are CRC and other relevant
international human rights and labour conventions. Due to the lack of common approach by the
SC and how to connect the Protocol to the CRC and the CRC, and other legal instruments with
the Palermo Protocol, the latter has been used as a reference, rather than as a practical instrument
to guide child trafficking interventions.
1.9 Definitions used by other entities

UNICEF
UNICEF, still uses the 1994 definition as adopted by the General Assembly in some of its work,
but more recently UNICEF has defined child trafficking as ‘the movement of children across
country borders for exploitation, using the definition of the Palermo Protocol.32 UNICEF also
bases its anti-child trafficking work on the provisions of the CRC, and its main strategy is
prevention - “working with children who are at high risk of being trafficked into exploitation, and
helping them to have a better future”. 33
ILO
The ILO refers to the Palermo Protocol for the definition of child trafficking, but the
organisation’s activities are based on the ILO conventions on the elimination of child labour and
forced labour, i.e. Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour and Convention 138 on
the Minimum Age for Employment, as well as the Forced Labour Convention No.29, and the
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention No. 105.34
IOM
The working definition of IOM is the following: “Trafficking occurs when: a migrant is illicitly
engaged (recruited, kidnapped, sold, etc.) and/or moved, either within national or across
international borders; and intermediaries (traffickers) during any part of the process obtain
economic or other profit by means of deception, coercion and/or other forms of exploitation
under conditions that violate the fundamental human rights of migrants”.35
UNHCHR
The UNHCHR Guidelines on Trafficking recommend that States, INGOs and NGOs use the
definition of the Palermo Protocol. The work on human trafficking of the Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights is also guided by these principles.
32 “For all the world’s children. Child trafficking”. March 2002. UNICEF. From www.unicef.org.
33 For details on the work of UNICEF in the field of CT see: www.unicef.org .
34 See Fact sheet Trafficking of children, a worst Form of Child Labour by Tim de Meyer, Legal officer of ILO-IPEC. For
further details on the ILO campaign against CT, including the maps of international trafficking routes in different
regions, see www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/ipec/onlinecampaign .
35 For information on IOM work on trafficking in persons see: www.iom.int .

22
UNIFEM
The working definition of trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation used by the United
Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) are also based on the 1994 UNGA
definition.36
Anti-Slavery
Anti-Slavery, the oldest international human rights organisation in the world, has defined
trafficking as a ‘modern-day slave trade’. People are trafficked both between countries and within
their own country. Those trafficked may be forced to work as domestics, in prostitution, as farm
labourers, factory workers, and in many other jobs.37 In November 2001, Anti-Slavery launched a
two-year campaign against human trafficking.
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)

In January 2002, the SAARC adopted a Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in
Women and Children for Prostitution which contains the following definition on the suppression
and elimination of trafficking: “All acts involved in the recruitment, transportation, forced
movement, and/or selling and buying of women and children within and/or across borders by
fraudulent means, deception, coercion, direct and/or indirect threats, abuse of authority, for the
purpose of placing a woman and/or a child against her will with or without her consent in
exploitative and abusive situations such as forced prostitution, marriages, bonded labour,
begging, organ trade etc.”…38
The Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women (GAATW)

The GAATW was formed at the International Workshop on Migration and Traffic in Women in
Thailand in October 1994. Since then, it has grown into a worldwide movement of organisations
and individuals, and has coordinated, organized and facilitated work on issues related to
trafficking in persons and women’s labour migration in every region in the world. The definition
of trafficking used by GAATW is: “All acts and attempted acts involved in the recruitment,
transportation within or across borders, purchase, sale, transfer, receipt or harbouring of a
persons involving the use of deception, coercion (including the use or threat of force or the abuse
of authority) or debt bondage for the purpose of placing or holding such persons, whether for pay
or not, in involuntary servitude (domestic, sexual or reproductive), in forced or bonded labour, or
in slavery-like conditions, in a community other than the one in which such persons lived at the
time of the original deception, coercion or debt bondage.” 39
1.10 Key elements for SC Alliance work on child trafficking

As has been discussed, the current international legal framework related to ‘child trafficking’ and
‘sale of children’ may at times be confusing, and limited in scope. In practice, rather than the
protection of the rights of victims of trafficking, international crime-control aspects seem to
predominate. Nevertheless, the Palermo Protocol is at present the only international instrument
that provides for an internationally accepted definition of human trafficking. In addition, and
looking at the long list of possible violations of children’s fundamental rights as a result of child
trafficking, sale of children or irregular migration resulting in the worst forms of child labour,
including sexual exploitation, the provisions of CRC, including the CRC Protocol are
36 For information on UNIFEM work on trafficking see: www.unifem.org .

37 See for more details on anti-trafficking work by Anti-Slavery . www.stophumantrafic.org/faq.html .
38 For the full text of the SAARC Convention on preventing and combating trafficking in Women and Children see:
www.saarc-sec.org/publication/conv-traffiking.pdf .
39 For further details see:. http://www.inet.co.th/org/gaatw/ .

23
fundamental instruments that will continue to guide the rights-based work of child rights
organisations such as SC on child trafficking.
Governments are bound by obligations stemming from the wide range of international
conventions ratified by them. The work of NGOs however, does not necessarily have to be
limited because of perceived restrictions in legal definitions contained therein. Thus, in order to
prevent and address the consequences of both cross-border and internal child trafficking for
example, SC members may decide to base their work on the Palermo Protocol combined with
other relevant international legal instruments that provide for a broader framework for their
activities.
In conclusion, key elements for the common SC approach to combating child trafficking have
come out from the data collection and are as follows:
1. A human rights/child rights approach to combat child trafficking. This

implies an approach that goes beyond the criminal justice approach. Even
though advocacy for better police control can be important, the rights of child
victims need to be protected at all times, since stricter immigration policies
have so far backfired and made children more vulnerable to trafficking.
International legal instruments related to the protection of children’s rights
could complement the criminal justice approach laid down in the Palermo
Protocol.
2. The best interests of the child prevail at all times. This principle has to be
respected at all times, in all phases of possible child trafficking or prevention of
child trafficking strategies.
3. A child can under no circumstances consent to their own trafficking and/or

exploitation. Even though children have an evolving capacity to participate in
decisions that regard them, in case of child trafficking it is understood that a
child cannot have consented to this. This might seem to imply a tension with a
child’s capacity to make decisions, but this provision is intended to take away
any responsibility from the child regarding a decision to consent to be
trafficked/exploited as well as its consequences.
4. Child Trafficking implies a separation of the child from his/her

community. This separation can have taken place for the purpose of
exploitation, or the exploitation may have occurred after the child was separated
from his/her community.
5. Trafficking can be proven in one phase of the trafficking process in order

to define the process as such. It follows from this that the life cycle of the
trafficking experience has to be taken into consideration in SC work on child
trafficking, including separation of children, border issues and the exploitation
6. International legal provisions call for prevention of child trafficking,

protection, rehabilitation and social reintegration of child trafficking
victims. Both States and actors of civil society such as NGOs are called up to
assume their responsibilities and complement each other’s efforts in this regard.

24
2. SC Alliance initiatives against child trafficking
Introduction
This chapter provides a review of anti-child trafficking initiatives that have been undertaken by
members of the SC Alliance and their partners. The information was provided by individual SC
members and is not based on independent research and evaluation. Therefore, it is not
comprehensive, and tends to be descriptive rather than analytical40. An overview of SC
programmes by region/country is included in the matrix in Annex 3.
After a short introduction for each region, the main characteristics of the child trafficking
programmes in the region are described under the following headings:
1) research, advocacy, awareness raising
2) prevention, protection, reintegration and social rehabilitation
3) capacity building, child participation and gender-specific anti-child trafficking
programmes.
A second section in each region is dedicated to a description of programmes, by way of

illustration.
2.1.Africa
2.1.1 Save the Children’s child trafficking initiatives in West Africa
In Africa, child trafficking is not a new phenomenon. Research in recent years has revealed the
scale of the problem and shed light on some of the devastating consequences for the children
involved therein. Up to now, most child trafficking research and interventions seem to have been
concentrated on West Africa. In that region, children are often trafficked from rural areas by
locals, who try to convince parents of their intention to ‘help’ the children. The common story is
about a ‘goodwill uncle or aunt’ (the agent) who wants to help his brother’s son or daughter to
find his or her way in life by providing transport and accommodation abroad or in big cities, or
promising education. Once authorization from the parents is received, the children are trafficked
and placed for exploitation, sometimes in different countries. It is often the agent who receives
the salary of the children, and in most cases no contact is maintained with the parents or the
village of origin, although sometimes the agent may send money or gifts to the parents to make
them believe the children are truly at school or working.
In West Africa, both internal trafficking and cross-border trafficking of children are very
common41. Internal trafficking may involve children who leave rural areas for urban areas. It can
also occur through the traditional placement of children with the ‘extended family’ or friends,
arising from a context of solidarity and the wish to educate children. Cross-border trafficking
includes movements of children from one country to another; studies have revealed clearly
established trafficking routes involving Benin, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Togo,
Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, and Niger. Most boys are trafficked for working in
plantations (cocoa, coffee and cotton farms), whereas girls are mainly exploited as maids or
40 A January 2003 draft version of this working paper contained a more detailed overview of individual programs as well
as regional activities by entities other than Save the Children Members or partners.
41 According to information received from SC Sweden.

25
servants in restaurants. Child trafficking for sexual exploitation has been alleged in a few cases
but most of these reports were not confirmed, except for cases of sexual exploitation in Nigeria.
At a regional level, coordinating efforts have resulted in the recent setting up of a Regional
Interagency Working Group including UNICEF, ILO-IPEC, IOM UNODC and SC Sweden. In
addition, a regional plan of action on child trafficking was adopted in the framework of
ECOWAS, and a first follow-up meeting took place in December 2002 in Togo. Furthermore, a
MOU is under discussion on regional cooperation between countries on child trafficking in the
region. According to the information received, there is a SC Alliance Working Group on Child
Trafficking in West Africa.
In section 2.1.2, three SC funded programmes in West Africa are described briefly. Child
Trafficking in this region is mainly addressed in the context of the worst forms of child labour,
since the victims are working far away from their families, without any protection of their rights.
Child Trafficking is increasingly addressed as a separate issue. At present, SC Sweden and SC
Canada are supporting regional and national child trafficking initiatives in Mali, Ivory Coast and
Burkina Faso. These programmes entail activities at different levels, ranging from awareness
raising and advocacy, to protection and rehabilitation of child trafficking victims. SC Canada and
SC Sweden are increasing their efforts to coordinate certain aspects of their programmes. For
example, a letter of intention has been signed between SC Canada and SC Sweden to co-operate
on training in the region. A third programme in the region is funded by SC US, the focus of which
is on prevention and awareness raising activities in the border region Kolondieba, in Mali, which
borders with Ivory Coast.
.
2.1.1.1 Research, advocacy, awareness raising
SC members generally have not carried out preliminary research before initiating child trafficking
activities in the region, but have based their activities mainly on research by different
international institutions. For example, a UNICEF Ivory Coast study of December 1998 on
international child trafficking found proof of trafficking of children from Mali to Ivory Coast.
Mali has been identified as the main provider for child labourers in the agricultural plantations in
Ivory Coast. The regional project elaborated and implemented by SC Canada fits in the
framework of a national programme, which was adopted by the Malian Government in 2000.42
Following initial advocacy and awareness raising efforts to create a favourable environment for
the struggle against child trafficking, SC Canada launched its pilot project in Mali to address
child trafficking from Mali to plantations in Ivory Coast, in collaboration with national
institutions in Mali.
The main activities of SC Sweden in its regional project on child trafficking have been oriented
towards advocacy efforts, inter alia to strengthen the legal framework and ratification efforts for
international conventions, as well as awareness raising, through the organisation of public and
community campaigns. The need for further research on child trafficking has also been stressed,
in particular on the issue of the psychosocial healing of victims.
42 Following the publication of the research on CT with the information on trafficked children from Mali and the problem
of CT in the region, in 2000, the Government of Mali adopted an urgent action plan to fight the cross-border CT. The
comprehensive document that contains this originally 18 months plan, (which eventually became a mid-term program),
provides an overview of research that has been done by UNICEF Ivory Coast and the joint investigation of UNICEF
Mali and the Ministry for the Promotion of Women, Children and the Family. It defines objectives of the national plan
and strategies ranging from cooperation agreements and the organisation of repatriation interventions.

26
The SC US sponsored project in the Kolondieba Disctrict, aims at creating awareness on the risks
of child trafficking at the community level through workshops and the training on child
trafficking.
2.1.1.2 Prevention, protection, reintegration and social rehabilitation

The project funded by SC Canada, included an interesting experience with the setting up and
operation of a transit centre in Sikasso, Mali. In collaboration with local authorities, actions were
undertaken to the prevention of child trafficking through the interception of potential child
victims who were likely to be trafficked to Ivory Coast, as well as activities to protect and
rehabilitate and social reintegration of child trafficking victims who had been repatriated from the
plantations in Ivory Coast and were brought to the transit centre. The success of the project led
the elaboration of a further regional project expanding the current activities. Additional research
on child trafficking has become an integral part of the SC Canada funded project, in particular
into the issue of social reintegration of former child trafficking victims. SC Sweden foresees in
its future interventions the setting up of similar transit centres and intends to support
implementation of protection and prevention mechanisms in the region.
2.1.1.3 Capacity building, child participation and gender-specific anti-child trafficking

programmes.
With regard to capacity building on child trafficking, training workshops for families and
authorities and other local partners involved in child trafficking have been an important
component in the three programmes in the region. Following such training sessions, monitoring
mechanisms were set up in the Kolondieba District such as village committees on trafficking. SC
Sweden has supported several workshops with police, military and customs, the judiciary and
social workers and has elaborated a training manual on child trafficking for these groups. Joint
training with SC Canada on child trafficking, using this manual is foreseen for the near future.
In October 2000, in the framework of the initiative of SC Canada, a Pilot Committee on the
struggle against child trafficking was established in Burkina Faso, which is composed of the
Ministry of Labour, the Ministry for Social Action, UNICEF, ILO, SCUK and SC Canada, which
has been involved in preparing for activities on child trafficking in Burkina Faso43.
In terms of child participation, in November 2001, and as a by-effect of the programme,

repatriated child trafficking victims and the regional Parliament of Children of Sikasso decided to
form a children’s association against child trafficking, they called ‘Horon Den’. This organisation
is meant to get children involved in the planning, running and evaluation of the project against
child trafficking. A consultative children’s committee on the bilateral project that will start in
2003 will be established, with a role in the elaboration of an awareness program and the training
of peer-educators, the development of the research methodologies and data collection, and
making sure that the rights and opinions of children are respected in the repatriation and
reinsertion process.
The programme funded by SC Canada also intends to include a gender-approach in future actions.
For this purpose a first study into the fate and needs of trafficked girls has been undertaken.
43 The Government of Burkina Faso is at present finalizing a National Plan and national legislation on CT.

27
2.1.2 Save the Children’s child trafficking programmes in West Africa
Transit Centre ‘Horon So’ Sikasso, Mali and regional program against child trafficking (SC
Canada)
SC Canada started with advocacy activities on child trafficking in Mali in 1999, followed by a
pilot anti-trafficking project “ Transit Centre for Trafficked Children”. The transit centre, called
‘Horon So’ was opened on 10 October 2000 in Sikasso, a middle-large city at the border of Mali
with Ivory Coast. 44 On the basis of this first experience, SC Canada prepared a wider, regional
project proposal, to combat child trafficking in Benin, Togo, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast.
45
The overall objective of the programme is to contribute to the eradication of child trafficking,
primarily child trafficking from Mali to Ivory Coast.
Components of the programme
In terms of the protection of child trafficking victims, the project provides physical and
psychological care for repatriated children, after having been ‘sold’ to work on the plantations in
Ivory Coast, or those who have been intercepted by the police. So far, over 156 intercepted and
68 repatriated children have stayed in the transit centre. Several partners are participating in the
project: the Government of Mali, the Ministry for the Promotion of Women, Children and the
Family; IOM, and other local or international NGOs.
Regarding rehabilitation of child trafficking victims, Horon So uses an individualized
methodology to accompany each child that has come to the centre, so that special problems can
be taken into consideration. Children have usually stayed between 5-7 days in the transit centre to
receive guidance, psychosocial help, medical attention, and to participate in awareness raising
activities. Horon So was set up in response to a specific need to take temporary care of children
who are victims of child trafficking or who have been intercepted. The new project foresees the
continuation of protection activities in the transit centre, and the setting up of one new transit
centre in Burkina Faso, in cooperation with local Burkinabé NGOs as well as the support of the
organization of social reintegration activities in that country.
With regard to social reintegration in the community of origin, once a child has clearly
expressed his/her will to return, and he/she is judged sufficiently fit (including emotionally) to
return, a social worker of the centre and a representative of the Ministry of the Promotion of
Women, Children and the Family accompany the child back to his/her village or community and
hand him/her over to the authorities in charge of bringing him/her back to his/her parents.
The signing of a bilateral agreement between Mali and Ivory Coast has been a collateral but
crucial aspect for the success of that programme has been.
In terms of awareness raising activities and the creation of strategic cooperation networks, SC
Canada signed a co-operation protocol with the Union of Drivers-Transporters of Sikasso.
Members of the union had previously been accused of involvement in child trafficking, and by
signing the protocol became an important partner in the struggle against child trafficking. The
union has committed itself to monitor the movement of children and inform police authorities and
Horon So, if necessary. SC Canada has signed a similar co-operation protocol with the
Association of Hunters, which carries out a security function in the border region. In the
framework of the new project, children, parents, communities and leaders will be approached
44SC New Zealand has financially contributed to the programme, and the programme has also received funding from
SC Finland in 2002 (the salary of a media/advocacy coordinator, support to the transit centre, and awareness raising
activities and research work). SC Finland intends to use this experience to create awareness in Finland about the
conditions of CT and child labour in the cocoa production.
45 This follow-up proposal has been submitted to CIDA for funding and will receive final approval in the course of
2003…

28
through awareness raising activities, such as initiatives with existing associations for example,
such as theatre clubs, through the Association of Griots and through child-to-child methodology.
Conform to the agreement signed between Mali and Ivory Coast, on-site research on the
plantations in Ivory Coast was scheduled to take place in March 2001 by the Governments of
Mali and Ivory Coast, and experts of IOM and UNICEF. In April 2001, the Government of Ivory
Coast decided to interrupt the investigation, and after long negotiations it was agreed these would
resume by the end of 2002. With the political situation in Ivory Coast, there is a big doubt that
this will be done.
At the beginning of 2002, an external evaluation was carried out, involving stakeholders in the
programme, as an integral part of the initiative. A comprehensive report on the outcome of the
evaluation was made available, which contains important conclusions and recommendations as to
the pertinence, impact and effectiveness of the child trafficking programme. These conclusions
have been taken into account in the elaboration of a bilateral project document, which is to start in
2003. Following the recommendations of the evaluation, during 2002, a study on social
reintegration was carried out. With regard to further research on child trafficking, SC Canada
furthermore plans to carry out research in Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin and Togo, with the help of
consultants or local NGOs. The situation of trafficking in girls will receive particular attention
in new research that will be undertaken, since intercepted girls in the first part of the programme
in Mali had not arrived at their final destination, and thus the reasons for their trafficking and
their final destinations remained unclear. Results of the research will be presented in national
workshops, or at a regional level, if possible.
Capacity building and networking: SC Canada is a member of the “Comité de Suivi de trafic
des enfants”, which was created to provide follow-up to bilateral agreement signed between Mali
and Ivory Coast in 2001. In April 2002 an MOU was signed between IOM and SC Canada,
related to the establishment of an IOM office in the Horon So transit centre. IOM also committed
to assuming the responsibility for the repatriation of children from the plantations in Ivory Coast
to the transit centre, and to their final destination. This cooperation implies important progress in
the continuation and effectiveness of the programme. IOM will provide medical support to
children repatriated or intercepted in Horon So and will also support the social reintegration of the
children that have already been repatriated or intercepted in Mali. Finally, the new project will
focus on capacity building on child trafficking-action of (potential) partners in Mali, Burkina
Faso Ivory Coast, Togo and Benin, including parliamentarians, journalists, and members of police
and gendarmerie with the collaboration of SC Sweden. Activities like the training on child rights
and child trafficking, implementation of village committees, strengthening of the legal
framework, advocacy and networking will be implemented.

