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A Resolution drafted by Donna M. Hughes
Submitted by the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women to the
United Nations Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery
Geneva, Switzerland
May 1998
Acknowledging that the Internet can be a valuable medium of
communication, and noting that Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
identifies the right of freedom of expression as a fundamental human right, and that all
recommendations must be implemented to protect this right,
Recognizing that the Internet is the most unregulated
communications network in the world with new technologies that present difficult
challenges to national and international regulation and enforcement,
Alarmed that multiple forms of sexual exploitation, such as
prostitution, sex tours, bride trafficking, pornography, live sex shows, and rape videos
for sexual entertainment are promoted; that the Internet is now the preferred site for
mail order bride promotions; and that the Internet offers multiple forums in which the
trafficking, prostitution, and other forms of sexual exploitation of women and children
are promoted and carried out,
Noting that the scope, volume, and content of the material on
the Internet promoting or enacting the trafficking, prostitution and sexual exploitation
of women and children is unprecedented,
Aware that the content of some material on the Internet, such as
men’s sex tour diaries, incriminate men in acts of the rape and enslavement of women
and girls for the purposes of sexual gratification and domination,
Emphasizing that many of the practices of trafficking and
prostitution on the Internet are characterized by domination, control, and violence so
extreme as to constitute slavery, serious violations of human rights, and forms of sex
discrimination,
Convinced that prostitution and the traffic in persons are
incompatible with human dignity and well being and that all practices of the exploitation
of the prostitution of others and trafficking in persons are incompatible with human
rights,
Acknowledging that the women and children subjected to sexual
exploitation on the Internet are often from countries suffering from poverty, and armed
conflict; and the men using the Internet for the purposes of sexually exploiting women and
children are often from developed countries,
Noting that the traffic in persons and the
exploitation of the prostitution of others are highly profitable, and illegal, and those
activities that are increasingly carried out by organized crime syndicates,
Convinced that heightened awareness of the harm of sexual
exploitation to women and children together with the political will to combat this harm,
will significantly reduce the extent of trafficking, prostitution and sexual exploitation
on the Internet,
1) Recommends that governments, as a matter of priority, review,
amend, and enforce existing laws, or enact new laws, to prevent the misuse of the Internet
for trafficking, prostitution, and the sexual exploitation of women and children,
2) Recommends that governments and nongovernmental organizations
undertake further investigation of the misuse of the Internet for the purpose of promoting
and/or carrying out trafficking, prostitution, and the sexual exploitation of women and
children,
3) Urges governments to act more forcefully to eliminate the
traffic in persons, the exploitation of the prostitution of others, and sexual
exploitation on the Internet,
4) Recommends that governments and nongovernmental organizations
develop and implement educational programs on the harm of trafficking, prostitution, and
sexual exploitation of women and children’s mental and physical well being,
5) Urges governments, in cooperation with interested
nongovernmental organizations, to develop educational programs and policies and laws
addressing the use of the Internet by prostitution customers for the purpose of engaging
in sexual exploitation;
6) Recommends that governments investigate and use as evidence
of crimes and acts of discrimination advertising, correspondence, and other communications
over the Internet to promote sex trafficking, prostitution, sex tourism, bride trafficking
and rape,
7) Calls for new levels of cooperation among governments and national and
regional law enforcement bodies in order to combat the escalating trafficking and
prostitution of women and children, the globalization of this industry, and the misuse of
the Internet to promote and carry out acts of sex trafficking, sex tourism, sexual
violence, and sexual exploitation.
References
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