Rio conference on children's exploitation

The third World Congress Against Sexual Exploitation of Children has ended in Rio de Janeiro on a decisive note. This much becomes obvious from the declaration adopted at the conference. It is to be noted that a strong team from Bangladesh took part in the congress and indeed made a number of points about the theme that needed to be debated in the larger interest of children not only in Bangladesh but elsewhere as well. What the congress has done is simply to focus on the many ways in which the rights of children are systematically violated, to a point where they are not allowed to become part of creative society.
The congress declaration was, in so many words, a needed assault on the complacency that might have come into dealing with children's issues worldwide. While it is true that societies and governments in the West have in recent years been extremely active in dealing with paedophiles and other elements involved in child exploitation, it is equally true that societies in the under-developed parts of the globe yet need to climb mountains to handle such issues. It is from that perspective that the Rio declaration makes a lot of sense. There is now a clearly recognised need for ensuring all those rights to children that will prevent their falling prey to the depredations debated on at the Rio meeting. And basic to those rights, or having them in place, is to bring them, as well as their families, out of poverty. In these last many years, children have been trafficked out of their countries, sometimes through the helpless connivance of their parents or guardians, to countries where they have swiftly fallen victim to sexual assault. The result has been a quick loss of innocence on their part, to say nothing of the cynicism they develop toward society and even toward themselves. So while poverty must be tackled at national levels by governments, there must also be concerted efforts towards giving these children education which by itself is an important bulwark against exploitation of any kind.
There are other means as well of protecting children. As Salma Ali, a well-known lawyer in Bangladesh, informed the congress, one of them is to develop a child-friendly legal support system. Such steps can only reinforce community awareness of the issue, something the Rio declaration emphasises. Let that spirit now go into action.