29
Regional Child Trafficking Programme of SC Sweden in West Africa (SC Sweden)

SC Sweden started addressing child trafficking in 1998 in West Africa, with the funding of a
regional NGOs’ workshop on child trafficking. At present, the office cooperates on child
trafficking with a network of 15 NGOs, coordinated by WAO-Afrique, an NGO based in Togo.46
Three years’ MOU’s have been signed with these NGOs ensuring their cooperation on child
trafficking. SC Sweden is at present also supporting an NGO regional programme against child
trafficking.
Components of the programme:
Advocacy and awareness raising activities, include public and community campaigns through
opinion leaders, use of popular radio and television shows and traditional tools of
communication; involvement of community and religious leaders; wide media coverage of the
problem; strengthening the legal framework at the national and regional levels includes advocacy
for ratification of relevant international conventions; strengthening implementation of laws
related to child trafficking; applying regulations on the movement of children. SC Sweden has
found that in depth-research is needed for further action, for instance on strengthening the legal
framework, which seems weak in the region. ILO organized a workshop in February 2003 in
Libreville for the harmonisation of national legislation in West and Central Africa, the
conclusions of which have been incorporated in the training manual elaborated with the help of
SC Sweden.
Community-based pilot projects in countries of origin form part of a prevention and protection
strategy. The programme provides financial and technical support creating awareness through
training on the rights of the child in five countries; setting up transit centres for reception of
victims of trafficking (Ivory Coast); rehabilitation of children through alternative education, in
accordance with their opinion, and repatriation of children to their families (Ivory Coast to Mali
and Burkina Faso). SC Sweden intends to support the establishment of rehabilitation and transit
centres, to house children in the host countries, and has identified a need for training of
specialized personnel and medical intervention and psychosocial protection for victims for
trafficking, and improvement of the identification process of child trafficking victims.
In terms of networking and prevention of child trafficking, village committees will be created
to keep an eye on child traffickers. The promotion of education as a preventive strategy includes
community projects like a ‘ girl-to girl’-initiative; teachers training workshops on the rights of the
child; integration of child trafficking into education programmes. SC Sweden is participating as
an observer in the National Committee on Child Trafficking in Ivory Coast and co-operation with
ILO-IPEC, IOM and UNICEF is envisaged for the ratification of international instruments
through a regional working group, which was created for this purpose. With WAO-Afrique
networking efforts are being undertaken amongst partner NGOs including EASEMO and
Communauté Abel in Ivory Coast, Terre des Hommes in Benin, Centre Djoliba and Kanuya in
Mali, ABSE and GRABD in Burkina Faso.
With regard to capacity building, SC Sweden focuses on the training of local partners, including
NGOs, civil servants, police, immigration officers and members of the judiciary. A training
manual on child trafficking has been validated in February 2003 during a regional workshop by
representatives of the police, military and customs, the judiciary and social workers. UNICEF,
UNODC, ECOWAS and SC Canada were represented at this workshop and they adopted a plan
of actions for the training. This training of trainers will start in the region as soon as possible.
Support to working children’s networks in West Africa and the participation of children in
planning running and evaluation are key strategies for the programme, and enhancement of so-
called ‘minors brigades’ is intended in order involve children in anti-child trafficking initiatives.
46 For further details on the network see www.membres.lycos.fr/waoafrique/texte/ong.htm .

30
Child Trafficking initiative in Kolondieba, Mali (SC US)

SC US/US’s Sahel Field Office began supporting anti-trafficking awareness raising activities in
Kolondieba, Mali in May 200147. Children and adults from the Kolondieba district of Mali, which
borders Ivory Coast, have in recent years migrated to the wealthier Ivory Coast. Activities in the
region led to the conclusion that some of these children are forced to travel and work, or are
abused and exploited in Ivory Coast. The activities conducted since May 2001 include the
development of a Kolondieba District Plan Against Trafficking. Twelve decentralised forums
were organized with over 1000 participants from local government and civil society and
exploitation and child trafficking was discussed on local radio broadcasts. Village committees on
trafficking were established and theatre productions focusing on trafficking and exploitation were
shown in 20 border communities.
Since August 2002, SC US has also been conducting and finalizing a qualitative study on
perceptions and experiences of child labour migration in Mali’s southern regions bordering on
Côte d’Ivoire. When the study is finalized, it will be circulated widely to Alliance members and
to other interested parties in Mali.
2.2 South East Asia
2.2.1 Save the Children’s child trafficking initiatives in South East Asia
In South East Asia (SEA), in view of the magnitude of the problem of child trafficking for child
labour and sexual exploitation, there have been considerable efforts to establish (sub) regional
networks and programmes to combat trafficking in persons, and child trafficking in particular. In
comparison to other regions, in that lack of such networks, these initiatives have created a more
favourable political environment for the setting up of (new) child trafficking programs and
projects, and to exchange experience and expertise on the subject. Most Governments and NGOs
have been in contact with either one of the established networks, and can thus draw from their
know-how, or adhere to existing sub-regional programmes and initiatives.
In recent years, a number of international organisations such as ILO, UNICEF and others have
initiated large-scale anti-trafficking programmes, focussing on women and children. These
programmes have resulted in an increased attention to the matter from many other international
and organisations and institutions.
Child Trafficking, and in particular the trafficking of girls has been found to be a large-scale
problem in the SEA region. The traditionally inferior position of girls and women in the region
makes them prone to be victimised by traffickers. The increasing demand for prostitutes in the
ever-growing sex- tourism industry is a strong pull-factor. The will to contribute to the
improvement of a family’s economic situation, combined with the ignorance on the consequences
of trafficking often leads family members to offer their children to persons who promise to place
them for work and give them a better future.
SC members have supported child trafficking-initiatives in Cambodia, China, Lao PDR,

Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, related to legal research as well as a national programme to
47 This initiative received funding from SC Sweden in 2001.

31
combat sexual exploitation in Cambodia. As a follow-up to the regional legal research project
carried out in 2000-2001, further initiatives will concentrate on awareness raising on such
regulations, the enhancement thereof and the implementation of the rules at a national level.
In addition, SC UK has been supporting a regional initiative on Participatory Action Research

(PAR) on child trafficking in China, Myanmar and Thailand, since 1999. Initial research has led
to the formulation of further concrete activities on child trafficking. A second phase of the
programme will concentrate on similar research in Lao PDR and Vietnam as well as an expansion
of the current activities that have been developed as a result of the initial research. Aspects of this
regional programme with national and local activities are described in more detail hereafter.
2.2.1.1 Research, advocacy, awareness raising activities

As stated above, in terms of research, comparative legal research and PAR research programmes
on child trafficking have been important components of the SC child trafficking activities in this
region. Both programmes contain advocacy activities as a means of follow-up to initial research
and to ensure the continued commitment of decision makers at al levels. As a result of advocacy
efforts in Cambodia, the Government of Cambodia is at present negotiating a MOU with Thailand
on the repatriation of trafficking victims. A similar MOU has been proposed to Vietnam.
Awareness raising efforts in the framework of this programme were followed by the training on
child rights for judicial authorities and police.
Several awareness raising activities took place in the framework of the regional PAR programme.
For example, in Lao PDR, SC UK and the Lao Youth Union carried media campaigns,
community prevention projects and repatriation schemes, recognizing that there is little reliable
data and limited experience in cross-border work and a need for appropriate approaches to be
developed.
2.2.1.2 Prevention, protection, reintegration and social rehabilitation.

PAR research has been important for the elaboration of action plans to prevent and combat child
trafficking and to protect, rehabilitate and socially reintegrate (former) child trafficking victims in
their communities of origin. Such plans will be implemented in different countries as part of the
SC UK funded programme as of 2003. The first category of initiatives was composed of
awareness raising activities to promote behavioural changes among out-of-school young persons
in the project area, including non-formal education activities. A second group of initiatives
entailed actions by young people in the communities, upon identification of problems through
field research. They prepared small pilot activities proposals, in collaboration with the cross-
border team, which included proposals for activities that were submitted to other agencies such as
UNDCP. Other activities aimed at the strengthening of existing community structures, such as
reinforcing the mandate of existing community protection committees. Finally, the project
encouraged and supported the development of service provision in migrant communities.
The national programme in Cambodia facilitated the rehabilitation of children in shelters, the
provision of legal assistance to child trafficking victims and finally, the reintegration in their
communities of origin. Activities at the community level including the setting up of monitoring
systems at community level, were intended to prevent further trafficking of children for sexual
and labour exploitation.
2.2.1.3 Capacity building, child participation and gender-specific child trafficking

programmes
The PAR project is aiming at increasing local ownership of the child trafficking programme at the
community level, in order to ensure long-term sustainability. The first projects that were

32
implemented were initiated by the project team with maximum participation of children, through
‘participatory learning activities’ such as adolescent reproductive health workshops. Another an
example of child participation and capacity building on child trafficking in this region, is a joint
project by the Lao Youth Union and SCUK which has provided workshop and training in PAR
for central and provincial authorities, district and village authorities and youth-field researchers,
initially in 6 villages in western LAO PDR bordering Thailand, Myanmar and China (Bokeo,
Sayaboury and Luang Nam Tha). Follow-up will take the form of research, continued training
and monitoring, analysis, discussion of preliminary findings and dissemination of results and
recommendations for future activities. The early strengths have been a good cooperation from
local authorities, strengthening of links between local communities and provincial and national
authorities, and the promotion of a multi-agency approach and facilitating access to remote ethnic
communities.
With regard to gender-specific activities, the comparative legal study for the countries in the
Mekong region specifically addressed the issue of trafficking of children and women.
Furthermore, the project proposal for the continuation of the PAR project has identified the
following target groups: children from poor households, out-of school children, children of
minority populations, children without parental care and in particular girls because of their
particular vulnerability for trafficking. The project will benefit from existing expertise of other
agencies that are active in the region with child trafficking programmes, such as the ILO-TICW.
An Interagency Agreement of Understanding between the SCUK and ILO-TICW is being
discussed. SC UK is also active in the Regional Trafficking Working Group led by UN-IAP,
which will allow it to bring in expertise and information from that programme.
Another example of a gender-specific approach can be found in the original PAR project in
China, in Ruili County, which borders with the Northern Shan State in Myanmar. Initial PAR
research identified issues at a community level around HIV, and prevention and care initiatives
were elaborated with both vulnerable Burmese and Chinese migrant and trafficked women and
children. The Ruili Women’s and Children’s Development Centre was established and activities
aiming at vulnerable women and girls at risk of migration and trafficking were initiated, including
health education and clinical care to migrants and commercial sex workers, outreach and
counselling and advocacy with the Government, townships and villages on the needs of these
groups. Key activities of the centre include training of community workers on
HIV/AIDS/STD/Drugs, life skills and community work skills; health and psychological support
for children at risk. SCUK partners in China have also worked on issues such as law education
women’s rights education, participation of community-based plan of action based on anti-
trafficking and prevention training (Longmie Village). Furthermore, SCUK has promoted the
development of core curricula on life skills for middle school students in order to protect
themselves in the event of their choosing to migrate to urban areas knowing that many cases
classified as ‘trafficking’ actually begin as ‘voluntary migration’.
2.2.1.4 Regional Working Group of SC members in South East Asia

In terms of networking and institutional capacity building on child trafficking, SC members are
participating in the SC Alliance Regional Anti-Trafficking Working Group, which at present is
functioning as an ‘interest group’. There has been a delay in the implementation of the plans that
were foreseen for 2002, i.e. a regional mapping exercise of Alliance members and their activities
to combat trafficking, development of a plan to maximize the use of the comparative legal studies
and an advocacy paper. According to information received from SC Norway the working group is
developing into a joint regional SC project. The regional committee has initiated a study on
community prevention ‘best practices’, which will be developed into a regional SC resource base
in 2003.

33
2.2.1.5 Regional Workshop of SC members in South East Asia

In August 2002, a regional workshop took place in Lao PDR for SC country teams, partners and
other key partners from China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam in cross-border
initiatives against trafficking of children in the region. The report of the workshop contains
interesting summaries on the discussions on PAR, ways of working, strategic programming and
impact monitoring. Whereas the agreement on the adoption of the Palermo Protocol definition
and an internal framework for future regional proposal were important aspects of the workshop,
bilateral country meetings between the country teams also appeared extremely helpful in
identifying gaps and obstacles, and in finding ways to improve their cross-border collaboration.
IOM Bangkok also participated in the workshop with a presentation of the regional activities on
countering trafficking in persons.
2.2.2 Save the Children’s child trafficking programmes in South East

Asia
Comparative Study on the Legal Provisions of the Six Countries in the Mekong Sub-region
with Respect to Trafficking in Women and Children (SC Norway/ SC Sweden)
The Comparative Study on the Legal Provisions of the Six Countries in the Mekong Sub-region
with Respect to Trafficking in Women and Children, updated in 2001, provides a review of
existing legislation in each of the countries, analysed in the contexts of prevention of trafficking,
protection, repatriation and reintegration of trafficked victims and regional cooperation for such
efforts. A second document, the Advocacy Paper on Comparative Laws of the Countries in the
Mekong Sub-region With Respect to Trafficking in Women and Children was meant to facilitate
advocacy on child trafficking, in particular, the establishment of regional mechanisms to combat
trafficking on the basis of the findings of the first report. It has been used to raise awareness of
the Governments and the public on issues of children’s rights and trafficking of children, and
includes a survey of experiences from other organisations.
Participatory Action Research (PAR) in South East Asia (SC UK)

Between 1999 and 2001 SC UK supported the Participatory Action Research (PAR) programme
with migrant children and young persons along cross-border areas in China, Myanmar and
Thailand, which found strong indications about the vulnerability of children living in and passing
through border areas as to trafficking, abuse, HIV/AIDS and reproductive health risk, sexual
exploitation, child labour and violence. In a second phase, and based on previous experiences,
similar research will continue in the countries mentioned and new research will be initiated in Lao
PDR and Vietnam. The project proposal by SCUK, at present under consideration for funding,
provides for an integrated approach to the trafficking problem. Previous research proved that
poverty, lack of education and vocational skills, as well as the presence of family and community
problems such as drugs and HIV/AIDS increase young people’s risk of being trafficked. A
generalized regional strategy would not meet the unique needs of local communities nor would it
allow for an understanding of local barriers to education and health services and employment
opportunities or the dynamics in which trafficking and related issues such as poverty, migration,
drug use and HI/AIDS are evolving. The programme hopes to reach 8000 persons in China,
25.000 in Lao PDR, 35.000 in Myanmar, 10.000 in Thailand, 28.000 in Vietnam and 6000 in
Cambodia.
The first phase of the PAR project in Thailand allowed SCUK to identify and establish contacts
with UN, NGOs, CBOs, interested individuals and other agencies working on trafficking. Since

34
then, networks have been developed and the role of SCUK will be to identify gaps in the work of
CBOs and NGOs working on the subject and to provide appropriate support to achieve the project
objectives.
Social reintegration: To date 71 trafficked girls and women have been repatriated from
Thailand, with assistance from SC-UK for both repatriation and reintegration. 15 family tracings
and family assessments have been undertaken in recent months. The girls and women will be
repatriated when the border opens.
Future strategies will continue to be based on participatory action and participatory learning.
Peer education programmes on reproductive health and life skills expanded in Northern Shan,
Kayin and Mon States, in Myanmar. 26 training of trainer workshops on adolescent reproductive
health had reached 510 villages where 31.938 children and young people participated. 170 life
skills training were conducted, 3.046 youth participated.
Replication of the project: SC UK, SC Sweden and Oxfam Quebec Vietnam, in collaboration
with a number of Vietnamese agencies and ministries have initiated in January 2002 a joint
project to address the problem of child trafficking in the three Northern provinces of Vietnam,
which started with a rapid assessment in 12 communes. Dependent on the outcomes further
interventions will be defined, complementing the ongoing activities of IOM (reintegration and
micro-credit) ILO (capacity building and job creation) and the UN (advocacy) or other regional
partners.
Networking and capacity building. Strategic links will be made with relevant programmes
such as HIV/AIDS, education, and physical protection depending on the specific priority needs of
each of the countries. In view of the limited resources, it will be extremely important to draw on
existing resources in communities and to coordinate among agencies working in the field. In June
2002, the Myanmar programme organized a country workshop on strategic planning and impact
monitoring which fed into the regional level strategic planning and impact monitoring exercise in
August 2002.
Opposing Conditions Causing the Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of Children (SC Norway)
This programme has been carried out in Cambodia between 1998 and 2002, however at the
moment of writing this report it was unclear whether these objectives had been received.
Through intensive community-wide awareness raising activities on sexual exploitation and
abuse until 2001, 42.824 children were reached in 28 communes (5 provinces). In addition
national level training of police and judicial authorities took place. 23 children were rescued from
brothels in Phnom Penh.
Protection and rehabilitation: 164 children were provided a safe place in centres in Phnom
Penh and Svay Rieng of which 95 were reintegrated to their families or communities. SC
intervened in a number of cases of rape, trafficking and sexual abuse, and three cases were taken
to court. SC furthermore reported 105 cases to the abuse-hotline of the Ministry of Interior. The
programme continued in 2002 aiming at the rescue and provision of legal assistance of 150
sexually abused and exploited children. Furthermore, documentation of children at risk of
commercial sexual exploitation /abuse in 48 communes of 4 provinces was foreseen, for the
purpose of monitoring village level trafficking.
Prevention activities would be organized for local authorities and schoolteachers, local police,
villagers and children. Non-formal education, literacy training and life skills training would be
provided to victimized children and children at high risk through the centres in Phnom Penh and
Siem Reap, and the children would be reunited with their families.

35
2.3 South and Central Asia
2.3.1 Save the Children’s child trafficking initiatives in South and

Central Asia
In South and Central Asia (SCA), child trafficking for labour exploitation and in particular for the
sexual exploitation of girls, is generally recognized as a large-scale problem. Although it is hard
to come to conclusions for the region, since the child trafficking phenomenon is very different in
each situation, some trends have been identified such as the main flow of cross-border trafficking
from Bangladesh to Pakistan and India for sexual exploitation.48 There are also indicators of
large-scale trafficking for labour exploitation, in particular boys who are sold in India to work as
camel jockeys in the countries of the Persian Gulf. Gender-discrimination seems to be a major
cause for the large-scale trafficking of women and children in the region.
SC partner the Social Legal Aid Research and Training Centre of Calcutta in India has reported
on the severity of the problem of child trafficking in the region. According to the research
organized criminal groups are active in India, Nepal and Bangladesh. Mostly poor and illiterate
young girls of remote areas of Nepal and Bangladesh are lured to go to India for better jobs, good
life and better opportunities, and end up being sold for prostitution purposes. The inadequate
criminal justice systems and porous border of India with Nepal and Bangladesh contribute to the
continuation of child trafficking. The low status of women and the growing sex tourism are other
contributing factors for the growing demand. Sri Lanka and India are favourite destinations of sex
tourists from other parts of the world, whereas Bangladesh and Nepal, the poorest countries in the
region are the main source countries. India and Pakistan are the key destination countries. India
has been identified as source, transit and destination country receiving women and children from
Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, and sending them to Europe and the Middle
East.
Of all SC anti-trafficking initiatives, most programmes seem to be concentrated in this region.

