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| Children who have sex for money do so to survive |
GENEVA, Feb 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — In Madagascar, child sex abuse is “widespread and tolerated” in tourist hotspots, UN-appointed rights experts said in a call to the country’s authorities to take action to protect youngsters from child prostitution and other violations.
Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world. Some 42 percent of children suffer from chronic malnutrition, even without a natural disaster.
The southern parts of Madagascar are reeling from the worst drought in four decades. The UN’s World Food Programme estimates that more than 1.3 million people there are considered to be in a food security crisis or emergency as a result.
According to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child that heard that the majority of children, who had sex for money do so to survive.
“During exchanges with the Malagasy authorities and civil society in Geneva, the UN panel noted the extreme vulnerability of communities affected by recurring drought and chronic shortages of water and food, particularly in southern areas.”
Linked to this, rates of acute malnutrition among children have worsened “exponentially” in Madagascar, the UN-appointed independent panel said Thursday in a statement.
The panel oversees how Member States implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
To combat this, the Geneva-based panel urged Madagascar’s government to strengthen multilateral, regional, and bilateral accords, to prevent sex tourism.
Its recommendations followed a scheduled rights review of the Indian Ocean island nation, which in 2004 committed to eradicating all forms of violence against children – including sexual abuse and exploitation. — NNN-AGENCIES
