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[RIO DE JANEIRO, 27 November 2008] - President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, during his speech at the opening ceremony for World Congress III against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents, in Riocentro, asked to stop hypocrisy. “Parents should be aware that giving sex education at home is as important as giving food and shelter”, stated he. The President also emphasized the importance of dealing with this issue in the curriculum of schools. “We have to stop the hypocrisy that prevents sexual exploitation from being properly dealt with and fought against.”
He also highlighted the importance of listening to the adolescents present in World Congress III as the main specialists on the issue. The ceremony was attended by 282 boys and girls from 12 to 18 years of age, from 96 different countries, all of them engaged in the fights against sexual exploitation in their local communities. The group will remain in Riocentro during the whole Congress, participating in the discussions side by side with the adults. The group has been preparing their participation in the event since six months ago.
Apart from the governor of Rio de Janeiro, Mr. Sérgio Cabral, and his first lady Ms. Adriana Anselmo, the opening event was also attended by the state governors of Pernambuco, Sergipe, Tocantins, Goiás, Paraíba, Amapá, Roraima, Piauí and Amazonas, accompanied by their respective first-ladies.
The executive-director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UBICEF), Ms. Ann Veneman, underlined the necessity of curbing the vulnerability of children and adolescents from all over the world in relation to sexual exploitation, in all its possible forms. The president of NGO Group, Mr. Lennart Reinius, spoke on the importance of using the days of the Congress to discuss the role of the civil society in the counteraction of the problem. “We need to close this congress with a stronger and more effective commitment of the private sector in relation to this theme”.
The president of ECPAT (International Network ‘End child prostitution, child pornography and trafficking in Children for Sexual Purposes’), Ms. Amihan Abueva, stated to everyone that, in a moment where the world economy is going through a crisis period, it is necessary to have strength and political commitment to increase the financial resources destined to the protection of children and adolescents. Queen Silvia of Sweden recalled the history of the World Congress since its first edition in Stockholm, in 1996. According to her, the partnership of the Brazilian government, UNICEF, ECPAT and NGO Group, who shared the responsibility for the organization of the event, was a key move towards a successful mobilization on the theme, initiated with the event in Sweden.
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Owner: Government of Brazil