Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the 'Exploitation of children and sex tourism` (98/C 284/16)

At its plenary session meeting on 19 March 1997, the Committee decided, in accordance with Rule 11(4) and Rule 19(1) of its Rules of Procedure, to set up a subcommittee to prepare its work on 'Exploitation of children and sex tourism`.

The subcommittee drew up a draft opinion on 8 June 1998 (rapporteur: Mr Sklavounos).

At its 356th Plenary Session (meeting of 2 July 1998) the Economic and Social Committee adopted the opinion set out below by 72 votes in favour, with 3 abstentions.

SUMMARY OF THE MAIN POLICY PROPOSALS

The Economic and Social Committee considers that the widespread and alarming problem of child mistreatment, exploitation and abuse requires a fundamental repositioning and mobilization of society. The aim should be to go beyond public condemnation and reaction by 'decree`, or piecemeal policies based on damage limitation. Society needs to tackle the: generating factors of child abuse rather than react to their consequences. The Committee urges a comprehensive, preventive and pro-active approach, putting 'children first` in our every-day policy-making, social activity and cultural development.

A. Responding at an international level to the generating factors of child mistreatment, abuse and exploitation

A.1. The EU can lead efforts to help the UN and other international development bodies play an effective role in combating poverty and the most intolerable forms of child abuse and exploitation through a more effective use of their funds, through EU and international legal instruments for actions and by clearly incorporating children's rights in EU external relations policies.

A.2. The ESC can take the initiative, through its own structured dialogue and cooperation with its national and international counterparts, and its constituent members, to encourage and facilitate the setting-up of bodies for pro-active and effective policies relating to children.

B. Proposals for coordinating an effective policy at European level

B.1. The current traditional policies for supporting the family and children, e.g. provision of day care centres, parental leave and child benefit, must be accompanied by, and coordinated with, new, child friendly, policies on town planning and urban regeneration.

B.2. The ESC would also urge policies regenerating 'the city` as a civic, social and participatory cultural entity. In particular, it proposes a network of child-friendly cities encouraging for example: opportunities for reintegrating older people into the social mainstream and harnessing their skills through voluntary schemes in collaboration with day care centres, schools, public parks, etc.; opportunities for voluntary groups of older and younger people to cooperate in 'joint ventures`; school-workshops where people can be introduced in an enjoyable way to art and technology; a systematic effort to revive 'the neighbourhood`; transforming ghettos into places of cultural interaction; organizational links between town and country; alternative forms of tourism; public transport systems which reflect children's needs; safe open spaces and public places, stations, parks and squares; recreation areas for children and neighbourhood schools to provide educational and instructive recreation facilities.

B.3. The EU should encourage all concerned to consider further the issue of schools in the 21st century and the opening of schools to society as a priority. The school of the 21st century should be the organizational impulse and defining force behind Europe's cities and social life, inclusion and reintegration in the future. The ESC, in cooperation with its national and regional counterparts, can also contribute to and promote the debate about the 'school of the future`, involving relevant socio-economic actors, academics, parents groups and civic authorities.

C. Encouraging young people and citizens to become directly involved in civic, social and cultural activities at every level.

C.1. Europe-wide action should revive a culture of participation among the younger generation and youth organizations. In collaboration with the European Commission, the European Parliament, UNICEF, the Committee of the Regions and European youth umbrella organizations, the ESC can organize a pan-European conference on the subject of participation among young people in Europe.

C.2. A 'Youth for Europe 2000+` programme, possibly under a new European Commissioner for youth, could include various types of action and pilot projects, for example: 'challenging` participatory activities for young people; permanent transnational fora of thematic and cultural dialogue and interdenominational dialogue; mass media incentives; a permanent centre to disseminate better practice, a European Cultural Policy () for Children including:

- a 'European children's library`;

- an annual children's entertainment festival;

- a European children's music academy;

- a European youth theatre and cinema festival;

- a better application of existing EU directives which protect the physical, intellectual and moral development of young people in programmes and TV commercials;

- EU youth sport events and concerted policies to combat violence and racism in sport;

- positive EU programmes for children with special needs, seeing disability as a potential source of skills and sensitivity;

- cultural tourism for young people (transnational family exchanges, international youth camps and multicultural children's holiday packages);

- the promotion of children's needs in the programmes of European Cultural Capitals and similar events;

- extension of the Raphael programme to conserve and make the most of the cultural heritage, especially in additional areas such as traditional craft workshops, folklore museums and schools for folk and traditional music;

- programmes to combat political apathy, to encourage participation in political life and to promote tolerance and understanding;

- more dynamic, child-oriented, partnerships between parents, the public authorities, civic organizations, business life, socio-professional activity and schools;

- new Treaty provisions.

D. General mobilization of society and the ESC's role

D.1. At European level, the Economic and Social Committee can take on the task of setting up a standing committee that would be responsible for analysing and presenting models, means and methods of rallying society and mobilizing social groups, interest groups and voluntary organizations to combat the alienation and exploitation of children, with the view to promoting a 'European New Deal for Children`.

E. Facing the problem of sexual mistreatment of children and child sex tourism

E.1. The scale of child abuse recorded today in Europe is not only the result of poverty and destitution; but a sign of social crisis, a materialistic ethos and moral decay. The 'erotic culture`, prevailing values and standards and ethical conduct, in Europe are all to some extent concerned and cannot be transformed fast or by fiat. Difficult though it undoubtedly is, devising a policy at regional, national and EU level to put an end to child prostitution and abuse is an essential long term undertaking, clearly involving the mass media, and presupposing a value system which puts first the integrity and sanctity of human nature combined with solidarity understood as a welcome expression of neighbourliness and not as a 'political obligation`.

E.2. Child sex tourism is an aspect and a symptom of the general situation but one that can be tackled more promptly and more specifically. Codes of conduct must be formulated without delay so that operators in Europe are exposed and the issue included on the agenda of EU enlargement with the Eastern and Central Europe countries, in the Euro-Mediterranean dialogue and (as was the case at the ASEM Conference in London) in the dialogue with the Far East.

F. Child labour

F.1. The Economic and Social Committee supports the outline proposals of the ILO Amsterdam Conference on Child Labour and the preparations for a new Convention on the elimination of the most intolerable forms of child labour. The Committee highlights the particular vulnerability of girls and young women in this context. It is imperative to promote concerted action between governments, the social partners and NGOs.

1. Introduction

1.1. The rights of the child are being violated throughout the world. Child exploitation and trafficking, abuse, forced labour and other forms of child labour, child sex tourism, child pornography, drug trafficking, war, and the torture of children are phenomena that are proliferating dramatically. These problems are not confined to the developed or developing worlds, nor are they associated with any particular religious or political traditions.

1.2. The forms of exploitation and abuse - and also the way these are dissembled - vary in relation to economic and organizational development of a given society. In the developing world, for example, forced child labour and the supply for child sex tourism are the main problems, whereas in the developed world, child pornography and organized demand for child sex tourism are the main problems. In the developing world, children are used in the production and trafficking of traditional drugs; in the developed world, children are used in the trafficking of these and of synthetic substances.

1.3. Despite the efforts to date of international organizations (UN, UNESCO, UNICEF, the Council of Europe, the World Council of Churches, ILO, international trade union movements and NGOs etc.), society up until recently has not been sufficiently mobilized in response to the problem at a European or global level, and has tended to opt for damage limitation rather than eliminating the underlying causes of child exploitation and abuse.

