Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-05-17-Speech-4-217"
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"en.20010517.10.4-217"2
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".
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, like the European Parliament, the Commission is deeply concerned about the problem of trafficking in children in West and Central Africa. According to UNICEF figures, over 200 000 children are victim to cross-border trafficking in West and Central Africa. We call on the governments of these countries to do everything in their power to combat and punish the criminal practices of child traffickers.
The Commission's strategy to combat trafficking in children and child labour is based mainly on its measures to reduce poverty in Africa. This is the primary objective of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement.
I should also like to stress that the Commission is pursuing a strategy to promote food security and rural development in the countries of Africa, focusing mainly on the situation of women and children in its bid to bring about sustainable development in the countryside.
At the same time, the Commission is funding measures which will help directly to resolve this problem. For example, over EUR 1.2 million have been provided to promote the rights of children and to protect children from violence and exploitation in Gabon, Benin, Togo and Nigeria. In addition, the Commission is funding a special project in this area in Benin, the objective being to build up a so-called brigade to protect minors, help ensure laws are implemented more efficiently and raise public awareness of this issue.
Protecting and promoting the rights of children is one of the focal points of the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights in 2001. A host of other measures is being implemented by the relevant international organisations, especially UNICEF and the International Labour Organisation. A positive sign recently is that other countries will probably ratify the ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention No 182. Benin ratified this convention last Monday, on 14 May, and Côte d'Ivoire should follow suit by the end of this month. The Commission emphatically supports these initiatives.
The communication on human rights which the Commission adopted on 8 May 2001 contains concepts for political dialogue with partner countries. Most importantly, it states that, during discussions, the parties should examine how basic human rights instruments and other international agreements based on human rights can be ratified and implemented effectively.
As far as the trade agreement is concerned, the European Union is currently enlisting support from its trading partners for these basic labour standards to be applied to child labour. The Commission feels that consideration should be given to additional trade preferences under the general preference system for countries which implement these standards efficiently."@en1
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