Children's rights world congress.

• Author: Jackson, Bill
• Position: RightsWatch - Child trafficking

As I write this article, the world is trying to come to terms with the trauma of one of its worst natural disasters: the Asian tsunami that left an estimated death toll of over 200,000, with thousands still missing, almost certainly dead (see page 38). There are also fears that another 150,000 could die as a result of injuries, disease and starvation. The affected fishing villages, rural communities, ports and resorts of many Asian countries now bear an eerie resemblance to post-nuclear Hiroshima. Rescuers report that a disproportionate number of the dead are women and children who were either working or playing on the beach when the waves hit. It is also apparent that a generation of children has been orphaned and made homeless. The effects of losing parents, siblings and extended family members, and experiencing the destruction of their communities and way of life, will obviously be considerable. The disaster presents a monumental challenge for the world as it seeks to help with the rebuilding of shattered communities and lives.

At this time too, a darker side to the tragedy is unfolding, with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) calling for the protection from international trafficking of children who were orphaned in the Asian disaster (see page 54). Potential kidnappings in order to sell young victims into forced labour or sexual slavery in more affluent nations is a horrific reality. The challenge is to ensure that children are protected from predators, and adults recognize how vulnerable young people are to the actions of individual pedophiles and international criminal gangs who can use the chaos to prey on their vulnerability.

The tragedy of the tsunami crisis adds a particular focus to the 4th World Congress on Family Law and Children's Rights in Cape Town, South Africa, from 20 to 23 March 2005. The Congress will be attended by some 1,000 lawyers and other professionals from several countries, all committed to the protection and furtherance of children's rights. This is the first to be held in Africa and marks the fifteenth anniversary of the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It will present the first international opportunity to debate, report on and analyse the state of children's rights from a number of perspectives and will coincide with the sixtieth anniversary of the United Nations.

Although real progress has been made since the Convention was adopted, children are still...