1.4. The problem is a serious and multifaced one which not only discredits our present culture, but is also an irrefutable indictment of the way in which post-war generations have failed to manage, human and social capital and the culture of everyday life.

1.5. The policy of public condemnation, and the moralistic and legalistic approach to the problem combined with law enforcement, have not resulted in more respect for law and order nor in mechanisms for effective preventive measures and action.

1.6. The problem is a moral one but also much more. It affects the whole of European and human society regardless of class, income or culture.

1.7. The nature and extent of the problem reveal a growing disregard for the integrity of the human person and the sanctity of human life, through a base commercialization of the human body and of sexual relations.

1.8. The effects of these phenomena, and the fact that society is becoming accustomed to their pervasiveness, is putting severe pressure on, and undermining, the basic value systems and principles on which European and human culture has developed and is based, with ensuing consequences. The progressive erosion of these values and codes of conduct has permeated every level of society. Recent examples in European countries provide firm evidence of this, and of the growing awareness of and reaction to it.

1.9. The almost universal and praiseworthy acceptance of the UN 'Convention on the Rights of the Child (1)

(1) 'Parties recognize the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, spiritual, moral or social development`. UN 'Convention on the Rights of the Child`, 1989, Art. 32.1.` has not, unfortunately, freed the international community of this problem. This issue was put on the political agenda by UNESCO at its summit in Paris in 1994, by the Council of Europe through its successive resolutions adopted by ministers and the parliamentary assembly, and by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers of the European Union. The 1997 World Congress on Sexual Exploitation of Children for Commercial Ends, held in Stockholm, and the summit on measures to combat the most intolerable forms of child labour, held in Amsterdam, have been the most recent efforts to address the problem. The Economic and Social Committee also drew attention to the problem. () It is hoped that a new ILO Convention to combat the most intolerable forms of child labour will shortly be adopted and ratified. The commercial exploitation of children ought also to be placed on the agenda of the World Trade Organisation.

2. Nature and extent of the problem

2.1. Child labour

2.1.1. According to ILO and Commission data, there are some 400 million child workers worldwide between the ages of 10 and 14 (the total estimate would be higher still if girls doing domestic work were included). An estimated 80 million of these children work under dangerous and hazardous conditions, 15 million of them in productions for export. Over 300 million children do not attend school. Nearly one billion adults are illiterate, nearly 600 million of them women. The percentage of children of primary school age not attending school and therefore a source of child labour are estimated as follows: 47 % for Sub-Saharan Africa, 16 % for the Middle East and North Africa, 34 % for South Asia, 6 % for East Asia and Pacific, 12 % for Latin America and the Caribbean and 13 % for the CEEC/CES and Baltics (). At least 5 million underaged children currently work in Europe.

2.1.2. Child labour is both a product and producer of poverty and of inadequate employment policies. It is an example of 'social dumping` at its worst, leading to international delocalization of labour to where children are employed on the black market with little or no protection. It is a violation of ILO Convention No 138 and undermines the GATT provisions. Both child labour and commercial/sexual exploitation of children thrive where poverty is prevalent.

2.1.3. According to UNICEF (The State of the World's Children, 1997), child labour was reduced in the West by a combination of legislation, the introduction of compulsory education, and the increase in family incomes and technological progress, which made child labour less attractive to employers.

2.2. Street children

2.2.1. According to United Nations data and using the UNICEF definition of street children, about 100 million children in the world live on the streets. The geographical breakdown is:

- Latin America 40 million;

- Asia 25-30 million;

- Africa 10 million.

The remaining 20-25 million are in North America and Europe.

The vast majority of these children are also drug users and victims of prostitution and crime rings.

2.2.2. It should be noted in this connection that it is virtually impossible to find statistics on the exploitation, abuse, ill-treatment and abandonment of children in the European Union, how many children in the EU live on the streets or in children's homes, or how many are involved in prostitution. It is regrettable that the European institutions should document the dimensions of this problem worldwide, while saying nothing about its prevalence in the EU. The general public (and the world, which provides us with its own statistics) has the right to know the extent of the problem in Europe. Although there is no definite statistical data from a large number of reliable sources, such as the Council of Europe or UNICEF, what data there is confirms that this problem is serious and worsening in Europe. Street children and child prostitution are also a European phenomenon.

2.3. Child prostitution, pornography, trafficking and paedophilia

2.3.1. Every year, at least one million more children become involved in prostitution ().

2.3.2. The problem of transnational child trafficking in Europe (as recent tragic cases throughout Europe have demonstrated), has steadily worsened since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the economic and social upheavals that followed, a very large number of children from eastern European countries are now thought to be living illegally in the EU. They are able to stay and subsist mainly through prostitution, or the 'sex industry`. This has obvious direct and indirect effects on public health, crime and drug trafficking.

2.4. Child poverty

2.4.1. According to the UNICEF 'Information Newsline` of 18 April 1997 (based on a study by the World Bank), over 650 million children live on less than one dollar per day. A Commission study further informs us that 14 million children die every year before they reach the age of five ().

2.4.2. By the year 2000, contrary to developments in Europe, some 50 % of the world's population will be under the age of 25, and the majority of these will be living below the poverty line. The number of children aged between five and 19 living in cities will be 247 million more than in 1980.

2.4.3. According to statistics from 1993 on the then 12 Member States (Eurostat 1997-6), 13 million children under the age of 16 live in poverty, which means one in every five children in the EU. Particular problems are faced by the children of single-parent families, unmarried mothers and under-age mothers, and those from ethnic minorities.

2.5. Other forms of abuse - social alienation, fear, crime and violence

2.5.1. Fear and danger in the inner city

80 % of the population of Europe live in urban areas (263,3 million). The city is, in many parts of Europe, no longer a desirable place to bring up children. Many of Europe's children today live in fear of public places, frightened and threatened by society, the city, and the wider social environment. Their fear and the risks they face in public places lead to an increased reliance on television and electronic games. An increasing number of European children in Europe now grow up without adequate opportunities for healthy socialization. This problem is aggravated by the lack of proper play areas for children, especially in more deprived areas, and by the increasing number of single-parent families and lonely, disillusioned and poor children living in European cities.

2.5.2. Social alienation (gangs and extremist groups)

The district gang is a common phenomenon nowadays, especially in deprived urban areas, and one that is widespread throughout Europe. The types of crime associated with criminal and antisocial group behaviour - hooliganism, vandalism, theft, beating up and robbing old people - are on the increase. The need for meaningful human relations, contact and communication felt by today's children in Europe, their isolation and their desire to belong find an outlet either in the neighbourhood gang or in extremist groups. The problem is daily becoming more acute in deprived areas inhabited by minorities, which are turning into breeding grounds of ethnic and religious hatred and racism. The natural sociability of mankind is finding expression in antisocial group activity. This leads to formal links between district gangs and organized crime, dealing in stolen goods, trafficking, prostitution and exploitation by fanatical fundamentalist and racist groups, for political ends.

2.5.3. Family and school

At the same time, 'social institutions`, which ought to counter this sense of alienation and antisocial activities, are themselves being undermined by the same cumulative phenomena. The 'family`, for example, is a major source of child neglect, violence and sexual abuse. Likewise, schools are increasingly degenerating into areas of social alienation where indiscipline, lack of respect, truancy and bullying are in some instances the norm.