The programmes range widely in characteristics and several initiatives target child trafficking
from all perspectives. SC members and partners have actively participated in many existing
regional and national anti-child trafficking networks such as the Regional Conference on Children
and Work, with special focus on Worst Forms of Child Labour; Regional Stocktaking of Work
against Trafficking of Women and Children with UNICEF (2000). Awareness raising and
advocacy initiatives have been carried out in most countries where SC is present. Direct
intervention programmes have been developed, with activities of protection and rehabilitation of
former child trafficking victims, in particular in Bangladesh and Nepal.
With regard to advocacy SC members and partners have joined in with important regional efforts
to fight the phenomenon. The existence of such regional networks and regional coordinating
efforts such as under the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC), have
contributed to the creation of a relatively favourable environment to fight against child trafficking
in the region, as is the case in Europe and South East Asia.
48
UNICEF estimates that yearly 4,500 children are trafficked from Bangladesh to India, but recent figures might be
much higher.

36
2.3.1.1 Advocacy initiatives in the framework of the South Asian Association for Regional
Co-operation (SAARC)
In January 2002, SC Alliance jointly with UNICEF ROSA sponsored a two-day consultative
conference of South Asian NGOs to discuss and to provide substantive ‘child-friendly’’
comments and amendments on two conventions that were adopted in the context of the South
Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC). Once ratified, the Convention on
Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution and the
Convention for Regional Arrangements for the Promotion of Child Welfare in South Asia will be
important instruments for the implementation of anti-trafficking legislation and programmes in
the region. The regional SC programme will carry out continued lobby efforts, in collaboration
with UNICEF ROSA and other NGOs to ensure that the recommended amendments and
implementations to the relevant anti-trafficking and child welfare conventions will be
incorporated in the convention and/or national legislation. Moreover, a MOU between SC,
UNICEF and SAARC will be developed for that purpose. A regionally based child rights NGO
network will be solidified through an e-bulletin to exchange news, information, advocacy
strategies and tools related to child trafficking. Results of the national studies will be shared with
INGOs, NGOs, CBOs and children in each of the countries.
In an effort to improve regional interagency coordination, in June 2002 a meeting was convened
by several UN agencies and other regional organisations active in the field of sexual abuse, sexual
exploitation and trafficking. The outcome of the meeting was the establishment of the South Asia
Coordination and Strategic Support Group Against Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking in
Children and Women. SC Alliance participated in the meeting and presented the work carried out
in the region.
2.3.1.2 Research, advocacy, awareness raising

In SCA, research into legislative aspects has been an important component of child trafficking
initiatives carried out with the support of SC SCA. In the course of 2001, SC counterparts carried
out studies in Bangladesh49, India50, and Nepal51 entitled Analysis of laws related to trafficking of
children, child protection and the existing situation in (country) from the perspective of the CRC,
CEDAW and other relevant state ratified international legal instruments. These studies will be
validated in the communities where they were researched as well as at the national levels. In
addition, In Nepal several activities focus on the implementation of legislation. The judiciary will
be lobbied to provide for maximum penalties for child traffickers. Action plans will be developed
with children and children’s networks will be included around judicial aspects of child
trafficking. Finally, good practices in the legal sector in punishing child traffickers will be
documented and disseminated. Following up on the research, media awareness campaigns on
child trafficking, national workshops and consultations are organized in almost all participating
countries.
As a SC Norway report points out, even though civil society has been sensitive towards girls
trafficking, there seems to be confusion on trafficking, prostitution and its relation to human
rights. Social and cultural taboos are the major barrier for raising the issue of child sexual abuse
and rehabilitation of trafficked girls. Therefore, further research on child sexual abuse is
49 In Bangladesh, BNWLA carried out the study. SC Denmark acted as the liaison between BNWLA and the Regional
Alliance Office.
50 In India, SC UK and SC SCA sponsored the study carried out by the Socio Legal Aid Research and Training Centre,
Calcutta.
51 In Nepal, SC SCA sponsored the study by AASTHA. SC US acted as the liaison between ASSTHA and the Regional
Alliance Office.

37
scheduled with school children and children in difficult circumstances in Nepal. A three year plan
(2003-2005) in collaboration with five partner organisations, (some of them with experience with
trafficking and the repatriation of girls) will focus on reducing violence and sexual
abuse/exploitation of children and establishing these issues as a social concern and as a
preventive means against trafficking.
In Pakistan, the Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Aid based in Karachi is running advocacy
campaigns on child trafficking, following the preparation of a comprehensive report on the state
of child trafficking in Pakistan, A Journey to Nowhere.52 This SC SCA- sponsored study, relates
inter alia about the fate of very young boys being trafficked or enslaved for camel racing to the
Gulf countries, and explains the dangers of camel racing. Many jockeys get reportedly seriously
injured or might even die. Cooperation with SC Sweden and SC UK on child trafficking
prevention and awareness raising on this issue in Pakistan is under discussion.
A study carried in 2000 out by the Bangladesh National Woman Lawyers Association (BNWLA)
indicated that large numbers of children, and especially girls become victims of trafficking to be
engaged in prostitution in and outside the country. Most girls are taken to brothels in India. Boys
who belong to the age group between 2 and 12 become victims of trafficking are to be engaged in
camel jockeying. The interview-based study also addressed various aspects of trafficking in
children, laws related to trafficking, scenarios of child protection in Bangladesh and the
participation of people in combating trafficking and ensuring the protection of children. The study
furthermore contained case studies of children who have been in the BNWLA shelters and who
survived trafficking and/or sexual exploitation.
2.3.1.3 Prevention, protection, rehabilitation and social reintegration

The protection, rehabilitation and social reintegration of child trafficking victims have been
addressed in several programmes. Examples of projects in this regard are those carried out by
BNWLA in Bangladesh, and Maiti-Nepal in Nepal. Both organisations have been operating
transit and rehabilitation centres where child trafficking victims have access to services related to
their rehabilitation and social reintegration. Both organisations have played an important role in
the rescue of trafficked children and the denouncing of those responsible for the trafficking.
Maiti-Nepal has received support from SC members for a several child trafficking programmes in
different regions in Nepal.
2.3.1.4 Capacity building, child participation and gender-specific programming

In the framework of a regional programme SC SCA is organizing a series of workshops/meetings
in order to enhance the expertise on child trafficking and exchanging experiences on the issue.
The programme aims in particular at capacity building on child participation in child trafficking
initiatives, introducing a child focus in relevant (national) legislation on child trafficking, and
sensitizing authorities on how to involve children in anti-activities and how to assure
representation of their views. In Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Nepal, for example, children’s
discussions on the SAARC Convention will be presented to the respective Governments, and
consultations with children’s groups are foreseen in the follow-up for action plans and
workshops. In Sri Lanka a workshop with children will be organized to provide input to the child
friendly version of the SAARC Convention, in view of the absence of a focal point organisation
in that country. In India, ‘Theatre for Development’ workshops will be conducted with children’s
groups.
52
SC UK acted as a liaison between LHRA and the regional Alliance Office.

38
In Indonesia, SC US has recently initiated an interesting experience with ‘Positive Deviance

Inquiry’ (PDI). Under PDI, participatory research actively involves children, focussing on
positive behavioural elements to prevent engagement in trafficking, in particular for girls, who
may be at risk of trafficking for sexual exploitation in East Java. The aim of such research is the
elaboration of positive preventive mechanisms and grass roots anti-trafficking initiatives. A
second programme is aiming at the prevention child trafficking amongst street-children, by means
of awareness raising and empowerment activities.
With regard to gender-specific programming, taking into account that gender-discrimination is a

major root-cause for the trafficking in girls, one project-proposal by SC India is addressing the
issue of child trafficking in the context of gender-based violence. The situation of women and
girls in that country is particularly worrisome: women and children are trafficked for a variety of
reasons: labour exploitation, marriage, agricultural labour, working in various informal sector
industries, domestic labour, participation in dangerous sports such as camel racing, recruitment in
armed conflict and for sex work.
In Nepal, with the support of SC Norway, SC US, and SC UK, several child trafficking
programmes carried out by counterparts, which are specifically addressing gender-specific
problems. SC US has supported a project in Nuwakot, which aims at the mobilization and
awareness raising amongst girls who are at risk of being trafficked. Research has contributed to
identifying positive elements in the community for protecting girls from trafficking. The active
involvement of high school students, teachers, police and health workers has to contribute to
prevention of child trafficking. In addition, a SC UK- supported programme focuses on the
provision of counselling and information to girls who have been victims of child trafficking,
ensuring a safe space (transit centre) and providing guidance with the reintegration into their
community of origin. Former victims will be increasingly involved in awareness raising and
rehabilitation and protection activities. The SC Norway-supported programme of Maiti-Nepal
provides services to trafficked girls in its transit and rehabilitation centres. Members of the Save
the Children Alliance are currently working on an advanced form of the Alliance Common
Framework of Operations. This will be a unique opportunity to coordinate the anti-trafficking
efforts that have taken place up to now by different SC members, sometimes with the same
partners but working in different areas.
As an example of successful child participation in child trafficking programmes, SC Norway has

established a partnership with Shakti Samuha, an organisation of repatriated girls in Nepal, who
are active in the lobby against child trafficking and which aims at the training of girls groups.
2.3.2 Save the Children’s child trafficking programmes in South and

Central Asia
Combating child trafficking with Children As Partners (SC Alliance South and Central
Asia)
The SC SCA Regional Office, reported on the programme ‘Combating Child Trafficking with
Children As Partners’, which is aiming at the improvement of regional and national level
legislation and enforcement mechanisms addressing child trafficking, and achieving a greater
child focus/sensitivity in the Government, bilateral, multilateral and NGO/civil society around
child trafficking issues. Sponsored by CIDA, and using a rights-based approach, national
reports have been prepared on the legislation in Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India. This
research is being translated into local languages and will be presented in national workshops to
receive feedback and input from various stakeholders including children. A regional report

39
‘Combating trafficking for all purposes’ will be published subsequently.

With regard to the capacity building workshops/meetings, a first meeting of Anti Trafficking
Focal Persons took place from 4-6 March 2003 in New Delhi India. They presented and discussed
child trafficking-work done so far, exchanged conclusions and views on the national studies, and
suggested a consolidation of recommendations common to all the countries. The child rights
based approach was discussed in detail and an initial exploration took place of the possible
application of an Appreciative Inquiry approach (AI) for child trafficking. The latter implies a
focus on what can be changed in a positive way rather than focussing on the negative aspects and
consequences of a problem such as child trafficking. A second level workshop was held May
2003 to elaborate further on the concepts in terms of capacity building and child participation and
involvement of key decision-makers. Third level workshops will take place at the community-
levels, and they will be based on the planning and elaborating strategies set out in the two earlier
level workshops.53
In Bangladesh, following children’s discussions on the SAARC Convention, a national workshop
will be held to present the outcome of the national study, and to develop a national action plan.
Training on child participation will be provided to the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs,
and a trilateral workshop with Alliance members, NGOs, networks and children’s groups in India
and Pakistan will be organized.
In India, national level consultations will be held with government officials, regarding child-
focussed improvements in legislation and enforcement mechanisms. Furthermore, the programme
envisages training programs with police, legal professionals and other officials, and the
development of training modules for professionals whose work impact on child trafficking. The
inclusion of a module on child trafficking in existing training curricula for police, road, and
transport personnel will also be part of the programme. Training on child trafficking will be
provided to NGOs and CBOs, and a directory of resources on child trafficking will be developed.
In order to increase child participation in decisions regarding. Finally, a media awareness
campaign will be developed and research and the mapping of trafficking routes within and
between India and other South Asian countries will be undertaken.
In Nepal, the following activities are foreseen: meetings with the Government to influence the
amendment process of the Children’s Act, and to implement the National Plan of Action. A
partnership with CAP-CRON, a lawyers’ collective, will be established, and interactive meetings
with other organisations working on child trafficking issues will be held. Bilateral workshops will
be organized jointly with India, with a focus on organisations operating in states receiving
trafficked Nepali children.
Integrated Child Labour, Sexual Abuse/Sexual Exploitations and Trafficking Programme

(CLPT) (SC Denmark)
Since 1999, SC Denmark is sponsoring an Integrated Child Labour, Sexual Abuse/Sexual
Exploitations and Trafficking Programme (CLPT) in Bangladesh.
A sub programme addresses child labour in the informal sector in some selected local areas, in the
garment industry and child domestic workers. All partners in their respective areas are raising
awareness on children’s rights issues among families, employers and others in the local
communities. Special attention has been paid to child labour, sexual abuse and trafficking
problems.
Another sub-programme dealt with sexual abuse/sexual exploitation and trafficking. In this
53For more details see the report of the workshop Anti Trafficking Focal Persons’ meeting March 4th-6th, 2003. New
Delhi, India,.SC SCA

40
programme the central element has been the establishment of two reference centres, one in
Calcutta and one in Dhaka, which have provided rehabilitation services and help for victims of
sexual abuse and trafficking.
Support for BNWLA (Joint SC Denmark/ SC Sweden/ SC Australia and SC USA)54

SC Denmark, SC Sweden, SC Australia and SC USA are supporting a project to combat child
trafficking in Bangladesh, carried out by (BNWLA), which has obtained practical experience
with the rescue of trafficked children.
Components of the project:
Research is underway into the reasons for trafficking and possibilities of how to alleviate the
income situation of the families.
In terms of the prevention of child trafficking, SC Denmark wants to get more involved in the
demand side of the trafficking problem, and for example address the demand in India, which up
to now has not been addressed because of the lack of active NGOs in the area. SC Denmark has
also collaborated with Sunlap (an Indian NGO) on research on trafficking of Bangladeshi girls to
Calcutta. Sunlap and BNWLA have worked together to repatriate the girls to the BNWLA centre
in Bangladesh.
With regard to protection and rehabilitation of child trafficking victims, the project provides
for support to a ‘safe-house’, which was established in 1996 for children rescued from
prostitution/trafficking for prostitution. The safe house provides for psychosocial counselling,
education and ‘traditional skills’ such as broidery. The majority of child trafficking victims are
girls. The safe house establishes contact with their families to see for their return. The length of
stay of the girls is usually a few months but variable according to the individual needs. Children
are usually brought to the house after members of the BNWLA association carry out raids in
brothels.
Project proposal: Addressing Gender-Based Violence in Uttar Pradesh with a focus on

prevention of violence (SCUK India)
The alarming findings of a 2001 study on violence against the girl child in the State of Uttar
Pradesh in India, which borders Nepal, led Nepalese counterparts to request support from India to
control the trafficking of young girls and women from Nepal to India, especially for sex work.
Ethnicity is a big question here: due to the preference for ‘lighter skin people’ there is a
preference for Nepalese girls and women. The sending away of girls is culturally accepted. The
results of the study are still being processed, but they formed the basis for a current project
proposal ‘Addressing Gender-Based Violence in Uttar Pradesh with a focus on prevention of
violence’ with six local partners in Uttar Pradesh. This SCUK India proposal is currently under
consideration by SCUK for funding. The North Central India programme is part of the larger
regional level proposal, which is being processed by the Save the Children Alliance team.
The North Central India Programme has around 250 children’s groups especially in Uttar Pradesh
and Rajastan who are important for advocacy activities.
Research: A needs assessment and mapping exercise in selected border districts will be
undertaken
Direct intervention programs will be developed on the basis of the needs assessment, including
advocacy with authorities and stakeholders, legal support on gender-based violence and local
capacity building.
Child Protection is an important component of the project and links have been established with
the Nepal office and NGOs in Nepal.
54
The project is expected to receive additional funding from DANIDA for 2003-2006.

41
Grassroots Anti-Trafficking Initiatives (PDI) (SC US)

In December 2002, SC US started developing an anti-trafficking response in sending areas in
Indonesia, the ‘Grassroots Anti-Trafficking Initiative’. Partnering with a local NGO in East Java,
the program aims to reduce the number of girls trafficked into the sex industry through
appropriate and sustainable grassroots anti-trafficking initiatives.
PDI Research: A ‘Positive Deviance Inquiry’ (PDI) approach facilitates the community to
discover sustainable solutions to the trafficking of girls that already exist within the community.
Using participatory research methods, the community identifies the strategies used by families
and girls who are able to resist trafficking and promotes others in the community to adopt them.
The PDI approach is based on the belief that in every community there are certain individuals
whose special practices, behaviours or strategies enable them to find better solutions to a problem
than their neighbours who have access to the same resources. SC US and it’s NGO partner are
just starting to facilitate the identification and involvement of community-based organizations,
community and religious leaders, and children in the participatory PDI inquiry, which will lead to
the development of viable community-based anti-trafficking interventions and advocacy
programmes. Small-scale funding and technical support will be made available at the village
level to support local responses to preventing trafficking of children for sex work.
In the second year, SC US plans to expand to additional sending areas in East Java, and in North
Sumatra.
Prevention of Child Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation through Urban Street Program (SC
US)
SC US is furthermore responding to the needs of street children in Indonesia, including girls who
are being sexually exploited in Indonesia’s four largest cities. The Urban Street program partners
with local NGOs to strengthen local responses that may improve the lives and well-being of 6000
children and youth living and working on the streets.
The programme also supports advocacy for children’s rights and the development of community
and adult support to prevent girls from being trafficked for prostitution.
Protection: Several NGO partners work directly with children who have been trafficked into the
sex industry.
The programme builds capacity and provides funds for programming in the areas of health,
addressing the needs of girl street children, and developing alternatives to living in the street.
Support to Maiti-Nepal and other partners (SC Norway)

In Nepal, sexual abuse of children and child trafficking for sexual exploitation in India have been
identified as major problems, and child trafficking for carpet factories and slums are also very
common. Child Trafficking is a priority for SC Norway, which has supported several activities, in
particular on the prevention of child trafficking and the reintegration of trafficked girls through
several local partners.
One of the main SC partners is Maiti-Nepal, which has worked on prevention and social
reintegration of child trafficking victims for the past four years (1998-2001), in different districts
in Nepal. The organisation has facilitated rescue and repatriation programs in Mumbai, Fdelhi,
Calcutta, So-iliguri, Kishangunj, and Pune in India. A second phase project (2001-2004) is
focussing on empowering and mobilizing potential victims, mobilizing stakeholders to protect
girls in their community from being trafficked and protecting survivors from re-victimization, in

42
the district of Makwanpur. The lessons learned from these projects will be shared with the general
public through awareness raising and advocacy.
The Child Protection Centre (CPC) in Boratnagar has been active in raising community
awareness through training workshops and the mobilization of children against child trafficking
by the formation of child clubs. CPC also has established a transit centre for sexually abused and
exploited girls where they can receive legal, moral and support and counselling. In the border
areas, workshops were organized for Indian and Nepali police and local authorities.
SC Norway has established a partnership with Shakti Samuha an organisation of repatriated girls,
who are active in the lobby against child trafficking. SC Norway provides technical and
financial support for the formation of girls groups, provision of information and activities to
protect themselves from sexual abuse/exploitation and trafficking.
Networking: SC Norway also participates in AATWIN, a national network of 15 human rights
organizations for advocacy against child trafficking in Nepal.
Intervention program to Combat the Menace of Trafficking in Girls and Women (Maiti-
Nepa/ SC UK)
In Nepal, SC UK is supporting a four year programme Intervention programs to Combat the
Menace of trafficking in Girls and Women implemented by Maiti-Nepal.
Protection and rehabilitation: Girls and young women are provided counselling and information
on girl trafficking and prevention of HIV. Former victims have access to rehabilitation
services.
Maiti-Nepal has addressed trafficking issues from different perspectives: criminalizing
traffickers, providing various training for girls in the prevention home, running transit homes
and influencing policy-makers at the national level through sensitising parliamentarians on the
severity of the problem.
In view of the increasing sex trade in the region, it was concluded to address the problem from a
different perspective, i.e. the development of leadership and activist-workers: Former
trafficked girls, survivors and returnees receive a six-month training and three months hands-on
experience in current rehabilitation centres or transit home for border monitoring.
Community-based border monitoring structures (coordinating committees) are to be
established in different districts at the Indian border, with collaboration of police personnel and
NGOs working in India.
In the second year of the program, workshops will be organized to reflect on effectiveness of
training and border monitoring structures and a national workshop involving members of the
committees to explore ways to make trafficking issues a national priority for Government and
NGOs.
The Anti Girls Trafficking Program in Nuwakot (PDI) (SC US)

SC US has focussed on community-based involvement to combat child trafficking in Nepal and
has supported a number of programmes since 1992. Since 2001, ‘The Anti Girls Trafficking
Program’ has been implemented in the district of Nuwakot. This partnership implies community-
based awareness raising activities and community mobilization in order to reduce the
exploitative migration of children and women.

