Children’s sexual exploitation to be dealt with

Representatives from Latin America, the European Union and the United States are gathering this week in San Jose, Costa Rica for regional consultations on children’s protection against sexual exploitation in the field of tourism.

The primary objective is to look into and propose concrete actions to tackle sexual abuse against children from a regional scope, Costa Rican tourism vice minister Rodrigo Castro said in a news conference.

Mr. Castro explained children’s sexual abuse is “something very worrisome for all of us and we’re proud the World Tourism Organization (WTO) has praised our efforts in this direction and has designated Costa Rica as the host nation for this meeting.”

Attendants to the regional powwow include governmental officials and private organizations from some twelve Latin American countries and the United States, Canada and the European Union. The latter is purveying financial support for the meeting.

The round of consultations is the second of a series of four regional meetings on this topic summoned for 2003. The first took place in Italy (April 3 to 4), while the other two are scheduled for Indonesia (June 26 to 27) and Senegal (Sept. 29 to 30).