3. Generating factors

Given the various forms and extent of child exploitation and abuse, it cannot be attributed to one single factor or underlying cause. It is the result of the cumulative and exponential effects of all the above-mentioned underlying causes in combination. The many underlying causes interact with each other affecting:

- parents and the family;

- children;

- society as a whole.

The factors involved are considered to be ():

- break-up of the family as an institution;

- crisis facing schools;

- urban crisis and disintegration;

- cultural crisis (manifest in the prevailing climate of individualistic consumerism);

- lack of efficiency and credibility crisis of the institutions of law and order (courts, police, ...);

- crisis of confidence in the traditional institutions of social cohesion (church, political and social organizations, trade unions, ...);

- unemployment, social exclusion and poverty;

- lack of political will or capability to face the generating factors.

Recognition of this is the key to developing effective strategies for tackling the problem.

3.1. Crisis facing the family as an institution and ways of addressing this generating factor

3.1.1. The crisis facing the family, the oldest institution of human society, is considered to be one of the main underlying causes of the problems facing the children of Europe and the world.

3.1.2. What has happened to the family as an institution is the result of many - mainly socio-economic - factors that affect the organization of production, work, the places where workers live and the links between where people work and where they live.

3.1.3. The predominance of the 'factory model` in the organization of production, work and housing (and of family relationships, i.e. the type of family that this model dictates) is coming to an end. New ways of organizing production, work and more generally the 'knowledge` and 'information` society, are in their turn affecting the family as an institution.

3.1.4. The separation between people's place of work and their place of residence, the segregation of age groups, the demise of the family's role as a social and cultural unifying force are no longer an inescapable fact of life now that there are new ways of organizing production and work. The new role of small and medium-sized enterprises and of tele-working present fresh prospects for the family.

3.1.5. Policies that reconcile work and family life must be approached not in a piecemeal way, but strategically and comprehensively, in the major EU decisions and strategies on sustainable cities, the Urban Agenda, sustainable social development, etc.

3.1.6. The current traditional policies for supporting the family and children, e.g. provision of day care centres, parental leave and child benefit, must be seen as accompanied by and coordinated with new policies on town planning, urban regeneration, the provision of safe play areas for children and the creation in general of conditions needed to revive the 'neighbourhood` as both place and social system countering the often prevalent atmosphere of fear and insecurity. This means inter alia radically reforming the school as an institution, in line with future needs - demographic, educational, etc. - and setting up institutions for distance learning and a strategy for reintegrating older people into society.

3.1.7. A strategy for re-integrating older people into society would not simply mean their living with the active members of the family, nor of course would this be a necessary objective. Such a strategy could provide for co-existence without actual cohabitation in neighbourhoods where there would be no exclusion on the basis of age.

3.1.8. Support for all families to overcome dependency through reform of the nursery, pre-school and school system to enable parents to combine work and child-rearing could also eliminate the prospect of life on the streets for an increasing number of children.

3.1.9. Policies that address the effects of the crisis facing the family and the absence of parents from the home must also include measures to improve children's television programmes and provide incentives at European, national and local level.

3.1.10. Policies to provide business premises and help SMEs also must be consistent with policies to promote viable neighbourhood systems.

3.1.11. It is particularly significant despite - and very probably because of - the crisis faced by the family in Europe, that the family is the value that is of greatest importance to young people. Young people in Europe see the family and friendship as their two main ideals, the third being work.

3.1.12. Relationships in which there is real communication, real human relationships within the traditional institution of the family and friendship, is promoted through an urban environment characterised by stability and continuity. The urban crisis, together with the crisis facing the family, the move to the suburbs, the fragmentation of cities and break-up of the neighbourhood have cumulative and manifold catalytic effects on the problems of children in Europe. Isolation, despair, excessive reliance on television, and the search for satisfaction in human relationships that leads to the setting up of extremist groups, neighbourhood gangs and circles of drug users are problems that can and must be addressed, not problems that are insuperable. What is needed is clearly a new comprehensive, cohesive policy that will place problems facing the family in the context of sustainable urban development.

3.2. Crisis facing schools

3.2.1. In conjunction with the crisis facing the family, the crisis in schools is a basic contributory factor to juvenile delinquency and crime, and to the abuse and exploitation of children in Europe.

3.2.2. Schools in Europe are facing serious difficulties. The problems are thought to be one of the reasons that a large number of children in Europe are leaving school and thus a cause of their alienation, marginalization, exploitation and abuse.

3.2.3. The problems facing schools in Europe obviously vary according to the social environment of the school, but it can be agreed that to a greater or lesser extent European schools have certain problems in common.

3.2.4. Lack of interest in the learning process, children bringing family problems to school, the television culture, violence at school, the teacher-pupil relationship and the lack of self-discipline and mutual respect are some of the typical basic problems faced by schools in Europe.

3.2.5. As a general rule, the school as a place and system, its role in the neighbourhood, its purpose, the means it uses and its links with society form part of the agenda for education and school competitiveness and effectiveness in Europe, and for ongoing education and training.

3.2.6. If the factory was the driving force that shaped industrial Europe, then the processes of education, training, lifelong learning and the school of the 21st century all with multi-media back-up must be the organizational impulse and defining force behind Europe's cities in the future.

3.2.7. It is clear that schools tailor-made to the needs of mass production are not appropriate for the learning and information society. It is also clear that the school of the 21st century, as a medium for lifelong learning and training, can and must be a school of social cohesion, renewing links between the generations and using the talents of older people, a school that provides friendship, not imprisonment or surveillance, for the children of Europe, a place which combines the provision of education, learning, training, recreation and revitalization of intellectual and cultural cohesion. The school should be a place where the lost 'participatory spirit` and 'civic virtue` of the European city are revived and restored. - Europe has a role to play here.

3.3. Urban crisis

3.3.1. In its report entitled 'Towards an Urban Agenda in the European Union` () the European Commission considers the main issue in the general discussion on the problem of European urban areas to be as follows:

'The city is, in many parts of Europe, no longer a desirable place to bring up children, to spend leisure time, or to live. This erosion of the role of the city is perhaps the greatest threat to the European model of development and society and one which needs the widest debate.`

3.3.2. The basic aspects of the crisis include: over-concentration of the population, fragmentation of urban areas along economic, political, religious and ethnic lines, exclusion of certain age groups (the elderly and young people), ghettoization, crisis of social cohesion and cultural identity, and crisis of democratic institutions and processes (local authorities, trades unions, political parties).

3.3.3. Environmental crisis: in 1995 (according to a report by the European Environment Agency), some 70-80 % of European cities with populations of over 500 000 did not meet standards set by the World Health Organization.

3.3.4. Traffic congestion: the classic sign of the traffic problem in large European cities, as evidenced in London and Paris, is the reduction in the average speed of cars and trucks to the speed of traffic at the beginning of the century. Mobility and accessibility have decreased in European cities, with unfavourable consequences for travel between home and work, home and school, and home and leisure facilities, in cities where such facilities are available.

3.3.5. Political problems: there has been a proliferation of neo-fascist, racist and xenophobic criminal movements and a parallel growth in fanatical and extremist organizations in ghettos, involving children in particular, including - of course - young children.

3.3.6. De-industrialization, unemployment and poverty: one-parent families, unmarried and single mothers, teenage mothers, and of course their children, are particularly hard hit by poverty. Children who are 'abandoned` because both parents have to, or choose to work and prefer to pursue their careers, are also affected.

