At the 112^th Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, currently taking place at the Philippines International Convention Center (PICC) in Manila, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today launched a handbook for parliamentarians entitled Combating Child Trafficking. The IPU President, Chilean Senator Sergio Páez, UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy and the President of the IPU’s 112^th Assembly, Franklin M. Drilon, President of the Philippine Senate, attended this event.

IPU President Sergio Páez, declared that "ensuring that the rights of the child are properly respected is part of our social responsibility. This calls not only for the expression of political will, but also for the establishment of institutions, standards and a new international culture. Children are defenceless and vulnerable, and terrible experiences during childhood may have terrible after-effects in adulthood. In view of that, the rights of the child, especially with regard to human trafficking, need to be enforced more vigorously, as a matter of utmost urgency".

UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy said that parliamentarians have a choice. "They can make decisions that ensure the protection of children, or they can make decisions that leave children vulnerable to being exploited and abused. The first choice virtually guarantees strong national development; the second choice virtually guarantees the continuation of poverty."

Philippine Senate President Franklin M. Drilon stressed that the Philippine Congress had recently enacted a law that imposed very stringent sanctions for human trafficking, particularly in women and children, explaining that "our Government supports all global efforts against trafficking in persons because the Philippines has 8 million overseas workers, most of whom are women who are vulnerable".

The subject of child protection was also addressed last year, at the 110^th Assembly, held in Mexico City. During the Assembly, US actress Jessica Lange, speaking as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, stated that "there can be no better measure of our governance than the way we treat our children, and no greater failing on our part than to allow them to be subjected to violence, abuse or exploitation... Parliamentarians have the power to alleviate the suffering of millions of children around the world, if only they would use it".

This 84-page IPU-UNICEF handbook describes the problem of child trafficking, gives an overview of child protection and offers key recommendations for parliamentarians regarding the fight against child trafficking.

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Established in 1889 and with its Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the IPU, the oldest multilateral political organisation, currently brings together 141 affiliated parliaments and seven regional assemblies as associate members. The world organisation of parliaments has an Office in New York, which acts as its Permanent Observer at the United Nations.
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Contact for additional information or interviews:

In Geneva: Mrs. Luisa Ballin, IPU Information Officer PICC Manila Tel. +63 2 832 1386 Fax +63 2 831 4539 E-mail: lb@mail.ipu.org or cbl@mail.ipu.org Philippines Group: Press service of the 112th Assembly: Mr. Raymondo Corro, Public Relations and Information Bureau of the Philippines Senate Tel. +63 2 552 6723 Fax +63 2 552 6755 E-mail: raycorro@hotmail.com