43
Awareness raising: Three local partners, the District Development Committee (DDC) and
Janajatti Yuba Utthan Parisad55 and Maiti-Nepal have been involved in creating local committees
and mobilization of high school students, awareness raising with political leaders, high school
teachers and health post-in charges. Some income-generating activities were implemented and
awareness raising activities involved setting up of anti-trafficking clubs in 15 schools, the
organisation of workshops for stakeholders and elaboration of training materials including a
billboard at the border and other high-risk areas. Awareness raising on child trafficking was
undertaken in the framework of adolescent reproductive health workshops.
Child Participation: Awareness raising in women and children in Nuwakot takes place through
street drama activities, child journalism in high schools, participatory learning to enhance the
knowledge of participants on anti-trafficking and changing behaviour through the elaboration of
action plans in classes. For the student awareness program aiming at the vulnerable group for
being trafficked (12-20 years), a resource book on anti-trafficking was developed and students
were encouraged to develop their own action plans. To disseminate the message against
trafficking through literacy, a 6-month program was conducted in which 450 participants took
part in ‘participatory learning and action classes’. Child journalism was encouraging children to
publish monthly children’s magazines including materials on children’s rights. This has been very
important in public places and in places where children meet.
Research: DDC undertook additional PDI research, to know the positive elements in the
community for protecting girls from trafficking. This was the first time the approach had been
used for anti-trafficking programming Nepal. The research allowed for a small-scale situation
analysis, some key findings as to the trafficking phenomenon and possible ideas for future anti-
trafficking programming. One important lesson learned from the first year of this programme is
that a long-term plan is needed since short- term programmes cannot show impact. In order to
effectively change behaviour or attitudes long duration activities are needed. Another important
conclusion was that a baseline survey, through qualitative and quantitative research is required so
as to measure the impact of the program and to compare the trafficking ratio.
Prevention through Advocacy and Awareness in Kailalil (Maiti-Nepal, SC US)

SC US supports Maiti-Nepal with the implementation of a programme on the prevention of child
trafficking through advocacy and awareness in Kailalil District and Kathmandu, including
education and school mobilization through the programme Students against Girls Trafficking in
Kailalil. The original duration of the project was from January 1 to September 30, 2002, but
funding is expected to continue.
Awareness raising: Anti-trafficking classes were provided in 10 schools. As a first step, teachers
were made aware of child trafficking so that they could act as multipliers in various anti-child
trafficking initiatives. Student competition programmes, and mobilization of child clubs formed
part of the programme. Maiti-Nepal also carried out a sensitization workshop of rickshaw
pullers and transport workers’ unions, in areas that are at risk for potential child trafficking
because of their border-location, which provide a very important social support system for the girl
survivors of trafficking and abuse. At present, these groups are directly involved in reporting such
cases to police and Maiti-Nepal. Other awareness raising workshops aimed at parent’s
organisations and other stakeholders.
55 This organisation has been a SC partner until the end of 2002.

44
Protection, rehabilitation: Support to a transit centre located in Kailali near the Indian city of
Gauriphanta, which serves as a safe space for trafficking victims and seeks to ensure their safe
return to their home villages. In Milan Chowk, Dhangadi Municipality, Maiti-Nepal, established
another transit centre for victims of child trafficking in September 2002. The centre provides
awareness raising activities, skills training and legal and medical assistance to victims for
trafficking and domestic violence and at-risk girls and women. It assists in the reunification with
family through counselling, tracing of families and reintegration in the community of origin. The
centre acts as an intermediary with the police for further investigation of the trafficking cases, and
has identified persons involved in child trafficking and filed cases against them. So far, 131
girls/women have reportedly been prevented from being trafficked.
Reintegration of child trafficking victims: After a stay of maximum two months in the transit
centre women and girls are transferred to other establishments of Maiti-Nepal, such as the
Kathmandu Rehabilitation Centre which provides food and shelter to trafficking victims,
abandoned children and at-risk girls, rehabilitates children and helps them to reintegrate back into
society, and also assists in the identification of trafficking victims’ parents/guardians. It also
provides for non-formal and formal education and vocational training as well as the setting up of
small businesses through the provision of micro-credits. The Kathmandu Rehabilitation Centre
also has been involved in the filing of cases against traffickers.
Capacity building: Maiti-Nepal has been involved in sensitizing women’s organisation of the
trafficking of women and children and other kinds of exploitation. In turn these organisations
have taken the lead in the local struggle against child trafficking in their respective areas.
2.4 Europe
2.4.1 Save the Children’s child trafficking initiatives in Europe

Within the European context different organisations and regional networks have been addressing
child trafficking. SC members have joined in existing efforts and have participated actively in the
formulation of (regional) action plans and the elaboration of concrete interventions at a national
level. Examples of such regional networks are the Separated Children in Europe Programme
(SCEP) and the OSCE Task Force Committee on Trafficking in Human Beings.
Two regional programmes have been elaborated in recent years. The first one is coordinated by
the SC Alliance in Albania, and entails a regional child trafficking-programme, which is being
implemented in Eastern European countries, i.e. Albania, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Romania
and Serbia, through national programmes. A more recent project proposal coordinated by SC Italy
will aim at the establishment of a regional network and co-operation to engage in multi-
disciplinary research into child trafficking in Europe, and to come up with effective and
sustainable solutions and intervention strategies.
SC Denmark has carried out research in Eastern European countries including the trafficking of
young girls and women, and found evidence that many young girls from Eastern European
countries have been trafficked to work in brothels in Denmark. Recent police raids in brothels
have found young women from or through Albania, Moldova, Romania, the Ukraine, and other
countries. Concerns were raised with the authorities about their direct repatriation to the countries
of origin without any recognition of their status as victims of trafficking. SC Denmark is now
operating a hotline and hopes to get access to more information regarding child trafficking in
Denmark.

45
SC Italy has funded and cooperated with research on child trafficking by Franchesco Carchedi,
Terre des Hommes, the Fondazione Bassio, and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The report
found that trafficking is a regional issue and that criminal networks are mainly composed of
Albanians. On July 11-12 2002, SC Italy co-organized with SC Romania and SC Albania the
‘International Congress on child trafficking’ in Rome together with Terre des Hommes and other
partners. The objective was to share the outcome of the result of research on child trafficking in
Albania, Romania and Italy. The final outcome of the conference and reports/working documents
have been published on Internet and CD-Rom. Finally, SC Italy co-operated with SC Canada
through the launching of the ‘ Positive Chocolate campaign’ in Italy, to create awareness on the
fate of children working on cocoa plantations in West Africa. This project was carried out with
institutional support from the municipality of Perugia, which, in the second part of the campaign
will set up an observatory in 2003, which intends to collect information on children working in
the plantations, to study the chocolate production’s features and economic aspects, and to carry
out research on all aspects of exploitation in the plantations, from root causes to financial aspects,
including the multinational policies.
Separated Children in Europe Programme (SCEP)

The Separated Children in Europe Programme (SCEP) was established in 1997 as a joint
initiative of SC and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The aim is
to develop greater consistency of policy and practice for work with ‘separated children’ across
Western and Central Europe, and to improve the understanding of the reasons for these children
to travel into and across Europe. ‘Separated children’, a growing phenomenon in Europe, migrate
away from their communities for varying reasons. They have increasingly been found to be
vulnerable for trafficking. In 2002, a Working Group on Separated Children has started to address
the issue of trafficked children in this context. A ‘Statement of Good Practice’, endorsed by
UNHCR56 on the treatment of all separated children has been adopted. Whereas it is the mandate
of UNHCR to ensure international protection of refugee children and those seeking asylum, SC is
concerned with the realization of the rights of children. The programme includes 28 countries, 17
in Western Europe, 8 in Central Europe and 3 in the Baltic States. SC Denmark has developed a
programme to coordinate activities with the SCEP and its network of organisations and
institutions.
OSCE Task Force Committee on Trafficking in Human Beings

SC is an active member of the OSCE Task Force Committee on Trafficking in Human Beings,
established in December 2000, which in turn forms part of the ‘Stability Pact project’, a regional
OSCE body established to provide economic guidelines on European countries. 57 SC brought the
child rights perspective into the trafficking debate in Europe. This experience led to the
elaboration of the regional child trafficking programme, the Save the Children Regional Child-
trafficking Response Program, South Eastern Europe that was initiated in May 2002 (see
hereafter). In cooperation with the OSCE Task Force a comprehensive statement on specific
practical action, which will aim at governments in SEE, Stability Pact donors, international
agencies and NGOs, is being written together with UNICEF and ILO-IPEC.
56 For the full text of the Statement see: http://www.sce.gla.ac.uk/Global/English/StatementGoodPract.htm .

57 For further details on the Stability Pact see: www.osce.org .

46
2.4.1.1 Research, advocacy and awareness raising

Research on child trafficking has been crucial in the elaboration of national and regional
strategies against child trafficking in Eastern Europe. In March 2001, journalist David Renton
published a report58 on child trafficking in Albania, with references to trafficking in Romania as
well, which had a huge impact. In November 2001, SC Albania founded a first shelter for victims
of child trafficking. The outcome of the report has been essential in advocacy efforts. After a first
phase of the regional project, several SC members in Europe have joined forces and elaborated a
project proposal for a large-scale multi-disciplinary research project called ENACT, led by SC-
Italy, which is summarized hereafter.
With regard to awareness raising, the use of research results and personal testimonies of former
child trafficking victims has contributed to the increase of public awareness as well as in the
communities of origin of the trafficking victims.
2.4.1.2 Prevention, protection, rehabilitation and reintegration of child trafficking victims

The SC experiences with prevention and protection and rehabilitation activities for former child
trafficking victims in Albania have been important for the continuation and expansion of such
activities in the region. By now, similar activities are starting in other countries.
2.4.1.3 Capacity building, child participation and gender-specific interventions.

Co-ordination efforts in the context of the regional programme, the appointment of a regional
coordinator and the organisation of regional workshops on child trafficking have resulted in an
increased institutional capacity on child trafficking, both within SC organisation as well as with
partner organisations. SC is a member of a sub-group within the OSCE Task Force to explore
possibilities of developing anti-trafficking curricula in schools in the region. Through the Stability
Pact, national trafficking committees are being set up, however, at present the only one
functioning is in Montenegro.
Child Participation is considered to be a very important aspect of many of the activities that are
being carried out under the different national programmes. Children participate in the elaboration
of awareness raising and prevention activities, and SC members and partners see to it that their
views are respected and heard.
Despite the fact that the first shelter in Albania was set up to help in particular women and girls
who had been victims to trafficking, so far, there seems yet no mentioning of gender-specific
interventions in the programmes on child trafficking Eastern Europe. However, the regional
coordination has expressed interest in incorporating discussions on a gender-specific approach in
future training sessions.
58 For the full text of the report, see http://www.savethechildren.org/trafficking/ .

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2.4.2 Save the Children’s child trafficking programmes in Europe
The Save the Children Alliance Regional Child-trafficking Response Program, South
Eastern Europe (SEE)
This 18- month program is lead by SC Norway and SC in Albania and is supported by SC UK,
SC Sweden, SC Italy, SC Denmark and SC US. A staff member of the SC Alliance functions as
the regional coordinator. The objectives are: to (a) develop a better understanding of children’s
awareness off/experiences with trafficking (b) children’s needs and concerns; (c) what
interventions are effective. The programme aims at developing effective child trafficking
interventions that promote and protect the rights of high-risk and trafficked children in SEE, to
develop and disseminate best-practice guidelines to increase local, national and regional capacity
to effectively respond to child-trafficking and to develop and disseminate strong advocacy
messages based on children’s experiences. It further intends to enable them and their families to
have an input into Government and NGO strategies. Because of the cross-border nature and
regional scope of child trafficking in the area, a regional response was necessary. The expected
outcomes of the regional project will be laid down in ‘good practices’ guidelines. National pilot
projects are underway in six countries, i.e. Albania, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Romania and
Serbia, each of a different nature.
In September 2002, a report on child trafficking in Kosovo 59 was published by SC, which
characterizes Kosovo mainly as a destination country for sexual exploitation. In view of the
perceived low awareness on the problem of child trafficking, the current programme focuses on
advocacy and awareness raising, on the supply and demand sector of trafficking, through
campaigns and media work. Institutional strengthening of NGOs, support for state and NGO
prevention programs and pressure on the Government to acknowledge the extent of the
trafficking problem are amongst the issues to be addressed. SC will also lobby for more active
investigation of places where under-age prostitution is suspected. A two-fold media campaign
(video, newspaper) is being carried, out aiming at the high-risk sector and the demand sector
(peacekeepers for example).
In Montenegro, awareness raising activities entail community-based activities such as peer-to-
peer teaching and counselling in schools, youth clubs and children’s centres and a republic-wide
media campaign. The high-risk targeted children include refugees, socially marginalized children
and Roma children. SC in Montenegro has carried out workshops to create awareness, and has
developed anti-trafficking materials through participatory processes, with peer educators as
trainers.
In Serbia, in view of the relative lack of information on child trafficking, two local partners, Astra
and Child Rights Centre are focussing on awareness raising, government lobbying and
training on child trafficking issues.
The focus of the national project in Albania is on prevention with at-risk children living in rural
areas that are trafficking hot spots..
In Croatia, the local NGO and SC Sweden partner, Centre for Social Policy Initiatives, focuses on
the provision of support and reintegration services in a shelter for separated migrant children
who would otherwise be housed in an institution for children with behavioural problems. The
police bring them to the shelter, and many of them have been or are at risk of being trafficked. SC
is investigating their needs, and children who need psychosocial, educational or rehabilitation
support will be directed to appropriate services. Legal assistance will be provided in the areas of
asylum procedures, tracing and family reunification.
59 For the full text of the report see http://www.savethechildren.it/pubblicazioni/brendia_pdf.pdf.

48
In Romania, Salvati Copiii-SC Romania provides support and rehabilitation to trafficked

children in a day centre, which has originally targeted sexually abused children. The centre is now
run together with IOM, taking in also trafficking victims and being adapted to the new needs. The
centre offers family counselling, psycho-medical evaluation and treatment. Two national training
courses will be conducted for police in cooperation with the multi-disciplinary team of the centre.
Capacity building and networking. Within the framework of this SEE regional programme, a
first regional workshop was organized in Albania on 12-13 June 2002, which brought together all
partners involved in the implementation of each of the national programmes, in order to share
understanding of child trafficking issues, to learn about each other’s project-proposals, refine the
aims and objectives of the regional program and to establish a common framework for action.
The workshop contained brainstorming sessions, presentations and small group work where
participants had the opportunity to share their understanding of child trafficking, responses to
trafficking and the added value of child-rights organizations in developing interventions.
Child Participation: Special attention has been paid to issues such as how to involve children in
elaborating effective responses, how to document project activities and processes in order to draw
lessons learned and best practices. In December 2002 a second regional workshop on
participatory methodology was organized. Consultations with the children in Albania concluded
that rather than awareness raising activities on child trafficking, they preferred concrete activities.
As a result, SC-partner Help the Children, is assisting with the setting up of youth and children’s
clubs in two small towns, which will be run by children and youth to allow them to socialise and
to receive support for activities such as developing local campaigns to encourage parents to keep
their children in school: establishing community monitoring systems to reduce the risk of
trafficking, or the production of television programs on the issue of domestic violence. Current
activities also provide for participatory research to learn about trafficking and the effectiveness
of the interventions and activities to draw children’s voices as well as advocacy on child
protection on national/regional/international levels
Pan-European initiative ENACT (SC Italy, SC UK, SC Denmark, SC Romania, SC Spain

and SC in Bulgaria)
A project proposal for a regional SC programme called ‘ENACT’ has been submitted to the
European Commission for funding, and approval is pending. The project is scheduled to start in
2003, and will involve six SC organisations: SC Italy (coordinator), SC UK, SC Denmark, SC
Romania, SC Spain and the SC Programme in Bulgaria. The main reason for this project is that
the impact of current child trafficking interventions and programmes seems limited, if compared
to the efforts involved. This is mainly due to the limited availability of data and the lack of an
analytical framework to organize the existing information; the lack of coordination among
existing interventions; the lack of a multidisciplinary approach that is able to connect analysis and
practices, at the national and regional level; the low public awareness about the issue of minors
involved in trafficking phenomena and sexual exploitation; the absence of specific parameters to
analyse the situation of minors involved in trafficking and sexual exploitation. This project is to
be carried out in close coordination with the SCEP programme presently coordinated by the SC
Alliance (See before). In its initial stage the project will involve Italy, Greece, Spain, Denmark,
United Kingdom, Romania and Bulgaria, to be further expanded in following years.