3.3.7. Absence of play areas for children: there is a lack of safe recreation areas for children. This is particularly a problem for children of one-parent families (whose number is rapidly increasing in Europe) and children of families in which both parents work.

3.3.8. In these circumstances it is clear that the specific conditions on which urban culture was built, on the basis of which cities were established and the citizen evolved as the basic unifying element of Western civilization, are in danger of disappearing from large European cities.

3.3.9. The typical features of the medieval city that sustained the guilds, the city of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, the city that fuelled the industrial revolution, are no longer present in large European cities.

3.3.10. From being a manifestation of social development, solidarity, democratic participation and social interaction in public places, the city has degenerated into a place of withdrawal into the private sphere. Public spaces are daily becoming dangerous areas.

3.3.11. It is clearly impossible for healthy socialization of children to be achieved in such an environment. With 80 % of Europe's population living in urban areas, the urban crisis can be regarded as a European crisis.

3.3.12. The depth or extent of the crisis, and its implications, have led the Commission to recognize the need for an urban perspective in Community policy:

'Urban society will pay a heavy price in terms of crime and anti-social behaviour if development is accompanied by major inequalities of access to the rewards of economic progress`. 'Europe as a whole will pay through disaffection of its citizens and the loss of support for the European model of society`. 'Finally, the European economy will suffer because adjustment to rapid change, to maintain the competitiveness of Europe's cities, is only likely to succeed where it commands the widest consensus.`

3.3.13. In its working paper entitled 'Towards the 5th Framework Programme: scientific and technological objectives` () and its proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision concerning the Fifth Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (1998-2002) (), the Commission observes:

'The aim of this key action is the harmonious development of the citizens' urban environment from a global, innovative and resource-saving viewpoint, in an environmentally sound manner, using advanced models of organization bringing together in particular the improvement of quality of life, the restoration of social equilibria and the protection and enhancement of the cultural heritage.`

3.3.14. According to the Commission, the cost of erosion of the cultural heritage (architectural) alone is estimated to exceed ECU 14 billion yearly.

3.3.15. The ESC nevertheless thinks it necessary to note that Agenda 2000 does not pay as much attention to urban areas as it should given the size of the urban population, the problems they face and the extent of the urban crisis.

3.4. The cultural crisis

3.4.1. The fact that child exploitation, trafficking, abuse and prostitution exist despite the existence of laws which, if they were respected, would avert or prevent such activities, demonstrates that the problem is not one of a legal vacuum, but of disrespect for law and civic values in everyday life.

3.4.2. The tolerance and acceptance, the silence of collusion and active involvement in child trafficking, selling products of illegal child labour and child prostitution and pornography enable and oblige us to agree that the problem also has a cultural dimension.

3.4.3. The incidents of child exploitation recorded today on a massive scale in Europe are not just the result of poverty and unemployment, but also signs of destitution, corruption, decay and crisis among large groups of the population.

3.4.4. From a cultural point of view, the European Union should address the problem at three levels:

3.4.4.1. As far as adults are concerned, we must consider prevailing values and moral standards, the sense of human and social responsibility of groups in the interlocking official and parallel economies and of the competent authorities in society, which are indifferent, tolerate the problem or are 'unable` to take action.

3.4.4.2. We must look at the effects on society in general of the existence and operation of such attitudes and the inability or indifference as to how to counter them.

3.4.4.3. As far as children are concerned, we must consider prevailing values and moral standards, the sense of social responsibility that street children acquire and share in their milieu, the issue of children who earn their living by selling their bodies and that of children involved in drug-trafficking.

3.4.5. The prevailing morals of a society, the hierarchy of values, aesthetic preferences and the 'erotic culture` in Europe will not be changed by government publications and will not be transformed instantaneously, since they reflect complex processes that have developed over many years.

3.4.6. Devising policies for cultural development in this sphere at regional, national and EU level is an absolutely essential, but also difficult, undertaking.

3.4.7. At the same time, a Europe free from the exploitation, ill-treatment, trafficking and prostitution of children, free from the supply of and demand for child sex tourism, presupposes a value system characterized by respect for the integrity of human nature and human life and by respect for the sanctity and inviolability of human rights.

3.4.8. We want a Europe whose citizens respect and abide by the law, in which citizens trust and esteem police and the courts, a cultural foundation that underpins lawfulness, respect for the law, the political system and fellow human beings.

3.4.9. The problem of indifference to, and tolerance of, crime can be addressed only if we have a value system and cultural foundation that promote social responsibility, participation, political accountability in the profoundest sense of the word and a political culture of democracy, freedom and lawfulness.

3.4.10. If sustainable development is to be accepted and applied as a model and strategies to promote sustainable cities are to succeed, then people must have a different, more responsible and less arbitrary relationship with nature, a different philosophy for managing natural and human resources.

3.4.11. The manifestations of crisis and decay are poorly documented in artistic works and production.

3.4.12. Cultural decay and brutality are documented however all too regularly in everyday life: in the home, in the sphere of mass entertainment (e.g. football), at work, at school, in the media and through other channels that dictate and promote models of existence, consumption and behaviour.

3.4.13. Policies should be promoted for active support to help local cultural characteristics flourish as a safeguard against abstract ideologies and a chauvinistic sense of identity. Europe's commitment to maintaining and developing national cultures, its commitment to a multicultural model of cultural development, must not surrender to inability to address in practice the manifestations of the crisis. The ESC considers the insignificance of cultural policy for Europe and inter alia its absence from Agenda 2000 to be an unacceptable situation.

3.4.14. The ESC believes it is necessary to encourage, reinforce and promote the participation of Europe's young people in the 'production` of cultural goods and to encourage them and others to be involved in cultural activities at local level.

3.4.15. Apart from introducing people to art and culture these processes accelerate the revival of the collective spirit and participation in the democratic system at grass-roots level. They breathe new life into the fabric of society, with social cohesion and solidarity being directly experienced as a welcome expression of neighbourliness and not as a 'political obligation`.

3.5. Why are European children attracted to district gangs?

3.5.1. So many problems are faced by Europe and the world, by European cities and the countryside, that the children of Europe can be given the chance to help solve problems and meet needs that are currently satisfied antisocially by neighbourhood gangs.

3.5.2. By observing how district gangs work and recognizing the needs they meet for children in European conurbations, we will be able to see which policies are called for to reduce the pervasive alienation of children in Europe and also to communicate with children who are heading towards, or are already on, the streets.

3.5.3. District gangs in many instances replace the 'missing family`. They meet a need for a sense of belonging to a broader reality but also to a well-defined group. They provide an opportunity for action, adventure, a sense of danger, esteem, and the chance to earn unmediated recognition within the group, as well as real, direct, emotionally meaningful communication, a sharing of danger, excitement and pleasure. District gangs give their members the chance to experience and crude participation in group experiences. Steps can and must be taken therefore at local, national and EU level to ensure that it is not only district gangs that offer young people in Europe such opportunities.

3.5.4. To this end, traditional, non-governmental youth organizations, political youth groups, and young people's church organizations can be mobilized by setting up new branches and adapting their organization and activities. The mass media can be encouraged at local and national level to draw attention to and promote initiatives that offer outlets to young people, not on the basis of the fruitless prim and proper attitudes of the past, nor in terms of antiheroic resignation and marginalization or 'heroic marginalization of criminality`.

