Fight against sex tourism in spotlight

Date: 19/11/1998

By Kate Holman

THE campaign against child sex tourism will be taken to the heart of the European travel industry next week.

The European Commission's Directorate-General for tourism (DGXXIII) will use this year's Brussels Travel Fair - the industry's annual holiday showcase - as a forum for highlighting measures aimed at stopping European paedophiles from visiting other countries, particularly in the developing world, to have sexual relations with local children.

The growing problem of the commercial sexual exploitation of children rose to international prominence in August 1996, when the United Nations children's agency UNICEF organised a world congress on the issue in Stockholm.

Although the Commission has issued a communication on illegal trafficking in children and women, the prosecution of offenders remains a national responsibility. Countries including Belgium, France, Germany and Sweden have introduced 'extraterritorial' laws making it possible to punish those convicted of sex crimes against children committed outside their home territory.

The Commission has also helped to develop a code of conduct for the tourism industry and co-financed other initiatives such as video films for air passengers on intercontinental flights, screened by carriers such as Air France and Lufthansa.

A Commission spokesman said the main aim of next week's event was to raise awareness of the problem among both the travel industry and the public.

"We want to give the issue much more visibility. Everybody has to contribute in order to fight against this phenomenon," he explained.

"Although it may not concern European children directly, we must not forget that many of the people practising these crimes come from Europe."