49

To put together all relevant documents of research on child trafficking and sexual exploitation
from a pan-European perspective (pan-European because it includes Eastern Europe), to come up
with a Framework for Analysis and Action on child trafficking.
To create models which can involve training of multidisciplinary teams (judges, social workers,
police officers) on child trafficking.
Support to shelter in Vlora region (SC US)

SC US and a local women’s NGO operate a temporary shelter for trafficked girls and women in
the Vlora region in Albania, providing medical care, counselling, and other support for girls and
women who escaped or have been brought back to Albania, in order to prepare them to resume
their lives with their families. Awareness raising campaigns with other Albanian NGOs through
peer education and prevention activities in poor communities are aiming at young women who
are especially at risk of being trafficked.
2.5 Americas
2.5.1 Save the Children’s child trafficking initiatives in the Americas

In Central America, the Caribbean and South America, no specific SC programmes on child
trafficking are yet in place, mainly due to a lack of information about the phenomenon. However,
SC Staff members from different countries have underlined the need to have an understanding of
the migration flows from a regional level, in particular within Central America and from Central
America to Northern America.
At a national level, SC Canada has supported several projects in Haiti with restaveks (domestic
workers) among whom there may be trafficked children. Despite ongoing discussions on the
question whether to consider trafficking from a regional perspective, including for example the
context of the movement of children to the Dominican Republic, no programme is yet addressing
child trafficking.
No information was received on any SC programmes in this region that are dealing with child
trafficking through intervention programmes that provide protection or assistance to (former
victims). It seems however, that further specific research might reveal that trafficking is also a
large-scale phenomenon in this area, taking into account the high number of NGO programmes in
the region that deal inter alia with child labour, street-children, sexual exploitation of children
and the protection of the rights of domestic children.
2.5.1.1 Research, advocacy and awareness raising

The ‘Positive Chocolate Campaign’ is an example of a successful combination of research,
advocacy and awareness raising efforts on the situation of trafficking of children for exploitation
in the cocoa plantations in West Africa. Since 2001, SC Canada, in collaboration with Transfair
Canada has carried out a campaign called “ Positive Chocolate Campaign’, to create awareness
about child trafficking for the production of cocoa in West Africa. The campaign is aiming at the
Canadian Government, requesting that legislation be adopted to prevent the trafficking of
children. The chocolate industry is called upon to take measure to prevent that children are
exploited in the production of chocolate. Fair trade organisations and consumers are asked to
collaborate in identifying chocolate that was produced without the use of exploited or trafficked

50
children. The campaign also calls for implementation of the International Cocoa Protocol60. SC
Canada’s work on this campaign was the implementation of the English and Canadian version of
this campaign that had previously been launched in Italy. SC Canada has also published a
working paper called ‘Children still in the chocolate trade: The buying, selling and toiling of west
African child workers in the multi-billion dollar industry’. In the framework of this awareness
raising campaign, SC Canada and the US NGO Free the Slaves animated a training workshop for
the US Customs Fraud Investigation Unit in November 2002, and a similar session will be held
Washington in the course of 2003. Future campaigning in Canada will focus on the active
involvement of Canada in the monitoring of the Cocoa Protocol, once ratified.
SC Mexico has raised the issue of child trafficking (for sexual exploitation) in the region in
official forums and plans to undertake a national study in 2003 as well as an awareness raising
campaign, possibly with the financial support of SC Sweden, which will focus on the legal
framework on childhood, and with special attention to economic exploitation of children,
including sexual exploitation.
SC Canada is considering at present the funding of a project proposal of two national NGOs,
TESIS-Nicaragua and Defence for Children International-Costa Rica, which entails a study on the
migration between the two countries, with particular attention to the situation of children.
Children will participate in the research to help define research objectives and definitions.
SC has also been working on the issue of sexual exploitation in Nicaragua since 1992, but only in
2001 the issue of trafficking in the context of sexual exploitation was addressed in an independent
study called ‘Modern Debt Bondage in Nicaragua, Sex Trafficking in Central America’.
Nicaragua is currently developing the National Plan of Action on Sexual Exploitation, and the
existing National Plan on Child Labour does not address the issue of trafficking. ILO–IPEC has
recently carried out a study on commercial sexual exploitation in Nicaragua.
In 2002, PESTRAF, with the financial support of SC Sweden, Organization of American States
(OAS), ILO, USAID, De Paul University and other national institutions have undertaken a
comprehensive National Report Research on the Trafficking in Women, Children and Adolescents
for Sexual Purposes in Brazil, which would be published in English, Spanish and Portuguese in
January 2003. The findings of this report may form the basis for further interventions on child
trafficking. The report contains studies of the situation of child trafficking in different regions of
the country, addressed from a human rights perspective. The strategic objective of the study is to
contribute to the development of new political practices that support the process of solving the
problem not only in Brazil but also in other countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. The
report addresses internal and international trafficking routes and legislative aspects such as
definition of trafficking in international conventions, protocols and their implementation in
national legislation, and existing relevant national legislation. Finally, it contains
recommendations for action and analysis of existing efforts to combat child trafficking in Brazil.
60 For the full text of the Protocol see http://www.freetheslaves.net/protocol.pdf

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3. Examples of potentially successful practices
The current review of examples of SC-experiences with anti-child trafficking activities has shown
that there is an intensive learning process going on with regard to the definition and programming
of activities on child trafficking, in almost all regions and in many countries. One obstacle for the
elaboration of strategies so far seems to have been a lack of a common approach, including the
absence of a common functional definition of child trafficking. As a result, many SC members
and partners indicate that they are dealing with ‘child trafficking’, although their activities and
strategies seem to differ widely. A common working definition and framework of operation for
anti-child trafficking activities for the SC Alliance may guide future interventions, and eventually
result in an increased impact.
Although further evaluation seems necessary, a number of experiences are promising. We are
presenting them as potentially successful practices, according to the same format as the previous
chapter:
3.1 Research, advocacy, awareness raising
3.2 Prevention, protection, reintegration and social rehabilitation
programmes.
Firstly, it is interesting to recall that most interviewed SC members have applied the ‘rights-based
approach’ in their work on child trafficking. This approach has included training on children’s
rights, and an awareness of the rights of child trafficking victims has been created which may
eventually result in a change in attitudes towards them and towards their traffickers. As a result,
the children are no longer seen as criminals but as holders of rights and their traffickers are
regarded as responsible for criminal activities rather than good-meaning people that want to
provide the children with better opportunities. The rights-based approach implies a
conceptualisation of the problem of child trafficking, based on specific rights contained in the
CRC. This means that any policy, advocacy and programmatic response in relation to trafficking
must focus on the human rights of children trafficked or at risk. Conform to the rights-based
approach, any anti-trafficking responses should be tested against the key principles of children’s
rights, as enshrined in the CRC, such as the provision not to be subjected to trafficking and sexual
exploitation. It places the obligation on the State to take appropriate measures to prevent
trafficking of children for any purpose. Some SC members have stated however that there is a
need to conceptualise better the ’rights-based approach’ with regard to child trafficking.
3.1 Research, advocacy, awareness raising
3.1.1 Advocacy on child trafficking at national and regional levels

In order to increase the impact of programmes to counter child trafficking, advocacy at different
levels seems to have presented positive preliminary results. A good example of regional advocacy
seems to be the participation of SC Canada in negotiations on a bilateral agreement between Ivory
Coast and Mali and in the committee that was established to provide follow-up to this agreement.
The results of the programme in Sikasso were subsequently used to push for child trafficking
policies in both countries. A different example of successful advocacy at a regional level may be
found in the involvement of SC members and partners in advocacy initiatives activities such as
the provision of child friendly comments to the text of the SAARC Conventions.

52
An example of international advocacy and awareness raising can be found in the Positive
Chocolate Campaign, carried out by SC Canada and SC Italy. There is a belief that sensitized
governments are more likely to ratify relevant international instruments (such as the Cocoa
Protocol) and to undertake follow-up action, or to make funds available to help affected countries
in countering trafficking problems. In bilateral negotiations between States, these sensitized
States may request others to take further effective steps to criminalize such acts, to ratify and
implement relevant international conventions, and to elaborate programmes to prevent trafficking
or to provide protection and rehabilitation to the victims, in exchange for development aid for
example.
3.1.2 National legal studies and comparative legal studies to promote

legislative reforms
Comprehensive national studies and comparative legal studies on relevant national legislation,
have been undertaken by SC representatives in the Mekong region and in Nepal, Pakistan,
Bangladesh and India. Such studies may facilitate the adaptation of national legislation to
international norms on child trafficking and related issues. In these regions, national studies were
carried out by SC partners as a part of child trafficking programmes, to shed light on the gaps in
existing legislation with regard to the protection of children’s rights, including the rights of
trafficked children. The comparative study formed the basis of an advocacy paper that will be
used for further action. Several key elements to combat trafficking could be identified such as the
need to strengthen law enforcement and to include a child-sensitive and child-focused approach;
the need to ratify international agreements and development of systematic monitoring for
progress; raising of public awareness on children‘s rights and relevant anti-trafficking laws;
building capacity of state infrastructures by training to enforce them; improving co-operation
between countries and sectors within countries and in the region; creation of commitment to
children’s rights and women’s rights in all anti-trafficking policies and interventions; and finally
supporting community-based initiatives. Such comparative studies may also contribute to a
harmonization of laws at a regional level, which may result in an increased level of protection to
children and women in the region.
3.1.3 The use of innovative research methodologies

A number of innovative research methodologies have been used by a number of SC members. In
view of their preliminary results, it appears useful to discuss them hereafter.
3.1.3.1 Participatory Action Research (PAR)

The SC SEA Alliance and SC UK have reported on initial successes with the PAR methods with
migrant children in their programme in the border regions of China, Myanmar and Thailand. PAR
tools seem to have enabled a better understanding of the lives of children and the risks and
vulnerabilities they face, and allowed for initiation of pilot interventions with them to overcome
the root causes of trafficking. Participatory action has allowed for support to children at risk and
to empower them to take control of their lives. From research to intervention phase, children and
young people have been engaged in key positions as peer researchers, educators and catalysts for
social mobilization against trafficking. Children have also taken active part in planning meetings
and follow-up action plans, and they have disseminated their own education materials using their
own channels, to raise awareness among communities on traffickers’ tricks. Repatriated trafficked
children have selected their own reintegration assistance plan, followed up by staff and partners.
Children at risk in the community may decide on which type of skills training they want.

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3.1.3.2 Participatory Learning Activities

Participatory learning activities seem to have been very useful in the creation of awareness on
child trafficking among high-risk children. The inclusion of child trafficking training in
adolescent reproductive health workshops in SEA for example, or the development of action
plans in child trafficking classes resulted in concrete follow-up actions such as the setting up of
anti trafficking child clubs. Interesting in this regard also is the training of ‘child journalists’ in
Nepal, to stimulate the children’s participation in raising awareness among peers on child
trafficking through their own publications on children’s rights.
3.1.3.3 Innovative Research: Positive Deviance Methodology (PDI)

In the context of the Anti Girls Trafficking Programme in Nepal, PDI Research was undertaken
by DDC. The objective was to identify the positive elements in the community for protecting girls
from trafficking, and to look for ‘positive deviance role models’, to understand why certain
children in the risk group are not trafficked, and to know which are their exact circumstances that
lead to that protection. Due to internal disturbances in some of the districts, the PDI research
could not be fully completed, but preliminary results indicate that this innovative approach may
be important to better understand child trafficking and to find ways to prevent it. The PDI
research led to some ideas for future child trafficking programming such as: promotion of gender
equity; promotion of specific parenting skills; promotion of frank discussions between mother
and daughters about trafficking and its risks; promotion of economic coping strategies, for
instance reducing the size of traditional social gatherings to lessen the need to take out high
interest loans; provision of knitting and weaving skills to adolescent girls.
3.1.3.4 Proposed multi-disciplinary research on child trafficking (for sexual

exploitation)
The involvement of minors in child trafficking for sexual exploitation has a particularly
devastating impact on personalities that are still developing and constitutes a flagrant violation of
children’s rights. Sex trafficking of minors therefore, deserves specific attention in the broader
context of analysis of women’s trafficking, slavery and sexual exploitation. SC Italy, aware of the
magnitude and the complexity of the phenomenon has recognized the importance of multi-
disciplinary research, and the building of a solid analytical framework, that will be able to
substantiate and orient specific interventions in the areas of prevention, protection, and
rehabilitation. Such an analytical framework must provide (i) parameters to collect and classify
qualitative and quantitative information (ii) agreed-upon definitions, and, finally (iii) priorities
and tools for the coordination of different expertise and operational mandates. A first working
paper has been drafted to set out the main lines for such multidisciplinary research, including the
elements for an analytical framework, the research questions, areas for data collection, trafficking
mechanisms, legal and administrative context, psychosocial aspects, assessment of past programs
and efforts. The methodology includes a ‘life-cycle approach’ to sex trafficking: in-depth
interviews and analysis of life stories of trafficked children, (from early childhood in the family
and community of origin to the current circumstances), may help to put the child’s dramatic
experience in the right explanatory context. Individual experts from NGOs and specialized
agencies, from different disciplines including socio-anthropology, law, child rights, child
psychology, economy, participatory methodologies, street work etc, in countries of origin, transit
and destination will be included in this research.
3.1.4 Awareness raising activities

Almost all SC programmes on child trafficking that were examined, included awareness raising
activities. The challenge is to maintain the impact of the activities and to convert this into
concrete action. The effectiveness of such campaigns seems dependent on the concrete message

54
that is sent out, and the receptiveness of the stakeholders. The SC experiences show a variety of
methods used to create awareness about the risks of child trafficking. Activities have been
addressed to at-risk groups and officials including police, customs officers, the judiciary and
social workers. Other successful activities have addressed children at high schools, the training of
children in journalism, organizing street theatre or the setting up of child clubs. Workshops for
parents have proven to be effective to create awareness, especially in cases where they are
sending away their children for work.
3.1.4.1 Using research results in awareness raising activities

The publication of outcomes of child trafficking-research seems to have helped to create
awareness about child trafficking. For example, the launching of the report on child trafficking in
Albania, which revealed the magnitude and seriousness of the problem, caused a shock effect that
led to the undertaking of different national programmes. Sharing and publicizing outcomes of
research may not only creates awareness but also allow for feedback and correction of
information, which is important for the credibility of child trafficking campaigns and programs.
For example, in many countries in Asia, national reports on child trafficking have been prepared,
which are at present being translated into local languages and will be presented in national
workshops for feedback and discussions on further action.
3.1.4.2 Addressing child trafficking in the context of other awareness raising

activities
Some SC members, upon carrying out research in border areas, have found a number of common
problems that may be addressed simultaneously. As an example, through PAR research in Lao
PDR, it was found that an increased risk of HIV and child trafficking were the main problems
amongst women living in certain border areas. This is how awareness-raising initiatives were
developed aiming at addressing HIV and other issues such as child trafficking simultaneously. In
China, original research in the Rulii country, which borders with Myanmar, had identified issues
around HIV in the border community, which resulted in further research on prevention and care
of HIV with Burmese and Chinese migrant/trafficked women and children. Many activities
carried were primarily addressing health issues but have gradually incorporated other child
trafficking related issues as well, including prevention activities.
The Nepal experience has also shed some light on how child trafficking awareness raising
activities may be more effectively linked to existing campaigns such as HIV/AIDS. The situation
analysis (PDI methodology) in Nepal found that general awareness programs had impact and
should be continued, but additional research was found to be necessary in order to define which
concrete messages had found resonance with community members. For example, awareness
raising campaigns on AIDS/HIV may be improved by including information on the modes of
transmission of HIV/AIDS and the need to show compassion for those suffering, in order to avoid
stigmatization and re-victimization, including of child trafficking victims. Trafficking victims
were found to be automatically associated with ‘the disease’ and stigmatized as a result of the
scarce knowledge about HIV/AIDS. Information on actual working conditions in Indian brothels
was also found to be a necessary component of future campaigns. Moreover, teaching self-
efficacy seemed to have more impact than scare tactics. For example, as a result of the fear of
being trafficked, girls had been found to avoid social gatherings. It was found that raising
awareness on how to avoid being trafficked could reduce such fears.

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3.2 Prevention, protection, reintegration and social rehabilitation
3.2.1 SC activities and rehabilitation of child trafficking victims in

transit centres
Several child trafficking programmes in Africa and Asia have funded the setting up of ‘transit
centres’ where child trafficking victims have access to a series of services to help them
rehabilitate and prepare themselves for their return to the community of origin.
Transit centres and shelters for child trafficking victims have been set up in different countries in
all regions. The results and impacts of their activities are not always reported on in the
information received, which makes it difficult to come to concrete conclusions in that regard. The
evaluation of the experience with the transit centre for child trafficking victims in Mali contains
some indications for the future. The evaluation report concluded that the functions of a transit
centre have to be clearly defined. It suggested that a transit centre should provide a response to a
specific problem to take temporary care of children who are victims of child trafficking or
intercepted children. The report indicated also that the centre should offer a space for physical
and psychological healing in view of the traumatic experience they have lived and should
contribute to a successful return to their place of origin. It should not be a permanent structure
providing services. It was found that it was important to differentiate the services for children
who have been trafficked and exploited, and those who have been intercepted.
On the other hand, the transit centre of BNWLA in Bangladesh provides services in a transit
centre and in a rehabilitation centre for longer-term treatment for victims of sexual exploitation.
Furthermore, BNWLA is involved in filing cases against traffickers, and cooperates with the
police on specific cases. The organisation carries out raids to rescue and free children from
brothels.
Although several respondents have reported to have successfully repatriated children to their
communities, the programme in Mali funded by SC Canada has been so far the only one to
undergo a thorough evaluation, with specific recommendations on the social reintegration aspect
of the programme. Practice has shown that automatic direct repatriation of victims of trafficking
is not in the best interest of the child and therefore should be avoided. Contact with national and
local authorities and families before the return of victims to their communities/families has been
experienced as indispensable for a successful reintegration. However, it still seems necessary to
develop methodologies for successful social reintegration and document such experiences. Some
SC members have underlined that there should be different social reintegration programmes for
children who have been sexually exploited and those who have been trafficked for labour
exploitation in view of the different psychological consequences for child victims.
3.2.2 Addressing the demand-side of child trafficking

The Palermo Protocol addresses child trafficking as an issue of criminal law, and encourages the
prosecution and punishment of those responsible. Whereas SC as a child rights organisation
seems to have naturally turned to the protection of child victims, some SC partners such as the
BNWLA and Legal Aid in Nepal have started with the filing of cases against known traffickers. It
takes special knowledge, particularly legal, to prepare such cases. It seems important to consider
therefore establishing partnerships with human rights lawyers’ organisations to work on this
aspect in a more systematic way.

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3.2.3 Child-to-child education on child trafficking

In many SC initiatives, child-to-child education has been a key tool to create awareness in at-risk
children in almost all regions. For example, in Montenegro child-to-child teaching and
counselling have been important aspects of the child trafficking programme, in particular with
regard to prevention of child trafficking, through activities in schools, youth clubs and child
centres. In Nepal, Shakti Amuha, an organisation of repatriated girls plays a crucial role in the
lobby against child trafficking: peer counselling was found to be the key methodology for
message dissemination on how children could protect themselves from being trafficked. In Mali,
the importance of peer education came up with regard to creating awareness on child trafficking
in intercepted children: in view of their frustration about not having been ‘allowed’ to finish their
journey, testimonies of child trafficking victims on video tapes were used as a means to prevent
them from being trafficked again. In addition, in Sikasso, child trafficking victims themselves
proposed the creation of an association to fight against child trafficking in the region. Peer
education has been very important in situations where youth themselves are involved in
trafficking rings, such as in Indonesia, where efforts will be made to involve those in mapping
exercises and further anti-child trafficking activities.
In Nepal, much work on awareness raising has been done in the past years, whereas child
trafficking continues to be on the increase. SC staff members there have therefore come to the
conclusion that child-to-child education is the key to changing the behaviour of the children
themselves SC may therefore want to consider how to increase effective child participation in
awareness raising activities.

programmes
3.3.1 One–to-one country meetings and cross-border work

In order to achieve an effective implementation of child trafficking-interventions, coordination
with local, regional and national authorities on both sides of the international borders over which
child trafficking takes place seems indispensable. Both receiving, transit and sending countries
and communities have to assume their responsibilities for the trafficking of children, and take
appropriate action. Involving authorities from both or more sides in consultations, presentation of
research results and exchange of information from the initial stage of a programme is crucial.
Moreover, with regard to cross-border trafficking, it seems important to promote the
establishment of consultation mechanisms between teams of organisations and authorities
involved in the battle against child trafficking. For example, bilateral meetings that took place
during the workshop in Lao between country teams working on different sides of the border in the
same region have shed light on important gaps in communication and opened the way for better
coordination in the future. Another example is the PAR project in South East Asia, that provides
for the organisation of bilateral workshops with India and Nepal, with a focus on the
organizations that are operating in states receiving trafficked Nepalese children.
At a political level, bilateral agreements, such as the agreement between Mali and Ivory Coast,
have formed important frameworks for effective action against child trafficking in the region.
Such instruments also have been used by NGOs to remind Governments of their obligations and
commitments.