3.5.5. Our young people can be given an outlet through a new culture of political activism, of accountability and 'challenging participation` in a climate of democratic involvement. Such an outlet can be provided by developing the specific features of local and national cultures and traditions, both in terms of the form of organizations and of the methods and purpose of action taken and through such EU programmes as Eur. Youth Voluntary Service scheme.

3.6. Poverty and unemployment

3.6.1. It is generally acknowledged that poverty alone is not (and was not in the past) in itself a cause of moral collapse. It is the combination of poverty with a lack of hope for a better future and an inability to participate in processes that change the circumstances of the individual and society. It is poverty associated with exclusion and marginalization.

3.6.2. Likewise, the traditional view that unemployment attracts people who are naturally predisposed to be out of work or social groups whose 'culture` is a factor that makes them prone to be idle and inactive and to demand payment for being unemployed, is no longer taken seriously. Indeed, the lack of an employed 'role model` can (unfairly) be felt as a source of embarrassment and even shame among families and children of the long-term unemployed.

3.6.3. The Amsterdam Summit at last laid the foundation for concrete measures to elaborate a common European employment strategy. The Treaty explicitly made employment a matter of common concern. The new chapter on employment reinforces the co-ordination of employment policies within common guidelines. The chapter clearly states that the Community shall contribute to a high level of employment by encouraging cooperation between Member States and by supporting and, if necessary complementing their action. Member States also committed themselves to consider the objective of a high level of 'employment` in the formulation and implementation of all Community policies.

3.6.4. The Extraordinary European Employment Council Meeting on Employment in Luxembourg last November rightly decided to put the new Treaty provisions on employment immediately into effect and to implement the provisions on coordination of Member States' employment policies in advance, as from 1998, the idea being to create for employment, as for economic policy, the same resolve to converge towards jointly set, verifiable, regularly updated targets.

3.6.5. In all this - as the Economic and Social Committee has itself often made clear - there is no illusion that jobs can simply be created 'by decree`. The springboard for jobs is the continued development of a sound, coordinated macro-economic policy, underpinned by an efficient internal market, which will lay the foundations for sustainable growth, new dynamism and a climate of confidence conducive to boosting employment. As the Luxembourg 'Jobs Summit` concluded, the aim is to help unleash the potential for dynamism and enterprise to be found in Europe's economy.

3.6.6. However, while a favourable economic environment, based on sound finance, geared to market needs and structural reform and capable of withstanding predatory currency speculation, should be conducive to stable growth and employment, it will not by itself actively promote and sustain jobs and the necessary skills to go with them. Just as jobs cannot simply be 'decreed` from on high, nor will they simply, 'miraculously emerge` by putting all our faith in the 'market`. Neither 'dirigisme` nor 'laissez-faire` offer the 'miracle cure`. A complex policy mix is needed for promoting sustainable growth and jobs, involving public-private partnership, flexibility and security, mobilization of socio-economic actors at all levels and a sense of solidarity best expressed by the term: the European social model. It is recognized that the coherence and practical projects necessary to activate such a sustainable employment-growth scenario should be underpinned and bound together by the core values which characterise and unite Europe's democracies. This is the challenge facing us: how to harness all resources available to combat unemployment and achieve tangible, practical progress in terms of real jobs and employability.

4. Evaluation of existing policies

4.1. The ESC notes that, so far, political efforts to deal with this immense problem have been inadequate and ineffective, with the result that the situation has deteriorated and reached ominous proportions at a global level.

4.2. Successive declarations, conferences, campaigns and movements at European and international level have demonstrated the gravity and tragic dimensions of the problem, but have not been accompanied by concrete measures and effective prevention and control, thereby having a negative impact on public opinion.

4.3. There is a danger that public opinion will either become inured to the existence of the problem and will resign itself to living with it, or that it will conclude that society is incapable of addressing the issue.

4.3.1. What concerns the average European in connection with issues such as child trafficking, large-scale child pornography and drug trafficking is whether our society is really capable of providing the necessary safeguards and protective mechanisms or whether leaders have been so ineffective that any real attempt at prevention or control is futile.

4.4. Doubt is being cast on the credibility of authorities and institutions; withdrawal into the private sphere, from active involvement in public affairs, is becoming more prevalent throughout Europe.

4.5. Policies and measures to date have focused mainly on controlling the symptoms of the problem by containing its negative effects (damage limitation). Efforts to change policy approaches to relief for victims and punishment of perpetrators have also been inadequate.

4.6. The main methodological approach has been broadly based on the logic of policing and of responding by the provision of, health, welfare and charitable services. The operational framework is one of 'victims` and 'culprits`. When somebody breaks the law, efforts are made to find the guilty party and if possible to compensate the victim. Within a healthy society there are unhealthy people and groups. Although the health of an individual is his or her own personal responsibility, society endeavours to provide support. Politically, the issue and arguments have traditionally been formulated in terms of a tension between:

- more or less intervention;

- more or less tolerance;

- more or less protection for victims.

4.7. There is no doubt that these three approaches, or the best possible combination of them in any given case, do not amount to a preventive policy. They do not form part of a strategy to address the underlying causes and generating factors of the problem, but remain focused on limiting its negative effects (damage limitation).

4.8. Although there is agreement among the international community as to the underlying causes of the problem, it is clear both from the policies pursued and their results that these causes are not being addressed.

4.9. The direct, indirect and overall costs (economic and social) of dealing with the problem are steadily rising.

4.10. Society and government are tending to cede responsibility by asking non-governmental organizations to find solutions to this primarily social problem.

4.11. Further social marginalization and inertia and the development of new state-financed bureaucratic - and, in most cases, unregulated - bodies with international links would not seem to offer the best approach to dealing with this or related problems.

4.12. The fact that whole sectors of the economy are sustained by the existence of crime or fear of crime - e.g. private police forces, electronic recording and monitoring of private and public spaces, shops, etc. - constitutes a significant non-productive cost-factor and a cause as well as a consequence of a divided society.

5. Towards a 'New Deal` for children

5.1. Basic principles

5.1.1. The nature, manifestations and extent of the problem, and its consequences, naturally influence what policies are chosen to tackle it.

5.1.2. The policy choices and strategy must be consistent with the more general political goals of the EU.

5.1.3. EU policies on sustainable development, urban strategy, lifelong learning, and the performance of schools in Europe are all relevant and must reflect each other and be consistent, furthering the sustainable development of human and social capital.

5.1.3.1. Without sustainable development of human and social capital, Europe's society and economy will be unable to hold on to its present share in world wealth and knowledge and influence with the up and coming Asian powers.

5.1.4. It is of great direct and indirect importance for Europe to address this problem decisively and effectively within its own frontiers, and to be the driving moral, political and organizational force behind tackling the problem at international level.

5.1.5. The demographic problem in Europe, i.e. the ageing of Europe's population together with the immediate risk of 30 % of young people (i.e. the number involved in child crime and drugs) being marginalized, is a very serious ongoing threat to social cohesion, and to Europe's economic and social competitiveness.

5.1.6. The financial burden on European society and pressure on the resources available in each country for containing antisocial and criminal activities among abandoned children, and the social burden of children employed in organized crime, cause enormous economic damage.

5.1.6.1. On the other hand, investing in prevention and in developing human resources, human and social capital, and social cohesion is quite clearly a more effective and, in the medium term, a more economical solution.

