Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-01-13-Speech-4-154"
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"en.20050113.11.4-154"2
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"Mr President, in this world that has been numbed by materialism it is unfortunately only major disasters, such as the tsunami or the terrorist attack in Beslan, which can still trigger pangs of conscience and act as a catalyst for aid and reflection. Dramatic events that can only be described as the unleashing of the elements have however been happening on a day-to-day basis for many years, with such events being primarily a source of physical evil. By way of contrast, a person without a conscience or moral principles may cause much greater harm by insulting the dignity of human beings and making it impossible to live in the fullness of humanity.
We have witnessed both moral and spiritual destruction for many years in the countries of Southern Asia and in Cambodia, the country we are debating today. This destruction can be seen particularly clearly in the treatment of women and young children, who are forced into prostitution, taken away to work in warehouses, factories or on rubber plantations or sold for profit. Such treatment is plainly an insult to human dignity.
According to overall estimates, over 2 million people are sold in this region every year, and trade in children ranks third in terms of profitability for the criminal world, after drugs trafficking and arms trading. According to such estimates and the UN’s reports, in Cambodia it is particularly difficult to combat the trade in women and children or their sexual exploitation, as both the police and the authorities are corrupt and accept large bribes from rich and depraved tourists. Exploitation of this kind is a barbaric form of modern slavery.
Over 60% of women and young girls are forced into prostitution, and the majority of them are either infected with HIV or suffering from AIDS. The most obvious cause for this is poverty, or rather destitution, as in this region almost one quarter of the population, a population which amounts for one third of the world’s inhabitants, live on less than one dollar a day. In circumstances such as these, millions of women and children are forced into life-threatening work and tricked with promises of legal employment. This results in their sale and export abroad as slaves. There, they are exploited not only for work, but also for various deviant practices, including sexual practices, paedophilia and child pornography. Another cause is illiteracy and the Communist ideology of the Khmer Rouge, who attempted to build a new society by means of terror, threats and lies, claiming over a million victims in the process. After years under Pol Pot’s rule, both the country and its health service and medical care infrastructures were left entirely destroyed, and millions of children who had lost their parents were left without anything to live on. Unfortunately, over the past few years the state has also moved towards economic liberalism.
It is not insignificant that liberal destruction of the family and the much-lauded utilitarian and hedonistic model of life are characteristic even of those who help humanitarian non-governmental organisations, some of whom accept a shameful form of payment in kind for this help by exploiting women and children sexually. It is for this reason that this House’s resolutions and debates will do little to improve the situation, as even educated people in high-ranking positions mock the sanctity of the human being and the family. It is not only financial aid and the much-praised market economy that are needed, but above all moral renewal and ethical principles. I thank you."@en1
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