Report from the plenary: 11 March

[11 March 2008] - The day began with an Interactive dialogue following the presentation of yesterday's reports.

Among the numerous interventions from States, a delegate from Russia asked Mr Petit about his opinion on the role of the family in preventing exploitation and helping the victims. He also asked: “Given the appointment of the Special Representative on Violence Against Children, what does Mr Petit see as the difference between that post and his mandate?”

The Norwegian delegate, along with a number of others, noted the Special Rapporteur on torture's efforts to integrate a gender perspective into his mandate, specifically regarding the inclusion of gender-based violence into the definition of torture. He also asked about the creation of the Special Representative on Violence Against Children, and how Mr Petit viewed the scope for collaboration between the two mandates.

A delegate from Tunisia, with reference to Mr Petit's report, said: “This violence is a challenge to all of us.”

A delegate from Slovenia asked Mr Petit: “What mechanisms could be created internationally to create a system of best practices and exchange of information?”

Meanwhile, a representative from Sudan noted the international outrage following the foreign adoption scandal involving French NGO Arche de Zoe last year.

Petit response

Later, during the afternoon session, Mr Petit responded to some of the points raised.

He said: “International cooperation is very important to combat trafficking, and monitor borders. It involves everyone. The representative from Pakistan was asking about a prevention policy, and I would say there are four main pillars of a such a policy.” Mr Petit said the pillars are:

1.Law enforcement. Police and others need to investigate all cases appropriately.
2.Awareness must be raised regarding the issue
3.Justice must be pursued. A culture of impunity must not exist.
4.There must be specific programmes, such as special education.

He added international cooperation is very important, and spoke about the need for children's rights programmes in schools, such as sex education so that people not afraid to talk about these issues.

Mr Petit also commented on the appointment of the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Children, noting: “Coordination is clearly very important. The two mandates are complementary and are not overlapping. There are common agendas that can be taken.”

He finished by cautioning that transparency with NGOs is “very important”, and reinforced the need for self-regulation.

Please note: This report is an extract from today's proceedings. For a more comprehensive report, visit the International Service for Human Rights who produce daily updates throughout the session: http://www.ishr.ch/hrm/council/dailyupdates/index.html

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