5.1.7. If the problem is to be addressed at regional, national and international level, then the necessary legal and institutional frameworks must be put in place that will enable a policy to be formulated and pursued, and measures to be implemented, on the basis of accepted international rules and with internationally accepted penalties:

- With regard to combating the now intolerable forms of child labour, for example, who should decide and what objective criteria should be used when determining the priority of intervention in one country over another?

- In the case of action against child sex tourism, should priority be given to 'demand` countries or 'supply` countries; who will take the decisions, on what authority, and with what international approval and support?

The problem must be addressed on the basis of specific coordinated programmes and organized cooperation with clear priorities in terms of countries and targets.

5.1.8. Integrated, coordinated programmes are required if action taken is to be effective.

5.1.8.1. Appointing impartial monitors to keep a check on illegal child labour, for example, will not be effective unless there are fair and objective mechanisms for imposing penalties at national level, as well as an independent legal system and an impartial police force.

5.2. New Framework at an international level

5.2.1. On the basis of the new EU objectives set out in the Agenda 2000 (), the ESC can take specific initiatives to coordinate the efforts of actors and action to tackle the underlying causes and generating factors of child exploitation (of any kind):

- at European Union level;

- at pan-European level;

- at global level.

5.2.2. The EU can lead the efforts of the world community to evolve specific and adequate programmes that will continue to promote the economic development of the less-developed regions of the world - in Latin America, Africa and Asia.

5.2.3. The Economic and Social Committee believes that the EU can and must take measures:

- to modernize the UN and its bodies so that they play an effective role in combating poverty during the first half of the 21st century;

- to ensure adequate resources to this end to the UN and its specialized agencies (UNDP, ILO, UNICEF, UNESCO, WHO, FAO);

- to modernize international financial institutions (e.g. World Bank, International Monetary Fund) in order that they take into account employment and social needs as well as educational and health needs in their policies and programmes;

- to consolidate new development processes in North-South relations;

- to support decisions of the World Summit for Social Development and to contribute actively to their universal implementation;

- 'to promote the social dimension in international trade agreements`.

5.2.4. The EU Member States should continue to intensify their contributions to IPEC programmes and, together with the social partners, should participate actively in the drafting and adoption of a comprehensive new ILO Convention against the most intolerable forms of child exploitation, and should contribute further in promoting its universal ratification and effective implementation, including appropriate forms of support to the developing countries willing to enforce ILO conventions related to the protection of children against exploitation.

5.2.5. The EU should seek, without delay, to secure the essential legal instruments for action, either within the context of the EU or as a group of national delegations working together within the UN.

5.2.6. A European initiative is called for both to ensure transparent and effective use of the resources provided by UN and international bodies, but also to ensure the provision of adequate resources and effective cooperation between the member states and UN bodies.

5.2.7. In an international and coordinating context, the Economic and Social Committee and its constituent members can take the initiative to encourage and facilitate:

- setting up a coordinating body for policies relating to children in eastern and western Europe, in cooperation with its partner organizations and with due regard to the EU enlargement process, in collaboration, where appropriate, with the Council of Europe the ILO, the World Trade Organization, UNICEF, the World Council of Churches and similar organizations;

- setting up regional coordinating bodies for Africa, America and Asia in the context of dialogue with social and economic interest groups;

- assuming responsibility for cataloguing the work of the international development organizations and evaluating the effectiveness of measures to combat poverty every two years.

5.2.7.1. The ESC also believes its proposals on human rights in the context of EU foreign policy to be timely.

5.2.7.2. The ESC considers that cooperation between Interpol, Europol and the national police forces of the Member States should be strengthened.

5.3. European level

5.3.1. Formulating and implementing an effective policy at European level means:

- coordinating the work of politicians and other competent groups in the Member States;

- coordinating efforts within the European Union and with the rest of Europe.

5.3.2. At European level, the Economic and Social Committee can take on the task of setting up a standing committee that would be responsible for analysing and presenting models, means and methods of rallying society in general and mobilizing social groups and interest groups to combat the exploitation of children.

5.3.3. Once the problem is seen no longer as purely economic or legal, or a problem of welfare, than the need for coordination takes on a different dimension.

5.3.4. If the problem is considered to be one of social development, a matter of rescuing human and social capital at risk, and if policies are adapted to address the underlying causes and not just to limit the effects of the problem, then there must be active and determined co-ordination at national level between authorities, institutions, governmental and non-governmental organizations concerned with:

- pre-school and school education, and long-term planning thereof;

- lifelong learning and training;

- careers advice and employment;

- culture, sports and leisure;

- town planning, urban renewal, provision of safe areas where children can play in their own inner-city neighbourhoods, children's games;

- reconciling family and working life;

- reorienting the relationship between home and work;

- collaboration between the public and private sectors in the spheres of:

children's recreational activities (individual and group activities);

children's entertainment;

children's television;

children's books;

traditional forms of social project, charities, churches, professional organizations, societies;

judiciary, police, social services;

local self-government.

6. Policy proposals

6.1. Urban policies

6.1.1. The ESC considers that the development of child-friendly urban policies is not an increase in social policy expenditure so much as an investment in improving human resources, in the sustainable development of human and social capital and in ongoing improvement of the competitiveness of Europe's cities.

6.1.2. A large number of Community documents recognize the need for an urban policy that addresses the enormous problems faced by European cities. A further effort to develop integrated approaches and cohesive and complementary policies that also meet the needs of Europe's children must be regarded as a small investment which will bring enormous returns and results.

6.2. Network of child-friendly cities

6.2.1. The setting up of a network of child-friendly cities could be the catalyst for a long-term policy in which effective, tried-and-tested methods could benefit the wider public (town planning, urban regeneration, restoration of historical city centres).

6.2.2. The planning of public transport systems, and planning and redesign of train and bus stations, can and must reflect children's needs.

6.2.3. Open spaces and public places, stations, parks and squares must fulfil a number of functions in such a way as to be inherently safer.

6.2.4. Providing enough recreation areas for children and encouraging after-school clubs and neighbourhood schools to provide educational, instructive recreation facilities are measures that serve the interests of children, parents in general, and one-parent families in particular.

6.2.5. Opportunities can be provided for reintegrating older people into the social mainstream and harnessing their skills through voluntary schemes in collaboration with day care centres, schools, public parks, etc.

6.2.6. Schools that are no longer in use in Europe owing to the decrease in the child population can be used for various activities, as workshops where people can be introduced in an enjoyable way to art and technology.

6.2.7. Other measures could include systematically transforming ghettos into places of cultural interaction, involving, for example, tourist offices, embassies, exhibition centres and centres for education and training in professions.

6.2.8. There should be a systematic effort to revive 'the neighbourhood`, with the help of local churches, schools, businesses and their agents, associations, trades unions and political parties.

6.2.9. Steps can be taken to establish organizational links between town and country (e.g. through producers' and consumers' associations, environmental protection organizations).

6.2.10. Policies could be developed to provide (low-cost) educational trips to areas of natural beauty in Europe, combined with environmental education programmes and the provision of opportunities to develop alternative forms of tourism, e.g. historical and cultural, based on networks of cities, such as cities of the Industrial Revolution, cities of the Reformation, and European cities of historical and cultural importance.

6.3. General mobilization of society

6.3.1. The ESC and its constituent members, including employers, trade union and diverse socio-economic interests can take some initiatives to help promote a general mobilization of society to tackle the exploitation, abuse and destruction of the EU's enormous human and social capital in all its forms.