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3.3.2 Child participation

Almost all respondents have indicated that child participation is an important tool in child
trafficking activities of Save the Children. Whereas child participation has proven to be useful in
the research (PAR and PDI), it seems to be important to define the role of child participation in
each of the other components of child trafficking interventions. Several child trafficking
programmes have already included the active involvement of children in awareness raising
activities. Other programmes aimed at involving children as much as possible in the development
of activities undertaken to prevent or combat child trafficking, and some counterparts are
increasingly involving children in the definition of protection and rehabilitation activities. The
testimonies of child trafficking victims have had some impact to prevent further victimization. In
particular in Asia, child participation has been the key component of a number of child trafficking
programmes.
3.3.3 Addressing child trafficking in the context of gender

In view of the prevalence of women and girls among the child trafficking victims in certain
countries, several initiatives have primarily addressed their fate in their child trafficking
programmes. Examples of such programmes are ‘Programme To Combat the Menace of
Trafficking in Girls and Women in Nepal” (supported by SCUK) or the programme ‘Prevention
through advocacy and awareness’ (funded by SC US) which focuses on creating awareness on
child trafficking in women and children, by involving women’s organisations in anti-child
trafficking activities. An analysis of laws in India specifically included the implementation of
CEDAW in its legal analysis. The “Grassroots Anti-Trafficking Initiatives” programme in
Indonesia (funded by SC US) will address gender dynamics. A joint initiative by SC UK, SC
Sweden and OXFAM Quebec in Vietnam will also address gender aspects of child trafficking.
Most respondents have stated however that they do not yet have a clear gender-approach in their
child trafficking initiatives.
SC UK India is addressing child trafficking in Uttar Pradesh, near the border with Nepal, in the
context of gender-based violence, since the trafficking of girls proved to be intimately linked to
deep-rooted gender inequity. Even though research has proven that parents themselves in such
contexts are often convinced to be treating their male and female children equally, in practice
their attitudes and decisions indicate otherwise. Such deep-rooted cultural habits are often
difficult to change at the short term. Therefore, addressing child trafficking from such a different
perspective may be effective at the long-term, but may lack concrete immediate impact.

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4. Questions for future orientation of SC activities on child

trafficking
A number of questions can be raised on the basis of the review of these experiences, which may
contribute to the setting out of guidelines for a future child trafficking policy or position of the SC
Alliance.
4.1 Can the role of SC as a ‘child rights actor’ be enhanced?
Participants at the workshop in Albania, discussed the unique role of child rights actors in the
struggle against child trafficking, including members of the SC Alliance and their partners: they
bring in experience with advocacy and training on the CRC; have an expertise in children’s
issues, and the ability to effectively identify and respond to child-specific concerns of trafficked
children; sensitivity to the protection and ethical issues of working with children, including
particularly vulnerable children; experience in working directly with children; experience with
programs related to trafficking (i.e. education, poverty reduction, child participation, child rights
etc.); experience in child participation methodologies; and they can bring strategic approaches to
the issue of child trafficking. However it was also recognized that it is important to identify the
limits of NGO capacity with regard to child trafficking-interventions, and to identify clear roles
between and among key actors, so that they can strategically apply their strengths and
complement the role of others, avoid duplication and better address gaps in the existing response.
4.2 How may future SC advocacy efforts on child trafficking be made

more effective?
Advocacy at regional and national levels, including the lobby for legislative reforms to
incorporate the rights of children has been an essential component of the analyzed anti-trafficking
efforts. Despite such ongoing efforts, many governments refuse to recognize the magnitude and
seriousness of the problem, they may not assume any responsibility or they may not see child
trafficking as a human rights problem. Others are recognizing the problem but their efforts are
either not laid down in concrete practical plans, or the reality of child trafficking prevents any
effective action. For instance, links between child trafficking and other forms of criminal
activities (including organized crime) may obstruct the undertaking of any specific initiatives.
Keeping this in mind, it appears important to define what kind of advocacy efforts may be
undertaken to keep the child trafficking on the national political agendas.
Some strategies may need more attention and analysis, such as:
• focussing on the elaboration and adoption of qualitative national and local action
programmes on child trafficking and the adoption of bilateral or regional cooperation
agreements;
• focussing on child trafficking separately, or link it to sexual exploitation, child labour or
other issues, dependent on the concrete context;
• working on the establishment of national or local coordinating committees that ensure a
follow-up to national action programmes where they exist.
Finally, even if national action plans are adopted, much may remain to be done to make sure that
governments genuinely commit to combat child trafficking.

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4.3 How can Save the Children contribute to a better understanding of

the complexity of child trafficking?
At present, no hard and reliable data on child trafficking are available in practically all regions
and countries. The compilation of experiences brought forward several ideas to improve data
collection, the relevance of which may be studied in the light of regional and national contexts
and needs.
For example, SC members often rely on consultants or national institutions for statistical data, or
hire lawyers or lawyers’ associations to carry out independent research on child trafficking. SC
may want to consider incorporating such legal research as standard practice of national
programmes. Moreover, carrying out regular or updated mapping exercises of the child
trafficking-phenomenon on the basis of worldwide, regional and national geographic trafficking
movements, may be considered.
In terms of the application of the Palermo Protocol to concrete situations, it seems important to
clarify the different phases of child trafficking, from recruitment, transportation, transfer,
harbouring to the receipt of persons, in the concrete context. It may allow for a better
understanding of what is going on during each of the phases, and during the ‘life-cycle’ of child
trafficking. A study of child trafficking may also be required on the basis of impact and different
aspects such as the methods used for recruitment, transportation, passing borders, delivery to the
place of destination and treatment at destination etc. Once that is clear it may be possible to
define concrete activities with more precision, and to make a mapping of the types of children’s
rights that are violated in each of these phases. The identification of different actors involved
therein may also be facilitated through such studies.
Because trafficking flows, routes and methods change rapidly and constantly, regularly updated
and independent research on child trafficking may be necessary. Despite an interest in addressing
the matter, so far SC partners have not undertaken much research on internal trafficking flows.
This may be due to the limited scope of the definition of trafficking in the Palermo Protocol.
Nevertheless, SC may want expand child trafficking activities to include internal trafficking as
well.
Additional multi-disciplinary research may be useful to get a full understanding of the

phenomenon (such as research that includes aspects of criminal law, children’s rights, analysis of
long-term psychological consequences for victims etc.). Different types of research including
PAR and PDI have proven to be useful for obtaining a better understanding of child trafficking as
a phenomenon.
Additional research may also aim at addressing the causes for child trafficking. Whereas poverty
was once assumed to be the main cause for trafficking, nowadays it is recognized this it is usually
not the only one. Other factors may need further research such as the lack of (public) institutions
that look after children, or the lack of responsibility of such institutions where they exist. Other
aspects in this regard may include issues such as broken families, domestic violence or alcohol
abuse. Sometimes the building of a new highway or the proximity of old smuggling routes may
be the determining factor for an increase in trafficking. Disparity in income or wealth also may be
a determining factor for a family or child’s decision to engage into trafficking.

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Another aspect that may need further research are the consequences of child trafficking on
children: children who have been trafficked for instance for sexual exploitation may need long-
term psychological counselling, and intensive preparatory work with their communities of origin
may be necessary before they can return, without being re-victimised or stigmatized. Participatory
research in communities of origin may help defining such a different strategic approach.
It also seems pertinent to identify, through research, the socio-cultural factors that may play a role
in child trafficking. For example, in certain situations the trafficking of boys and girls from
specific ethnic groups or castes is common, such as in Bangladesh, Nepal or India, or the Roma
children in Eastern Europe.
Finally, with regard to crime-control aspects of anti-child trafficking efforts, in view of the fact
that tightening border control and immigration laws tend to affect child trafficking victims
negatively rather than help to reduce child trafficking, further research may be needed into the
effect of such measures. SC may want to consider calling for further research in order to identify
how current immigration laws/practices violate the rights of trafficking victims, and define
strategies to address those violations.
4.4 How may the long-term impact of SC awareness raising campaigns on

child trafficking be increased?
Continued follow-up to awareness raising efforts has appeared important to many respondents.
Especially when new developments in trafficking methods occur or when new information from
research on trafficking becomes available, follow-up activities may be necessary. For the long-
term effectiveness of specific awareness raising efforts such as the training of specific groups of
stakeholders or authorities involved in anti-trafficking, the inclusion of an agreement on follow-
up activities or evaluation mechanisms may be considered in order to enforce the original training
activity.
The message of the campaign has to be fit for the concrete context. For example, factors that
encourage parents or officials to allow for child trafficking should be fully understood and
addressed in the awareness raising efforts. In many local communities for example many
‘traffickers’ are seen as persons who want to help out, and the local definition of ‘trafficking’ may
not necessarily coincide with the definition of child trafficking as laid down in international
conventions.
4.5 How to improve future SC programming on child trafficking?
The review of initiatives by SC members has shown a variety of approaches and strategies in
current anti-child trafficking programming. SC may wish to identify whether there is a need for a
common definition of national or regional objectives, strategies and priorities for the SC Alliance
and SC Members. It may wish to harmonize such efforts, in order to allow for a better use of
existing SC expertise on child trafficking, and eventually result in interventions with greater
longer-term impact. A clarification of the role of SC with regard to the different aspects of child
trafficking programming (prevention, protection, rehabilitation and social reintegration) and a
common definition of the role of SC in research, advocacy and awareness raising may also help
with identifying future child trafficking programmes.
It may be necessary to review the involvement of SC members in denouncing known traffickers

to judicial authorities. This may be an important contribution to the prevention of child

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trafficking. Security aspects however may need to be considered in such actions. Generally, there
is yet a lack of experience amongst SC members with activities that target traffickers or those
who end up exploiting the children, a task that is further complicated by corrupted officials or fear
for repercussions. Another possible question for SC members is to decide on whether it is
desirable from a security point of view that the same organization is involved in rehabilitation of
victims, raids and filing complaints against traffickers at the same time.
One SC partner suggested also a clarification on the SC position on criminal responsibility of

employers for the exploitation of children, and whether SC should get involved in claiming civil
remedies from employers in compensation on behalf of the child trafficking victims. SC Alliance
may wish to adopt a position on that.
There are other examples of child trafficking demand-related issues that may need attention of SC
members. For example, in many Asian countries, young boys are recruited and trafficked for
exploitation as camel jockeys in different Arab countries. Aside from a SC sponsored study in
Pakistan, no SC intervention programme in any of the receiving countries is at present addressing
this issue. SC may want to consider activities in some of the sending countries such as India,
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. From the research reports it can be concluded that the
situation in which these children end up working are extremely harmful and dangerous, and their
participation in the camel races may even led to their deaths.
Another aspect of the ‘demand side’ that may deserve more attention by SC members is the
growing sex industry, including the increasing demand for young girls for sex, worldwide, but in
particular in Asia. It seems important to create a greater awareness on the devastating impact on
the minors who are trafficked and sexually exploited. Such efforts may be directed at the
countries of origin of tourists who travel to other countries to have sex with minors.
It also seems necessary for SC members to discuss which combination of intervention strategy
should be prioritized: the prevention of child trafficking, the protection of child trafficking
victims, and/or the rehabilitation or social reintegration of child trafficking victims. In this regard,
participants in a regional SC Lao workshop concluded that, in view of limited resources, SC
should network with NGOs and CBOs working in receiving countries and support/coordinate
their work. Generally speaking, it was felt that NGOs do not have the infrastructure for rescue
operations. Participants also stated that rehabilitation and social reintegration programmes were
very complicated and costly. The experiences with BNWLA in Bangladesh and Maiti-Nepal
however indicate the opposite. If coordinated well, including with national institutions or
international agencies, SC and SC partners may want to assume responsibility for protection of
child trafficking victims, rehabilitation, repatriation, reintegration and follow-up.
Whereas some SC members are of the opinion that the role of the SC Alliance is rather in the
field of research and awareness raising, with an exceptional direct assistance programme to make
a point, others have suggested that SC members should get more involved in repatriation
schemes, in particular with the help and expertise of local NGOs. Much may depend on the
concrete context, the access to funding as well as the expertise and activities of other actors.
In terms of repatriation and social reintegration programmes, SC members may also want to
measure the impact of their methodologies and particularly the prevention of being trafficked
again or being victimized (stigmatized, ostracized, discriminated) in the local community upon
return. In a follow-up study on social reinsertion carried out in 2002 in the communities of origin
of the trafficked children in Mali, SC Canada has concluded that only 50% of the repatriated

62
children had stayed in the community. The rest had left for bigger cities again. This seems to
indicate a need for a thorough follow-up to social reintegration processes.
It may be equally important to review the role of SC members with regard to the protection of
child rights in migration policies/processes. Save the Children may want to play an important role
in regular migration processes by introducing a child-rights approach into the migration policies,
and to see to it that the rights of child victims of trafficking are respected and protected. Concrete
examples in Europe are related to creating awareness on the rights of children, intervening on
their behalf in the media in an effort to prevent immediate repatriation of children who are caught
by immigration officials, and ensuring respect for their rights as victims. In view of the link
between migration and the occurrence of child trafficking, SC may want to consider further study
of the issue, as it is suggested in the ENACT programme proposed by SC Italy.
With regard to witness protection, some SC members have stressed the need to protect the
intercepted or repatriated child victims of child trafficking and their families who want to testify
about their experience. For example, in Albania, the lack of protection of child victims is of
particular concern because of the violent character of child trafficking in that country. At present,
there is no protection mechanism in place for those who testify against traffickers, so children
have a fear to do so.
In this regard, Save the Children may want to pay further attention to the confidentiality of
trafficking victims in the media. The confidentiality should extend to family and to local staff of
partners who are working with the children. In order to avoid sensationalism and/or victimization
of high-risk or trafficked children, the draft media guidelines elaborated by SC recommend the
sharing of clear brief advocacy messages with the media, and to counter sensationalized stories.
SC also may want to conduct workshops with media on child rights and child trafficking to raise
awareness about issues of concern.
4.6 How may child participation be further enhanced in SC efforts to

address child trafficking?
Some SC Alliance members have stressed a need for qualitative research into the issue of child
participation with regard to child trafficking, and suggested that the SC Alliance define a position
in this regard. Child participation has proven to be very useful in the PAR programmes, since this
experience showed that it is easier for children to talk to young people though their peers. Child
participation may be very important in different kinds of preventive actions. Furthermore, it
seems to be very effective to reflect children’s perspectives in public awareness raising
campaigns. Several respondents have nevertheless emphasised that the training of young people
for research on child trafficking may need to be done in a careful way, with respect for their ages
and cultural, linguistic and personal context and perceptions. Victims of child trafficking or
different forms of exploitation may be severely traumatized, and re-living of their traumas
through participation in certain activities should be avoided.
Research carried out by SC Norway in Nepal on ‘‘child participation in Transit Emergency

Centres’ concluded that there was not yet a full agreement as to how child participation could
take place at different levels. It was found that child participation in activities was higher than the
participation of children in decision-making processes. It is then important to analyze factors like
ages, cultural, linguistic and personal context and perceptions, impact of traumatisms on
children’s participation, level of ownership in decision-making, etc.

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SC may want to ensure that actions against child trafficking are in line with its national, local
(community) and family situation, including the socio-cultural context. At the regional workshop
that took place in August 2002 in Lao PDR, while discussing the PAR methodology it was
underlined that child participation must be appropriate to the local culture and environment, and
should be as close as possible to natural evolution. It was felt that forcing or copying of a
‘western stereotype of child participation’ should be avoided. If approached through existing
activities or events such as festivals, traditional ceremonies or daily routines, children were found
more likely to participate and express themselves.
4.7 Should child trafficking be mainstreamed into existing programmes

that deal with other types of violations such as child labour, sexual
exploitation and programmes for street-children?
In countries where information links child trafficking primarily to labour exploitation, it seems
logical to address child trafficking from a child labour perspective. However, it may be important
to distinguish the two phenomena, since not all exploited children are necessarily trafficked and
vice versa. The adoption of protective labour legislation for children may be an important tool for
the future prevention of children from being trafficked for exploitative purposes. Treating child
trafficking as a separate issue in such a context may result in a duplication of efforts, especially if
monitoring mechanisms for child labour have already been established. For example, countries
that participate in the ILO-IPEC programme have set up national committees on child labour in
which NGOs can participate, either as a member or as observers. However, the specific situation
of exploited children who have been trafficked and who as a consequence may have suffered
from additional violations of their rights may have to be addressed separately.
As for sexual exploitation and child trafficking for sexual purposes, it also seems important to
distinguish the two phenomena, but to understand the possible overlap in situations where
trafficked children end up being sexually exploited. In a number of countries, national
programmes have been developed as a follow-up to international conferences such as the World
Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Stockholm (1996) and the
Second World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Yokohama
(2001). In signing the Stockholm Agenda for Action, States committed politically to present
national action plans on sexual exploitation of children, no later than 2000. Even though the
Stockholm Agenda for Action and the Yokohama Global Commitment do not enjoy the status of
legally binding documents, and the quality of the national action plans may be questioned in
certain cases, anti-child trafficking sexual exploitation initiatives may be mainstreamed into
existing programmes if appropriate for that specific context. Another possibility may be to define
the efforts to eliminate trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation within the framework of
the follow-up to the Optional Protocol to the CRC on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and
Child Pornography.
Finally, anti-child trafficking components may be included in other programmes that deal with
the protection specific groups of children. For example, Indonesia has elaborated a programme
for street-children that include child trafficking prevention components, since street-children and
in particular girls may be an at-risk group.

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4.8 Should Save the Children address child trafficking as a development

issue?
A few SC members mentioned the need to address child trafficking from a development
perspective. Linking child trafficking to development programmes may be important, since
development processes may be necessary in order to find structural and sustainable long-term
solutions for child trafficking. Access to education, food, health care, housing, employment
opportunities, vocational training, leisure are essential for the prevention of child trafficking. A
few projects entail aspects of development projects such as micro-credits for individuals, or
community-based grants for developing community-building projects. In this regard, the
evaluation report on the regional programme in Mali also concluded that the effective eradication
of child trafficking will largely depend on the “… the increase in the level of the economic and
social development of the poor countries…”.
4.9 How may Save the Children address child trafficking as a gender-
issue?
Some SC programmes in countries where women and girls are being seen as inferior, have
addressed child trafficking mainly as an issue of girls trafficking. Yet, there seems to be no
unified gender-specific approach to child trafficking amongst SC members and partners.
Preliminary results of research carried out in China or India however, indicate that this is an area
that may need further exploration, in order to define effective strategies for the future.
In March 2003, SC UK presented to the UN Commission on the Status of Women a document

called ‘Trafficking in Girls: Recommendations and Experience from Save the Children’s Practice
on Trafficking in Girls’. The document was developed on the basis of an analysis of SC UK’s
experiences with child trafficking. Some of the recommendations for gender-sensitive strategies
were: the empowerment of girls from affected communities to influence and participate in the
development of responses to child trafficking; the prioritization of the collection of gender-
disaggregated data on trafficking; research on different patterns of trafficking in girls (not only
into commercial sex work) and implementation of the Stockholm Agenda mandating the
formulation of National Action Plans against Sexual Exploitation.
An SC Alliance world wide consultation on the issue, including consultations at a national and
community-level may be considered however, in order to come up with more elaborate proposals
for a gender-sensitive approach to girls trafficking.
4.10 How may SC improve impact monitoring of child trafficking

programmes and what indicators have been identified?
It was generally felt that there seems to be yet a lack of efficient monitoring and follow-up to
anti-trafficking efforts and interventions, so the impact of the child trafficking programmes
remains largely unmeasured. A clear definition of objectives, a strategic selection of project
location and target beneficiaries and the desired outputs may be a first step to allow for proper
evaluation afterwards. It should be taken into account that the fight against child trafficking is a
long and complex process, and as a result, measuring impact is not easy. Some SC members such
as SC UK are implementing strategies to improve the measuring of impact of trafficking
programs and the definition of indicators. Save the Children members may want to look at such
experiences in order to pursue their reflections on that.

