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Your Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates

It is an honour for South Africa to participate in this Second World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children. I would like to express our appreciation to the Government of Japan for the warm welcome. We believe that the dialogue over the next four days will strengthen our resolve to combat the scourge of sexual exploitation of our children.

Protecting children is everybody's business; it takes a village to raise a child. We have a moral obligation as government, civil society, business, communities and citizens to ensure that our children grow up in an environment free of exploitation and abuse. While the phenomenon of sexual exploitation affects millions of girls and boys, it is our world's girl children who constitute the majority of the victims. Commercial sexual exploitation of children is an intolerable form of child labour and this exploitation must be fought energetically and punished severely.

The Government of South Africa was amongst the 122 gvernments, which ratified the Declaration and Agenda for Action of the First World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, held in August 1996. Following the Congress, South Africa adopted a comprehensive Action Plan to Combat and Prevent the Sexual Exploitation of Children in South Africa, which government and non-governmental organisations developed jointly. We put monitoring mechanisms in place and have forwarded information to organisations such as End Child Prostitution/Pornography and Trafficking of Children (ECPAT) International.

I would like to inform the delegates of the progress made in South Africa since the First World Congress.

Policy and legislation

To begin with, we have put in place a legislative and policy framework to protect all children. Our Constitution, adopted in 1996, entrenches the rights of children. Significantly, Section 28 of the Constitution provides an explicit framework for the social and economic rights of the child. Furthermore, it declares a child's best interests to be of paramount importance in every matter concerning the child. This provision is being used to great effect to improve the position of children in South Africa.

We have amended childcare legislation to provide for a comprehensive definition of commercial sexual exploitation. The Act defines commercial sexual exploitation as the procurement of a child to perform a sexual act for a financial or other reward payable to the child, the parents or guardian of the child, the procurer or any other person. The definition is in keeping with that agreed upon at the First World Congress. The Act makes it a criminal offence for any person to be involved in the commercial sexual exploitation of children and failure to report commercial sexual exploitation to the police constitutes a criminal offence. Our childcare legislation also makes provision for a National Child Protection Register. We are finalising a comprehensive review of our childcare legislation and intend introducing new legislation during next year.

Our Films and Publications Act prohibits the possession and production of child pornography. We are strengthening the Act to address the misuse of the Internet for accessing and trading in child pornography.

Several provisions of the Sexual Offences Act criminalise various forms of commercial sexual exploitation. This Act prescribes 16 years of age as the age of consent to sexual intercourse and prohibits various activities relating to procurement, keeping brothels and prostitution. We are reviewing the Act to adequately address the trafficking of children.

Commercial sexual exploitation of children is child labour, where children are put to work forcibly, linked to involuntary or false recruitment, deception and trafficking. Child labour in South Africa is regulated by the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (Act No 55 of 1998).

We reported at the First Congress that we had ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child on 16 June 1995. The Government of South Africa has made progress in respect of other International and Regional instruments:

* The Convention Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst forms of Child Labour (ILO No. 182) was ratified in March 2000.

* South Africa ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child in December 2000.

* In November 2001, South Africa signed the Council of the Europe Convention on Cyber Crime. This Convention deals with international co-operation in criminalising and suppressing activities related to child pornography over the Internet. We are reviewing our legislation to ensure accession to this treaty as soon as possible.

* South Africa has acceded to the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and is in the process of doing so in respect of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Optional Protocol deals with the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.

* In December 2000, we signed the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children.

Programmes

The Government of South Africa has put in place a number of programmes to give effect to its child protection legislation and policies. The overarching National Programme of Action guides these programmes for children in South Africa. This National Programme of Action mainstreams issues affecting the lives of our children, commits all spheres of government and ensures that the rights of children remain on the agenda of the legislature, the executive and the judiciary.

The Government of South Africa has established specialised sexual offences courts, one-stop crisis centres and shelters for victims of abuse, including sexual abuse. We have also developed protocols for the management of child abuse and neglect by multi-disciplinary teams and our partners in civil society. Training service providers, including police officers, judicial officers, prosecutors, social workers and health workers forms an essential part of our programmes. We have in place a National Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect consisting of government and non-governmental organisations to develop strategies, monitor progress and advise government.

Various factors contribute to the commercial sexual exploitation of children. These include poverty, the impact of HIV/AIDS, dysfunctional families and communities, lack of education, drug and alcohol abuse and most importantly a breakdown in moral values.

Addressing poverty, especially child poverty, is a major priority of the South African Government. In addition to development programmes, we have in place a non-contributory social assistance scheme. Although the social assistance scheme for children is limited to those under seven years, it does provide much needed income support to the poorest households. School-feeding schemes have been implemented in many poor schools. Free health care is provided to children under the age of six years and free primary health care is available to all citizens. Children have access to free basic education and we have improved the participation ratio of girls to boys in our education system. We are implementing home-based care and community-based care for child-headed households and vulnerable children in households affected by HIV/AIDS. Our National Drug Master Plan aims to eradicate the abuse of drugs and alcohol, especially amongst the youth.

It is essential that we address the issue of the disintegration of moral values if we are to eradicate the abuse and exploitation of women and children. The South African Government, in partnership with civil society, is embarking on a process of moral regeneration. In this process, we aim to rebuild families and communities, promote a culture of zero tolerance towards abuse and exploitation, and to build the caring society envisaged in our Constitution.

Civil society has been playing a critical role in promoting the rights of children in partnership with Government. Much of what we have achieved to date is a result of this partnership, especially with the non-governmental sector and the many volunteers who have worked tirelessly to care for children in need. It is imperative that government, non-governmental organisations, the religious sector, the media and communities join forces to eradicate the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

Conclusion

On behalf of the Government of South Africa, I would like to convey our support for this Congress and assure you of our commitment to restore to the children their dignity, their humanity and their future. We owe it to the children.

Issued by Ministry of Social Development

18 December 2001