6.3.2. The ESC considers that establishing a climate of general social mobilization which would reverse the process of withdrawal into the private sphere and the sense of resignation and inertia prevalent in broad sections of society calls for new approaches and forms of action that are much more integrated and cohesive than traditional awareness-raising campaigns.

6.3.3. In this effort, the social partners and the European social dialogue in its broader sense can play a very constructive role.

6.3.4. New forms of action are also called for, both from the traditional agents of social cohesion and from the new agents and institutions such as non-governmental organizations, local government, etc. Non-governmental organizations must adapt their activities or a new generation of non-governmental organizations will come into being. Most action taken by non-governmental organizations to date has been by and for society. The new types of non-governmental organization proposed will not take on the task of tackling social problems and will not stand in for society or the State. On the contrary, their aim will be to improve society's ability to organize a response to the problems. Their aim will be to help local communities, to bring about change and to use problems as a basis for acquiring the organizational capabilities and knowledge of resources needed to solve them. They will not replace traditional social institutions, but rather will help them to modernize their means and methods of action and social intervention. By the nature of their objectives, such NGOs will be small, flexible and low-spending; they will develop sequentially, in the form of a network, so that they can become firmly established and respond readily to local particularities, thus steering clear of the hierarchical and bureaucratic multinational model. These efforts can be encouraged more at European and Member State level.

6.3.5. The targets of general social mobilization must not be limited to so-called high-risk groups, or the people most closely affected by the problem.

6.3.5.1. The target of general social mobilization can and must be the wider 'grey area` of social strata and young people suffering the pressures of the crisis within the family, in the city, among the out-of-work, etc.

6.3.5.2. Action in this sphere may be indirect, but at the same time complementary and cohesive, e.g. a radical, ongoing, Europe-wide effort to reinforce, promote and enhance the status of non-political youth organizations (e.g. Scouts and Guides) and to develop political youth organizations of all persuasions in a Europe-wide campaign to revive a culture of clear participation among the younger generation, in contrast to the resignation, withdrawal and extremism of today.

6.3.5.3. Efforts must be made to ensure that youth organizations, both political and non-political, do not become overprofessionalized and overbureaucratized, and their openness to society must be encouraged.

6.3.5.4. All persuasions of the European Parliament can and must be involved in this effort.

6.3.5.5. The World Council of Churches can mount a campaign of its own to revive and restore the role of church youth organizations, thus enhancing its own position. The recent rally of young Catholics in Paris also showed that young people respond when called on to participate.

6.3.5.6. Steps should be taken to introduce Europe-wide awards and prizes for programmes and action by youth organizations that seek to address social problems.

6.3.5.7. These can be institutionalized by the European Parliament, Council and Commission in the framework of youth policies, and promoted by national parliaments and churches (the World Council of Churches and local churches).

6.3.5.8. In collaboration with the competent services of the Commission, UNICEF, the Committee of the Regions and European youth umbrella organizations, the ESC can organize a pan-European conference on the subject of participation among young people in Europe.

6.3.5.9. A 'Youth for Europe 2000+` programme, possibly under a new European Commissioner for youth, could include various types of pilot projects, dynamic benchmarking and demonstrative actions on youth issues for the proper physical, psychological and cultural development of the younger generation in Europe, for example:

- 'challenging` tourism for young people and cross-cultural ecological education and communication programmes could be organized around major rivers or rivers of historical interest in Europe. For example, there could be a series of camps on the Danube and a multilateral programme between countries through which the Danube flows entitled 'Travelling through the cultures of the Danube`;

- similar programmes could be organized in the Alps or between the countries around the Adriatic and Ionian seas;

- for instance, university-level schools of Fine Arts in Europe could set up a permanent forum for cultural dialogue that could be located in a European city and run by two or three universities under a multilateral programme;

- a permanent forum for interdenominational dialogue could be organized as part of a multinational programme involving theology schools and various church representatives, with the aim of fostering a culture of solidarity, tolerance, and why not even cooperation between young people of different Churches and beliefs, in an effort to address the problems they face.

6.3.5.10. Steps should be taken to persuade local and Member State governments to provide the mass media with incentives to make programmes that promote a responsible culture of participation and democracy in which there is equality between different peoples and cultures, programmes that promote models of youth action, ways for young people to organize, healthy lifestyles and democratic forms of social interaction, mobilization and effective employment for young people.

6.3.5.11. A permanent centre should be set up to disseminate better practice in programmes relating to actions by youth organizations at local and European level.

6.3.5.12. The ESC considers the following to be the necessary prerequisites for mobilizing society, increasing its involvement in tackling problems and combating illegal activities detrimental to children:

- a Europe-wide campaign to restore the authority and efficacy of the Courts of Law;

- a Europe-wide campaign conducted by the Member States to end corruption in police forces;

- a Europe-wide campaign conducted by the Member States to make and keep prison systems free from criminal activities;

- an issue of particular concern, where action is required at European and national level, in both western and eastern Europe, is that of orphanages. The ESC considers that this subject requires a specific, additional opinion.

6.3.5.13. It is absolutely essential that Europe should progress beyond cultural exchanges involving small numbers of young people to set up permanent institutions for interaction and communication, as well as procedures for tackling common problems and mobilizing broad sections of Europe's youth. This will result in the establishment of permanent ties and the creation of a commonality of interest among Europe's young people.

6.3.5.14. The increased cost of combating manifestations of racism, xenophobia, racist violence and juvenile crime can be converted into investment in social cohesion by means of a new policy for young people in Europe, a policy that will reflect the heritage and aspirations of European peoples.

6.4. Unemployment and poverty

6.4.1. The Economic and Social Committee has rigorously focused on the priority issue of employment as part of a sustainable economic and social development model. It has attached great importance to the achievement of economic and monetary union on schedule in order to stimulate confidence and employment. It has backed the idea of comparative employment performance criteria and a multi-annual plan with specific measures and a binding timetable, as well as instruments and monitoring mechanisms to which Member States commit themselves. It has encouraged dynamic 'benchmarking` procedures, including a European 'employment impact check`. It has constantly urged the Commission to stimulate the development of focused, specific sector and branch framework strategies for growth and employment, entailing dedicated cooperation and commitment from the actors involved from both sides of industry. It has called for a 'root-and-branch revamping` of the Structural Funds in favour of lasting, 'additional`, jobs. It has especially backed the objective of a European-wide guarantee for all young people, within one year of finishing school, to have access to a job, work experience or further training, and has called for sharper quantitative and qualitative educational and training targets. The Committee has also argued that European taxation policy should be re-assessed from the perspective of employment impact, and that a coordinated European fiscal strategy would be conducive to generalised negotiated reductions of non-wage labour costs. It has called for lower VAT rates for products and services that are labour intensive and offer major opportunities for job creation. It has expressed strong support for entrepreneurship and investment in job-creative SMEs and micro-businesses. The Committee has welcomed the European Investment Bank's 'Amsterdam Special Action Programme` and has urged the EIB to adopt a more risk-taking attitude and a more focused approach to projects which can enhance employment-intensiveness and the quality of jobs, with due regard to their commercial viability. The Economic and Social Committee has also called for negotiated reorganization and reductions of working time which, linked to functional flexibility, attractive part-time working options and longer business and operating hours, may have a positive effect on employment, within the framework of collective agreements.

6.4.2. Poverty and social exclusion

6.4.3. The Committee has regularly proposed income support and poverty prevention policies in keeping with the European social model.