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4.11 What are possible points for improved cooperation of SC members

and partners?
It was generally found that within the SC Alliance there is a need for more transparency as to
what SC members and their partners are doing in different countries and regions. This may allow
for better understanding, learning from existing experiences and a better use of resources.
Existing expertise may be exchanged or combined and interventions may be made more effective.
There also seems to be a need to clarify the work of the Alliance Coordinating and Task Groups,
and the presence of field representatives therein may guarantee a sharing of field experiences on a
larger scale. This may facilitate the use of in-house expertise of the SC Alliance members,
avoiding reliance on outside consultants for specific tasks. In this regard, capacity building on
child participation and gender with regard to child trafficking programming were suggested.
At a national and regional level, the systematic sharing and exchange of specific information,
expertise and good practices, may create increased opportunities for highlighting child trafficking
as an issue that can be successfully addressed. It may also give better insights in the wider
context as to causes and consequences of child trafficking. Since child trafficking often goes
beyond national borders it may be important to find solutions at a regional level, in addition to
addressing the issue from a national perspective. Improved cooperation may increase the impact
of programmes, and the visibility of the Save the Children Alliance in a certain region. Local
networks may benefit greatly from knowledge obtained in the region, and successful national
programmes may cross-fertilize regional programmes and vice versa.
Increased communication technology has greatly facilitated the regional sharing of information
on child trafficking without too much additional costs for displacement etc. Teleconferences,
Internet facilities etc. are excellent means to improve communication and promote exchange of
information/expertise. A systematic update of information on child trafficking on SC websites
may facilitate that. Country strategies of Alliance members and CFO’s may incorporate strategies
and initiatives on child trafficking. Ongoing merging processes of SC Alliances members in
certain countries (such as Nepal) also offer new possibilities for improved cooperation on child
trafficking. Potential national or regional focal points on child trafficking may envisage the
starting of the collection and diffusion of information on child trafficking and anti-child
trafficking activities on a systematic basis.
Once the SC Alliance’s objectives and the common framework of operation have been defined,
the Alliance may be more involved in child trafficking programmes. Increased coordination
within the SC Alliance, may result in a more united approach, and a better sharing of information
and experience, especially at a regional level. SC may want to look for more partners in order to
effectively deal with the problem, and envisage training on child rights and institutional capacity
building on child trafficking.
Finally, SC may want to consider extending its child trafficking activities to those
regions/countries where the population is at risk of being trafficked, and which are not (yet)
included in the SC programmes, in particular Latin America, due to the lack of information on
child trafficking as well as a lack of expertise.

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ANNEXES

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ANNEX 1 - Contact list of Alliance members
SC member - Name contact person Email contact

SC Albania
Galit Wolfensohn gwolfensohn@albmail.com
SC Canada
Anita Sheth asheth@savethechildren.ca
Martine Bernier mbernier@savethechildren.ca
Kim Kerr kkerr@savethechildren.ca
Marlen Mondaca mmondaca@savethechildren.ca
SC Denmark
Vernon Jones vernon.jones@redbarnet.dk
SC Finland
Merja Sarrikoski merja.saarikoski@pela.fi
Mari Luosujarvi mari.luosujarvi@pela.fi
SC Hongkong
Yvonne Chow ychow@schk.org.hk
SCUK India
Mini Bhaskar m.bhaskar@scfukindia.org
SC Italy
Pippo Costella pippo@savethechildren.it
Simona Pari simona@savethechildren.it
SC Mexico
Maria Josefina Carvajal maripinafai@mexis.com
SC Nepal
Shova Lama slama@savechildren.org.np
SC Norway
Turid Heiberg yurid.heiberg@reddbarna.no
Julian.Kramer julian.kramer@reddbarna.no
SC Norway Cambodia
Khat Ty Ekvisoth visoth@scn.bigpond.kh
SC Norway Nepal
Sita Ghimire s.ghimire@savechildren-norway.np
SC OSCAR
Archana Tamang archana@scfoscar.org.np
SC Pakistan
Mehmood Asgher asgherm@scpa.com.pk
SC SEAPRO
Nwe Nwe Aye nwenwe@seapro.or.th
SC Sri Lanka
Lionel Amarakoon lionel@scfsl.childalliance.org
SCUK
Andrew Dunn a.dunn@scfuk.org.uk
Chris Cunninghame c.cunninghame@scfuk.org.uk
Deborah Brodie d.brodie@scfuk.org.uk
Elizabeth Stevens e.stevens@scfuk.org.uk
Madeleine Tearse m.tearse@scfuk.org.uk
SCUK Nepal
Jagat Khadka j.khadka@sc-uk.org.np

68
SCUK Vietnam
Ha Thi Kim Lien hklien@scuk.netnam.vn
SCUS
Naoko Otani notani@dc.savechildren.org
SC Sweden
Ola Florin ola.florin@rb.se
SC Sweden Senegal
Elkane Mooh scs@arc.sn
Carin Astrom save-suede@arc.sn
SC Sweden Vietnam
Dotti McArthur dotti@scsweden@scsweden.org.vn
Ngoc.Anh Nguyen ngocanh@scsweden.org.vn

69
ANNEX 2 - Bibliography and sources
SC Reports
1. Advocacy Paper on Comparative Laws of the Countries in the Mekong Sub-region
With respect to trafficking in women and Children Save the Children Alliance 2001.
Available online: www.seapa.net .
2. Albania country strategy 2002-2005. Save the Children.
3. Annual Plan 2002, Save the Children Norway Cambodia Office, September 12,2000.
4. Annual Programme Reports and Accounts 2001, Strategy period report 1998-2001,
SC Norway Cambodia Office February 2002.
5. Anti Trafficking Focal Persons’ Meeting, March 4-6 2003, New Delhi India. SC SCA.
6. Cambodia Programme Annual Plan & Budget 2003, SC Norway Cambodia Office,
September 20, 2002.
7. A Study on the Best Interests of the Child and child participation in Practices in
Emergency Transit Centres. Country Programme : SC Norway Nepal available online
www.yomari.net/demo/raid/docs/ar/NPNYRRET.2001_01.htm (Visited 01/27/2003).
8. Combating child trafficking with Children as Partners, International Save the
Children Alliance South and Central Asia region.
9. Combating Trafficking for all purposes (Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bangladesh)
Funded by CIDA. SC South and East Asia region.
10. Comparative Study of the Legal provisions of the Six Countries in the Mekong Sub-
region With respect to Trafficking in Women and Children, Part 1 Research
Findings and recommendations. Save the Children Alliance 2001. Available online:
www.seapa.net .
11. Etude sur la réinsertion sociale des enfants victimes de trafic. SC Canada (SCC).
(février-mars 2002).
12. Save the Children’s Alliance Policy Paper on Child Labour.
13. Save the Children’s Alliance’s Policy on Prevention of Sexual Abuse and Sexual
Exploitation of Children.
14. Trafficking in Girls, Recommendations and experience from Save the Children’s
Practice on Trafficking in Girls. Briefing Paper for the 47th Session of the UN
Commission on the Status of Women in New York, USA, 3-14 March 2003. SC UK.
SC Project documents
1. Anti Girls Trafficking Program FY 2002. Annual report. Prepared by Ratna Baba
Tandukar Nuwakot, Nepal for SC US. 2002.
2. Grassroots Anti-Trafficking Initiatives in Indonesia, submitted by the Save the
Children Federation Inc. To Oak Philantropy Ltd. 2002.
3. Prevention through advocacy and Awareness. Annual Program Report 2002. By
Maiti Nepal to SC US.
4. Programme for the Establishment of a EUROPEAN Network Against child
trafficking’. STOP II Grant Application. Submitted to the European Commission by
SC Italy on behalf of SCUK, red Barnet (SC Denmark), SC Greece, SC Spain, Salvati
Copii (SC Romania), SC programme in Bulgaria, SC Alliance – European Office.(August
2001).
SC Project proposals
1. Child and Women trafficking from Southern and Eastern Europe, proposal for a
multi-disciplinary study (First working paper). SC Italy. 2002.

70
2. Document conceptuel. La lutte contre le trafic d’enfants en Afrique de l’Ouest.

Décembre 2001. SC Canada.
3. Project proposal: Cross-border Community-based Initiatives Against Trafficking in
Children in the Mekong Sub-Region, submitted to Department for International
Development (DFID) (SC UK October 2002).
4. Project Proposal intervention Programs to Combat the Menace of Trafficking in
girls and Women, submitted by Maiti Nepal to SC UK, 3/4/2001.
SC Workshops Reports
1. Anti trafficking Focal Persons’ Meeting, March 4th-6th, 2003, New Delhi, India.
2. Draft report. Save the Children Regional Workshop: Community- Based
Initiatives against Trafficking in Children Along Cross-Border Areas in China, Lao
PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, Luang Prabang, 19-22 August 2002. Theme:
Strategic Programming and Impact Monitoring. (SC UK October 2002).
3. Workshop Report,, First Regional Workshop, Kavaja, Albania, 12-13 June, 2002,
Save the Children Regional child trafficking Response Program, South Eastern Europe.
SC Working drafts
1. Child Trafficking and Media Coverage. Draft Policy & Guidelines. Working Draft,
By SC Albania. (13 November 2002).
Reports by SC partners
1. Analysis of laws related to trafficking of children, child protection and the existing
situation in India from the perspective of the CRC, CEDAW and Other relevant
state ratified international legal instruments, prepared by Socio Legal Aid research
and training Centre, Calcutta, on behalf of Save the Children UK, West Bengal. Save the
Children Alliance South and Central Asia.
2. Child Trafficking in Albania, by Daniel Renton. 2001 . (see www.albania.org)
3. Child Trafficking in Kosovo, September 2002 (see www.savethechildren.it
(publicazzioni))
International law
1. ILO Convention No. 105 Abolition of Forced Labour Convention 1957. (Available
online)
2. ILO Convention No. 138 Minimum Age Convention 1973. (Available online)
3. ILO Convention No. 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention 1999 (Available
online).
4. Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of
children, child prostitution and child pornography.
5. Protocol against the Smuggling of migrants by land, sea and air, supplementing the
United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. United Nations
2000 ( Available online)
6. Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish trafficking in persons, especially Women
and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational
Organized Crime. United Nations. (Available online).
7. UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989.
Resolutions by UN bodies
1. Elimination of violence against women. UN Commission on Human Rights Resolution
2002/52 E/CN.4/2002/52 of 23 April 2002.

71
2. Report of the working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery. UN Sub-

Commission on Human Rights 2002/27. E/CN.4/2002/27 of 27 August 2002.
Relevant reports by other agencies and organizations (Preliminary list)

1. A Journey to Nowhere, State of child trafficking in Pakistan, by Zia Ahmed Awan
and Amir Murtaza, Laywers for Human Rights and Legal Aid, Karachi.
2. A World fit for children. Final declaration of the World Summit on Children. 2002.
3. Child Trafficking in Bangladesh. Report by the Bangladeshi National Woman Lawyers’
Association.2000.
4. Child Trafficking in West Africa. Policy responses. UNICEF Innocenti (April 2002).
5. Combating trafficking in Children for Labour Exploitation in West and Central
Africa, Synthesis report. Based on studies of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte
d’Ivoire, Gabon, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria and Togo. International Programme on the
Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), International Labour Office, ILO, 2001. (Available
online).
6. Consultation sous-régionale sur le développement des stratégies de lutte contre le
trafic des enfants a des fins d’exploitation du travail en Afrique de l’Ouest et du
Centre .Unicef Bureau Régional pour l’Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centre, BIT Bureau
Régional pour l’Afrique 22-24 fevrier 2000, Libreville, Gabon.
7. Draft Guidelines for Protection of the Rights of Children Victims Trafficking in
South Eastern Europe. March 2003. UNICEF.
8. Every Child counts. New Global Estimates on Child Labour. International Labour
Office Geneva. April 2002. (Available online)
9. Fact Sheet No.14, Contemporary Forms of Slavery. UN HCHR (Available online)
10. Final report, South Asia Coordination and Strategic Support Group Against Sexual
Exploitation and trafficking in Children and Women. Kathmandu, 7-8 June 2002.
UNICEF/ILO –IPEC.
11. Le trafic transfrontalier d’enfants entre le Mali et la Cote d’Ivoire: Enquete
Prospective. Ministere de la promotion de la Femme de l’Enfant et de la Famille et
UNICEF. Republique du Mali. (Mars 2000).
12. IPEC Action Against Child Labour: Highlights 2002. October 2002. International
Labour Office, Geneva. (Available online)
13. National Report. Research on the Trafficking in Women, Children and Adolescents
for Sexual Purposes in Brasil, by PESTRAF Brasil, June 2002..
14. Plan d’action national d’urgence de lutte contre le trafic transfrontalier d’enfants
2000-2001. Ministere de la Promotion de la Femme et de l’enfant et de la famille,
Republique du Mali. Mai 2001.
15. Recommended Principles and guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking,
E/2002/68/Add.1 of 20 May 2002.
16. Report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to the Economic and Social
Council, E/2002/68 of 20 May 2002.
17. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and
child pornography. E/CN.4/2002/88 of 4 February 2002.
18. South Asia NGO Consultation. Final Draft, Kathmandu, 4-5 January 2002.UNICEF
ROSA, SC South and Central Asia Region.
19. Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation of Children: An evaluation of ILO-IPEC
programmes in Thailand, Philippines, Colombia, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. ILO-
IPEC, June 2001. (Available online).
20. Trafficking in Children for Labour Exploitation in the Mekong Sub-region: A
Framework for Action. ILO-IPEC 1998. (Available online)

72
21. Unbearable to the human heart. child trafficking and action to eliminate it. ILO-
IPEC. 2002. (Available online).
Bilateral cooperation agreements

1. Accord de cooperation entre la Republique de Mali et la Republique de Cote
d’Ivoire en Matiere de Lutte contre le traffic transfrontalier des enfants. (1 Sept.
2000).

73
ANNEX 3 - Overview of SC programmes/projects dealing with

child trafficking

Overview of SC programmes/projects dealing with child trafficking (not exhaustive)
AFRICA
Region/country SC Name of project Main objectives Main activities Partners Time-
Lead frame
agency
Mali SC-Can Transit Centre Improve knowledge about SC is member of Pilot Committee against CT Ministry of 2000-
Horon So, Mali CT in Mali and reduce to monitor bilateral agreement between Mali Promotion of 2002
numbers of child victims and Ivory Coast. Women
of CT. Carry out research on cross-border trafficking. IOM
Rehabilitation of CT victims in Mali by
provision of services in transit Centre “Horon
So”.
Reintegration of CT victims into their
communities of origin.
Awareness raising activities.
Regional coordination activities.
Agreements with key actors such as
transportation unions, border security
association (“chasseurs”)
Advocacy for adoption and implementation of
national action plans and for coordination
committees in other countries in the region.
Ivory Coast, Mali, SC Can Regional Project Consolidate and amplify Transit centre and social reinsertion Ministry of 2003-
Burkina Faso, Togo to prevent CT previous programme on Awareness activities (community, child-to- Promotion of 2007
and Benin and protect CT in Mali, including as child, parents) Women
victims of CT new countries Ivory Coast, Capacity building (training, village IOM
Burkina Faso Togo and committees, advocacy, legislation
Benin strengthening, networking)
Research programme (girls trafficking, traffic
networks, social reinsertion)
Ivory Coast, Mali, SC-Swe Regional Preventing CT for Research on prevalence and nature of CT. WAO ?????????
Burkina Faso, Togo Programme on exploitative work Support to projects in Ivory Coast and Togo Afrique, ILO,
and Benin CT in West (formal or alternative education and UNICEF, SC
Africa improvement of working conditions for Alliance
children)
Awareness raising and advocacy for local,
75
national and regional agreements between

employers, parents, working children, NGOs
and authorities to offer alternative education
and to improve working conditions of CT
victims and to promote child participation.
Adaptation of military training manual to the
issue of CT.
Provide training for police, security forces and
customs officers on issue of CT.
Mali SC US CT in Prevention of CT Development of District Plan ???????
Kolondieba 12 forums on CT
Awareness raising
Qualitative study on perceptions and
experiences of child labour migration in
Mali’s southern regions bordering on Cote
d’Ivoire.

76
EUROPE
Region/country SC Lead Name of project Main objectives Main activities Partners Time-frame
agency
South and Eastern SCNOR Regional Child Better understanding of Implementation of six national Centre for Social 2002-2004
Europe (Albania, SC Albania trafficking Response child trafficking programmes ranging from Policy Initiatives SC
Croatia, Kosovo, SC It Program, South Eastern Develop effective prevention activities,, support Sweden partner)
Montenegro, SC Europe interventions and reintegration services, Salvati Copiii – SC
Romania and Denmark Develop best- practices advocacy, awareness raising Romania
Serbia) SC US guidelines through comunity0based SC Albania
SC UK Develop and disseminate activities government SC romania
advocacy messages lobbying and training SC Kosovo
Sc Serbia
Pan European SC Italy Pan European initiative Better understanding of Compilation of research 2003-????
region SC UK ‘ENACT” CT and sexual Elaboration of framework of
SC exploitation from a pan- Action
Denmark European perspective Elaboration of training
SC Romania modules for multidisciplinary
SC Spain teams
Sc in
Bulgaria
Albania SC US Support to shelter in Reduce child trafficking Provide medical care, Albanian women’s 2002-2003
Vlora region and protect victims counselling and support for NGO
victims and prepare for
repatriation
Awareness raising activities
Italy SC Italy Positive Chocolate Raise awareness about Awareness raising activities SC Canada, Transfair 2001-2002
Campaign child trafficking and child particularly aiming at
exploitation in cocoa consumers and producers
plantations in West Africa Signature campaign
Organisation of two
conferences on the issue of
child trafficking and
exploitation in the cocoa
sector in West Africa

77
NORTH AMERICA
agency
Canada SC Canada Positive Chocolate Raise awareness about CT Awareness raising activities Transfair Canada 2002-2003
Campaign and exploitation in cocoa (Government. Consumers,
productions in West producers)
Africa Media campaign
Advocacy for implementation
of Cocoa Protocol and
adoption of national
legislation on CT
Training - Conferences
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA
agency
Brazil Sc Sweden Research on the Elaborate a national Research PESTRAF- 2001-2002
Trafficking in Women, report on trafficking to Workshops Brasil.ILO, USAID,
children and adolescents facilitate development of Awareness raising activities OAS, US Embassy,
for Commercial sexual policy initiatives to OPS, Institute WCF,
exploitation. combat the phenomenon Ministry of Justice,
SEDH, DCA, IHRLI,
DePaul University

78
SOUTH EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC
agency
Entire region and SC Nor Alliance Working Planning, Coordination Alliance Working Group 2001-2002
South and central (Cambodia Group on Anti developing Anti-trafficking
Asia & Lao), trafficking Agenda
SC Aus Mapping exercise
(Lao) Follow-up activities
SCF-UK Development of joint regional
(SEAPRO, Save the Children project
Lao, Study on community
Cambodia, prevention best practices,
Myanmar, which is to be developed into
China, a regional SC resource base in
Vietnam) 2003.
SC Swe
(SEA)
Mekong region SCF-UK Participatory Action Co-ordination of work Cross-border research (PAR) Empowering of 1999- 2001
China, Thailand, Research into cross- that crosses borders such with migrant children to assess children researched
Myanmar border trafficking of as control of CT and a their situation and develop through data
children regional working group strategies for possible collection, analysing,
on child labour intervention. feedback, action
planning and
implementation and
assessing results of
those actions and
further data
collection.

