GENEVA (ILO News) - Her Majesty Queen Rania of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is to be the keynote speaker on Thursday, 12 June when the International Labour Organization (ILO) marks the second World Day Against Child Labour here.

This year's event focuses on the trafficking of children, a criminal practice in which some 1.2 million children each year are compelled to perform various forms of unwanted work, ranging from hazardous or forced labour to commercial sexual exploitation. ILO Director-General Juan Somavia will introduce this year's event. Following the address by Queen Rania, Lyse Doucet, a BBC presenter and correspondent will moderate a programme highlighting anti-trafficking activities in four areas of the world: the Philippines, the "three border area" of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, the Mekong River area in Asia, and Africa.

The event will take place in Room XIX of the Palais des Nations, from 11:30 to 13:00. Media wishing to attend the event or obtain interviews should contact the ILO Department of Communication (see contact information below) for more information.

Trafficked children are caught in a web that spans all continents and nearly all countries. These children are moved within and across national borders through force, coercion or deception by unscrupulous traffickers.

The ILO defines a trafficked child as one who is relocated and exploited. Those who contribute to or profit from the practice - recruiters, middlemen, document providers, transporters, corrupt officials and others - are defined as traffickers.

Alarmingly, most children who are trafficked today wind up in commercial sexual exploitation. The ILO publication " Unbearable to the Human Heart " says that less publicized forms of trafficking push children into domestic service, service industries like restaurants and bars, hazardous work in factories, agriculture, construction, fishing and begging and even armed conflict.

World Day against Child Labour

12 June 2003, 11:30 to 13:00, Room XIX, Palais des Nations
"Local Solutions, Global Problem: Communities Combat Child Trafficking"
Welcome and Opening remarks by moderator: Ms. Lyse Doucet, BBC Presenter and Correspondent
Introduction by: Mr. Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labour Office
Keynote speaker: Her Majesty Queen Rania of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

From the Philippines

In and effort to prevent trafficking of children as they transit through the main seaports in the Philippines, the Philippine Ports Authority, employers' groups, porters' associations, NGOs, and many others and joined forces. Together, they work towards identifying and rescuing children and adolescents who, lured by promises made by traffickers, leave the safety and security of their homes in search of work and fortune. Panellists: Ms. Cecilia Flores-Oebanda, President of the Visayan Forum Foundation, Inc.; Ms. Gina R. Virtusio, Public Relations and Corporate Communications' Manager, WG&A Shipping Lines; Mr. Alfonso Cusi: General Manager of the Philippine Ports Authority.

From Latin America

The Triple Border region - where Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil intersect - is a vast area with porous borders, major regional commercial and tourism centres and a population of almost 500,000. The lack of vigorous border checks and law enforcement in the region facilitates illegal commerce, including weapons, drugs and the commercial sexual exploitation of minors. In this region, the ILO has established a tri-country partnership approach to combating child trafficking. Panellists: Ms. Isa Ferreira, Chief Technical Advisor of the ILO Programme on the Prevention and Elimination of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Young Children and Adolescents at the common border of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay; Ms. Beatriz Helena Dutra Jacinto de Farias, Representative of the Regional Nucleus of Social Services and social worker of the Action Program in Foz do Iguaçu.

From Africa

In Togo, 200 villages have been identified as communities where trafficked children originate. In order to stem the traffic, the ILO is helping to establish community vigilance committees whose objective is to create awareness on the dangers of child trafficking amongst rural families and within communities. This work is part of preventive efforts throughout West and Central Africa. Panellist: Mr. Essodina Mibaféi Abalo, National Programme Manager for the ILO's programme on the elimination of child labour in Togo.

From Mekong Sub-region

The Mekong Project to Combat the Trafficking in Children and Women covers five countries of the Greater Mekong sub-Region: Cambodia, China (Yunnan Province), and Laos, Thailand and Viet Nam. It identifies viable preventive strategies, strengthens communication between grassroots communities and national policy makers, and encourages replication of project successes. Panellists participating by telephone: Mr. Hervé Berger, Chief Technical Advisor of the Mekong Sub-Regional Project to Combat Trafficking in Children and Women; Mrs. Zhao Xiuying, Standing Member of All China Women's Federation; Member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and; President of the Yunnan Province Women's Federation.