79
Cambodia SC Norway Programme against Sexual exploitation of Communiy-wide awareness CCPCR 1998- 2001
sexual exploitation and children raising activities
abuse of children National level training of
police and judicial authorities
Rescue operation in brothels
Reception of exploited
children in centres in
Kampong Cham, Kampong
Thom and Siem Rap
Reintegration/awareness
raising with families
Reporting cases of abuse and
exploitation to Ministry of
Interior
Monitoring at village level.

80
agency
China, Thailand SCF-UK Cross-border Reduce incidence and Generating knowledge and Country level: local, 2003-2005
Myanmar, Lao SC Aus Community-based impact of CT and abuse awareness of risks of provincial and
PDR, Vietnam SCUK initiatives Against for sweatshops, sex trade, trafficking; national level
China Trafficking in Children domestic labour, Mobilising development government; National
in the Mekong Sub- migration, slave-like capacities of existing and/or Steering Committee
Region (PAR) marriages, drug new community groups; on Child Labour and
trafficking etc. through Enhancing livelihood trafficking (set up by
participatory development opportunities of young people; ILO/IPEC);l ocal
of sustainable coping facilitating peer education and communities;
strategies grounded in support; organisations, border
child rights and advocacy Strengthening access to basic guards, local NGOs,
at local, national and services; facilitating safe and CBOs, Associations,
international levels.. voluntary repatriation and Coalitions, INGOs
reintegration of trafficked or and UN Bodies,
exploited children; Various SC Alliance
Advocating for improved members
policies and practices.
Regional level:
ILO-IPEC, SURAC
(Subregional
Advisory Committee
Against Trafficking
of Children and
Women set up by
ILO): UN-IAP:
UNICEF: ESCAP:
UNESCO: IOM:
INGOs, Donors: SC
Alliance; GAATW
(Global Alliance
Against Trafficking
of Women)

81
Global level:
SC Alliance, DfiD
and concerned
international bodies
China, Thailand SC Nor Comparative Study of Get an overview of Studies of relevant national SC Alliance 2000-2001
Myanmar, Lao SC Swe the Legal provisions of relevant existing legislation in each of the
PDR, Cambodia the Six Countries in the legislation and identify countries.
Mekong Sub-Region gaps. Elaboration of advocacy
with respect to paper.
Trafficking in Women
and Children
SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA
agency
Regional SC Alliance, Combating Child To improve regional and National studies on legislation UNICEF ROSA 2002-2003?
Bangladesh South and Trafficking with national lvel legislation on child trafficking NGO Consortium
Nepal Central Asia Children As Partners and enforcement Organisation of national Sunlap (India)
India region mechanisms, addressing workshop to present research
Sri Lanka child trafficking results and obtain feedback, in
Toa chieve great child particular from children
focus in government, Preparation of regional report
biletral, multilateral and Activities in framework of
NGO/civil society around SAARC
child trafficking issues Provide comments on SAARC
conventions
Lobby SAARC for
incorporation of suggested
amendments
Activities at national level
Bangladesh SC Child trafficking and Prevention of CT and Rescue activities repatriation, BNWLA, ACD, 2001-2006
Denmark sexual exploitation creation of awareness on shelter, social and family INCIDIN
CT reintegration, rehabilitation,
skills training, job placement,
self-employment, recreation

82
India SCF-UK Analysis of laws related to CT, Overview of laws related to Analysis of legal provisions Socio Legal research 2001
SC child protection and the CT and training Centre
Alliance existing situation in India from Identify gaps in
the perspective of the CRC, implementation
CEDAW and other relevant
state ratified international legal
instruments
India SCUK Addressing Gender Based Eradication of gender based Awareness raising Partner NGOs : Aali, 2003-
India Violence in Uttar Pradesh with violence and trafficking of Needs assessment and mapping exercise GNK, Vanaga, 2005
a focus on prevention of children in Uttar Pradesh in selected border districts Guriya, Sangathin,
trafficking Develop intervention programme on SARC
basis of needs assessment
Joint advocacy activities with authorities
and other stakeholders
Provide legal support on gender-based
violence (girl child abuse and trafficking)
Local capacity-building on gender-based
violence and trafficking issues including
provision of income alternatives
Coordination with SC Nepal for
prevention and protection during transit
and rehabilitation
Documentation, publication,
development of communication material.

83
Indonesia SC US Grassroots Anti-trafficking Reducing CT from at risk PAR research 2002-

initiatives communities PDI research 2003
Identification of push and pull factors
Analysis of gender dynamics
Mapping exercises
Mobilization of communities
Sub-grants for community-based CT
initiative
Indonesia SC US Prevention of CT for sexual To prevent CT among street Awareness raising on sexual exploitation Local NGOs and 2003-
exploitation through urban children and CT CBOs 2004
street programme (proposal) Capacity building of NGOs
Development of community-based
programmes for efforts to prevent girls
from being trafficked for prostitution
Nepal SC UK Intervention programs to Empowering trafficked girls Capacity building of survivors/returnees Maiti-Nepal 2001-
NP Combat the menace of /women to improve their Establishment of community-based 2004
Trafficking in girls and future life potentials by border monitoring structure
Women empowering them against the VDC/District and national workshops
problem of trafficking in
Nepal.
Nepal SC US Anti Girls Trafficking Program Reduce incidence of Orientation on anti-trafficking DDC 2002 -
Nuwakot FY 2002 trafficking of children and High school competition program Janajati Yuba Utthan ????
women though increased Child journalism training Parisad
community based awareness Street drama Maiti-Nepal
raising and prevention and to Life skills training
reduce exploitative migration School awareness program
of children and women PLA classes PDI research
Income generation activities
Establishment of local steering
committees

84
Nepal SC US Prevention through Create awareness amongst students Sensibilization and mobilisation of Maiti-Nepal 2002
Advocacy and Awareness about effects of girls trafficking students about girl trafficking
Provide safe transit shelter Provide transit shelter for trafficked or
Provide a safe home to abandoned intercepted women and children
children and girls who are at risk Ensure safe passage to their respective
villages
Work with police to intercept potential
victims and apprehend traffickers
Provide safe home to abandoned
children at risk
Rehabilitation into society
Provide non formal education to high
risk girls
Nepal SCF Nor Prevention of violence, To prevent, rescue and socially Awareness raising activities Maiti Nepal 1998-
sexual abuse and exploitation reintegrate trafficked girls Advocacy 2001
of girls (First Phase) Preventive and protective measures
Nepal SCF Nor Prevention of violence, To minimize incidence of child Organisation of survivors of sexual Maiti Nepal 2003-
sexual abuse and exploitation sexual abuse and exploitation abuse and exploitation Shakti Samuha 2005
of girls through raising a social concern at Awareness raising on child sexual CPC
(Second phase) community to national levels abuse
against it and building local Information and empowerment of girls
capacity to combat the crime in high-rosk condition (domestic work,
To support/empower child slums, carpet factories, rural poor
survivors of sexual abuse and areas)
exploitation through providing Sensitisation of police on rights of
legal, medical, shelter, counselling, victims of sexual exploitation
family reunion etc as per the need Provision of emergency support to 150
To make Government and civil girls (shelter, food, medicine, legal aid,
society aware on issues of child counselling, family reunion income
sexual abuse and assist in generation etc
developing community support Preventive activities with girls of Badi
system and policy caste
reform/implementation Collaboration and sharing with other
SC members in advocacy

85
ANNEX 4 – Terms of reference
Terms of Reference for Alliance Working Paper on Child Trafficking
Introduction
In all regions of the world, children are tricked, sold, kidnapped, abducted or trafficked into a
wide range of exploitative situations. Trafficking of children takes place in a number of forms and
occurs both across borders as well as internally within countries. trafficked children are often
forced to work and are exploited, with little or no remuneration, access to an education or chance
to escape.
Trafficking not only relates to child labour but also to issues of protection, violence and sexual
exploitation.
The issue of child trafficking has received widespread media coverage with great attention
focussed upon the issue by decision-makers and the public around the world. As interest in child
trafficking gains momentum and increased attention is focussed upon the issues, it is imperative
that the International Save the Children Alliance develop a common yet evolving position on how
trafficking conflicts with children’s rights, on preventing trafficking and meeting the needs of
children who are victims of trafficking so that their rights are restored.
The working paper will explore the various definitions of child trafficking, will propose a
common Alliance definition and will relate it to issues of child labour, protection, violence and
sexual exploitation. It will also document current Alliance members’ research and programme
experience including knowledge and specific competencies. It will analyse what role the Alliance
and its members can play and explore issues for future programme work and advocacy. From this
initial paper, the Alliance will develop further papers on principles of good practice, policy and a
position statement.
Objective
Develop a working paper for the Alliance that proposes an Alliance child trafficking definition
and relates it to issues of child labour, protection, violence and sexual exploitation.
The paper will capture the role of the Alliance with respect to work currently being undertaken,
including knowledge and specific competencies. It will analyse what role the Alliance and its
member scan play and how we can become more involved.
The paper should highlight areas of good practice, and look at potential areas and targets for
advocacy, programming methods and partners.
Process
The Task Group on Child Trafficking will hire a consultant to develop the working paper. With
the support of the task group, he/she will work with the Save the Children organizations and their
respective regional offices to develop an initial draft working document that will give a range of
options available.
During the preparatory phase, Nov 21- November 29, 2002 the consultant will contact the SC-
Sweden’s advisor that has already worked on this in order to assess the work that has been

86
undertaken. The consultant will also review the research tools and adjust them to the new context.
Finally, the consultant will review the documentation available and start to plan the data
collection.
During the second phase, November 29-December 20, 2002, the consultant will collect the data
and analyse them. By the end of the second phase, a draft will be completed for comments and
validation by the members of the task group.
It will then be the responsibility of the members of the Task group to revise the draft and to
disseminate it to the field for comments as well as to make sure a final version of the working
paper is completed.
Tasks
The task is to review ongoing and planned work on child trafficking operationalized by Alliance
members in all regions. This will include initiatives in the field at country and regional levels,
national and international lobbying and advocacy efforts as well as research and documentation.
Identifying and reviewing relevant research and programme work carried out by agencies,
including government actions, external to the Alliance should also help to contextualize Alliance
members work in this field.
Special attention should be given to ensure that experiences of children participation are gathered.
The report should value children’s experiences of trafficking and of being involved in our work
on trafficking. This should be done with a gender perspective.
Methodology
Interviews (majority by telephone/mail) with national/regional and HQ personnel involved with
child trafficking issue (Task Group members should help identify the most important persons to
talk to).
Literature review documentation to the Alliance members and of external agencies
(UNICEF/ILO, etc.) and a short overview of existing international legal framework.
Report Format
Introduction
Alliance members’ child trafficking definitions and proposed Alliance definition
Overview of ongoing and planned Alliance members’ initiatives against trafficking by
country/region.
Best practices identified.
Gaps in the Alliance members’ responses and potential for programming initiatives
Conclusions and recommendations
Contact list of Alliance members and staff at HQ and regional level involved in initiatives against
child trafficking.
Bibliography and resources

87
ANNEX 5 – Final Declaration of the World Summit on Children
“40. Take concerted national and international actions as a matter of urgency to end the sale of
children and their organs,sexual exploitation and abuse including the use of children for
pornography, prostitution and paedophilia
and to combat existing markets.
41. Raise awareness of the illegality and harmful consequences of sexual exploitation and abuse
including through the Internet and the trafficking of children.
42. Enlist the support of the private sector including the tourism industry and the media for a
campaign against sexual exploitation and trafficking of children.
43. Identify and address the underlying causes and the root factors including external factors
leading to sexual exploitation and trafficking of children and implement preventive strategies
against sexual exploitation and trafficking of children.
44. Ensure the safety protection and security of victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation
and provide assistance and services to facilitate their recovery and social reintegration
45. Take necessary action at all levels as appropriate
to criminalize and penalize effectively in conformity with all relevant and applicable
international instruments all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children
including within the family or for commercial purposes
child prostitution, paedophilia, child pornography, child sex tourism, trafficking, the sale of
children and their organs and engagement in forced child labour and any other form of
exploitation while ensuring that in the treatment by the criminal; justice system of children who
are victims the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.
46. Monitor and share information regionally and internationally on the cross-border
trafficking of children; strengthen the capacity of border and law enforcement officials to stop
trafficking and provide or strengthen training for them to respect the dignity human rights and
fundamental freedoms of all those particularly
women and children who are victims of trafficking.
47. Take necessary measures including through enhanced cooperation between governments,
intergovernmental organisations, the private sector and non-governmental organizations to
combat the criminal use of information technologies including the Internet for purposes of the
sale of children for child prostitution, child pornography, child sex tourism, paedophilia and
other forms of violence and abuse against children and adolescents.”

88
ANNEX 6 – Guideline 8 of the UNHCHR Guidelines on

Trafficking
The particular physical, psychological and 6. In both the situations referred to in the two
psychosocial harm suffered by trafficked children paragraphs above, ensuring that a child who is
and their increased vulnerability to exploitation capable of forming his/her own views enjoys
require that they be dealt with separately from adult the right to express those views freely in all
trafficked persons in terms of laws, policies, matters affecting him or her, in particular
programmes, and interventions. The best interests of concerning decisions about his or her possible
the child must be a primary consideration in all return to the family, the views of the child
actions concerning trafficked children, whether being given due weight in accordance with his
undertaken by public or private social welfare or her age and maturity.
institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities 7. Adopting specialized policies and programmes
or legislative bodies. Child victims of trafficking to protect and support children who have been
should be provided with appropriate assistance and victims of trafficking. Children should be
protection and full account should be taken of their provided with appropriate physical,
special rights and needs. States, and where psychosocial, legal, educational, housing and
applicable, intergovernmental and non-governmental health-care assistance.
organisations, should consider, in addition to the 8. Adopting measures necessary to protect the
measures outlined under Guideline 6: rights and interests of trafficked children at all
stages of criminal proceedings against alleged
1. Ensuring that the definition of trafficking in offenders and during procedures for obtaining
children in both law and policy reflect their compensation.
need for special safeguards and care, including 9. Protecting, as appropriate, the privacy and
appropriate legal protection. In particular, and identity of child victims and taking measure to
in accordance with the Palermo Protocol, avoid the dissemination of information that
evidence of deception, force, coercion, etc., could lead to their identification.
should not form part of the definition of 10. Taking measures to ensure adequate and
trafficking where the persons involved is a appropriate training, in particular, legal and
child. psychological training, for persons working
2. Ensuring that procedures are in place for the with child victims of trafficking.”
rapid identification of child victims of
trafficking.
3. Ensuring that children who are victims of
trafficking are not subjected to criminal
procedures or sanctions for offences related to
their situation as trafficked persons.
4. In cases where children are not accompanied
by relatives or guardians, taking steps to
identify and locate family members.
Following a risk assessment and consultation
with the child, measures should be taken to
facilitate the reunion of trafficked children
with their families where this is deemed to be
in their best interest.
5. In situations where the safe return of the child
to his or her family is not possible, or where
such return would not be in the child’s best
interests, establishing adequate care
arrangements that respect the rights and
dignity of the trafficked child.


Review of Initiatives To Combat Child Trafficking - SCS

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Review of Initiatives To Combat Child Trafficking - SCS

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Review of initiatives to combat child trafficking by

members of the Save the Children Alliance

Prepared by A.M.J van Gaalen, Consultant.

The Alliance Task Group on Child Trafficking

Save the Children Alliance initiatives

Save the Children Alliance initiatives

Save the Children Alliance initiatives

A number of SC activities and programmes are focussing on sub-regional or regional

Save the Children Alliance initiatives

Save the Children Alliance initiatives

Acronyms And Abbreviations

Save the Children Alliance initiatives

Save the Children Alliance initiatives

Save the Children Alliance initiatives

1. The Definition of ‘Child Trafficking’

1.1 International legal framework

1.2 The Palermo Protocol3

1 For the full text of the Rome Statute see: http://www.un.org/law/icc/statute/romefra.htm.

Save the Children Alliance initiatives

The Palermo Protocol defined ‘trafficking in persons’ it in its Article 3:

Definition of trafficking in persons - Palermo Protocol

Save the Children Alliance initiatives

The mother-convention of the Palermo Protocol, the UN Convention on Trans-national Crime

An ‘organized group’ is to be understood as a structured group of three or more persons, existing

As a consequence of the definition of trafficking in persons as a trans-national crime, it excludes

6 Art 2a UN Convention on Transnational Crime.

Save the Children Alliance initiatives

1.3 UNHCHR Recommended Guidelines and Principles on Human Trafficking

8 Art 8.6 Palermo Protocol.

Save the Children Alliance initiatives

1.4 Child trafficking vs. human rights and children’s rights

Art. 35 CRC specifically refers to child trafficking,

13 UNHCHR Guidelines on Trafficking, Guideline 1 para.7.

Save the Children Alliance initiatives

Save the Children Alliance initiatives

21 Available online at http://193.194.138.190/html/menu3/b/30.htm .

Save the Children Alliance initiatives

23 E/CN.4/2002/200 para.3. Available online on www.unhchr.ch/Huridoca.

Save the Children Alliance initiatives

1.6 Trafficking in persons as a labour issue

a. the gathering and exchanging of information concerning criminal offences,

28 For the full text of the Convention see:

and Action to Eliminate It. Available online:

Save the Children Alliance initiatives

1.7 Trafficking in persons as a migration issue

30 See full text of that convention: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/ipec/ratification/convention/text.htm..

Save the Children Alliance initiatives

1.8 Alliance members’ definitions of child trafficking

SC UK India is still using the 1994 UNGA definition of trafficking in persons:

Save the Children Alliance initiatives

In conclusion, as a consequence of the varying national/regional contexts, anti-child trafficking

1.9 Definitions used by other entities

Save the Children Alliance initiatives

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)

The Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women (GAATW)

1.10 Key elements for SC Alliance work on child trafficking

36 For information on UNIFEM work on trafficking see: www.unifem.org .

Save the Children Alliance initiatives

1. A human rights/child rights approach to combat child trafficking. This

3. A child can under no circumstances consent to their own trafficking and/or

4. Child Trafficking implies a separation of the child from his/her

5. Trafficking can be proven in one phase of the trafficking process in order