7. Addressing the problem of child sex tourism

Commission communication ().

76.1

7.1. General comments

7.1.1. The Commission communication is seen as a contribution to the broader effort of the European Union to combat the sexual abuse and exploitation of children.

7.1.2. The communication brings to bear the conclusions of the Stockholm World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (held in August 1996), in particular the action programme produced as a result of the Congress.

7.1.3. The Commission communication can be considered as basically a balanced approach that addresses the problems posed both by the demand for child sex tourism and by the corresponding supply.

7.1.4. The basic proposals of the Commission rest on a three-pronged approach:

- deterring and punishing child sex abusers;

- specific action to curb both the supply and the demand mechanisms of child sex tourism;

- encouraging the Member States to take a common stand against the problem.

Deterring and punishing child sex abusers

7.1.5. With regard to achieving the first goal, the Commission recognizes that there is a need for judicial cooperation and harmonization of legislation. There is no doubt that the process of harmonizing legislation, from definitions right through to penalties, needs to be speeded up.

7.1.6. In as much as both the countries and regions receiving child sex tourists are known, deterrence of abusers could be stepped up by establishing monitoring centres appropriately staffed by qualified personnel from the countries sending and receiving such tourists with the task of recording, uncovering and publicizing cases of child sex abuse.

7.1.7. The threat of exposure in one's home country may be one of the most effective deterrents.

7.1.8. Firm action should ensure there are no organized agents providing such services in the demand countries. Imposing penalties on businesses that advertise, organize or promote child sex tourism and publishing the names of the directors and employees of such businesses would act as a powerful deterrent.

7.2. Stemming the flow of paedophile tourists from the Member States

7.2.1. Under this heading, the Commission underlines the importance of policies to raise awareness and establish codes of conduct.

7.2.2. The awareness-raising proposals are important, as long as care is taken that such campaigns do not also inure public opinion to the existence and extent of the problem and lead to indifference, or tolerance of it.

7.2.3. With regard to promoting codes of conduct and self-regulatory mechanisms in the tourist industry, the ESC believes that codes of conduct must be formulated without delay, and people must be encouraged to respect and observe them by introducing merit awards at local, national and European level which the tourist industry can use to good effect in advertising.

7.2.4. The ESC believes that the problem is so widespread and serious that it warrants a comprehensive deterrent policy comprising penalties for marketing in the demand countries across the board to penalties for trafficking and supplying child sex tourism services.

7.2.5. The approval of declarations does not amount to a policy of deterrence.

7.2.6. German tour operators provide a good example of self-regulation, demonstrating the key role that tour operators play throughout the tourist industry and thus the need to formulate an unambiguous policy to regulate their activities at every level, from codes of conduct to punitive measures.

7.2.7. A bold step in the right direction would be to examine the possibility or usefulness of setting up specialized tourist police units in Member States that do not have them, coordinating the activities of these forces through Europol and Interpol and making appropriate arrangements for them to be strengthened and 'equipped` with the essential infrastructure.

7.3. Helping to combat child sex tourism in third countries

7.3.1. The Commission's proposals represent an important contribution towards tackling the problem.

7.3.1.1. The ESC considers that third countries do not constitute a single, homogeneous area. Political, economic, religious and cultural differences necessitate and allow the development of different policies, measures and collaborative efforts.

7.3.2. The ESC proposes that this issue be included on the agenda for dialogue with the countries of central and eastern Europe, the Euro-Mediterranean dialogue and dialogue with the ASEAN countries.

7.3.3. Particular care must be taken in the context of the dialogue on EU enlargement to make it quite clear in every regard that respect for human rights, and in particular the rights of the child, and the harmonization - as well as observance - of laws on child-trafficking for purposes of sex tourism are matters of the utmost importance for the EU.

7.4. Role of the ESC

7.4.1. The Economic and Social Committee can take the initiative and responsibility to make use of the dialogue it maintains with its counterparts in each group of countries falling into a particular category in the regions concerned, in order to raise and deal with the issue.

7.5. More general policies

7.5.1. The ESC considers that as part of its international role the EU can highlight the issue as a priority for the international community.

7.5.2. In the dialogue of international organizations such as the UN, UNESCO and UNICEF, in the North-South dialogue, within the World Trade Organization, etc., the EU must promote policies with definite deadlines and geographical targets which are clearly directed at combating the specific underlying causes of the problem.

7.5.3. The ESC's proposals on how to deal with child exploitation at international and European level obviously also apply to dealing with the underlying causes of child sex tourism.

7.5.4. The proposal to set up regional coordinating bodies to address the problem of child exploitation (on the initiative of the ESC) obviously also applies to addressing the problem of child sex tourism.

Brussels, 2 July 1998.

The President of the Economic and Social Committee

Tom JENKINS

() See ESC Opinion: OJ C 153, 28.5.1996.

() See ESC Opinion on 'European Cultural Policy for Children`, op.cit.

() The state of the world's children, 1997/UNICEF.

() COM(96) 547 final.

() 'The future of North-South Relations: towards sustainable economic and social development`, 'Cahiers` of the Forwards Studies Unit, 1997 No 1.

() UNESCO, UNICEF, World Council of Churches, Council of Europe, non-governmental organizations.

() COM(97) 0197 final, Brussels 6.5.1997.

() COM(97) 47 final, 10.2.97.

() COM(97) 142 final, 30.4.97.

() Making the European Union a global actor, ensuring complementarity between internal and external policies, developing a strategy for human resources.

() COM(96) 547 final, 27.11.1996.

APPENDIX I to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee

The need for a common terminology

Clarifying the meaning of terms is a useful tool for effective communication, policy drafting, guideline implementation and harmonization of policy.

The large number of international NGOs dealing with this issue means that a common terminology must be defined and used.

Basic terms and definitions

What is meant by 'child`?

According to the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child, the term 'child` refers to any person up to the age of 18.

ILO Convention No 138 states that the minimum age for legal employment is 15. This is calculated on the basis of the minimum age for completion of compulsory education (6 + 9 = 15).

Different legal systems define permissible work for children between the ages of 15 and 18 in different ways. German law on the protection of children at work and on the provision of assistance to children and young people defines a child as young person of under 14 years of age, or any young person covered by legislation on compulsory education, i.e. young people of up to 15. Young people aged between 14 and 18 who have been exempted from compulsory education are deemed to be adolescents.

Compulsory education lasts until the age of 15 in Germany and Austria, 16 in France, the UK and The Netherlands.

The age of legal employment generally coincides with the end of compulsory education.

Legal age of consent

The Committee considers that possible EU harmonization of the age of consent is an issue which should be examined by the appropriate, competent authorities.

Exploitation of children

Exploitation of children is understood to mean:

a) the use of children by any third party for his/her own interests in any way or for any purpose which is harmful to their physical, psychological or mental well-being;

b) anything contrary to the rights of the child as expressed in the UN Declaration;

c) anything violating the moral standards of the society of either the perpetrator or the victim of exploitation.

Child abuse

The ESC considers the infliction of any kind of physical, psychological or mental violence on a child for any purpose as coming under this heading.

The infliction of violence on children for self-interest or satisfaction is defined as abuse. Forcing children, directly or indirectly, to act for the benefit or satisfaction of third parties constitutes abuse and ill-treatment. The infliction of psychological, mental or physical violence on children in the 'social`, 'family` or 'national` interest is also defined as abuse. The use of children for the erotic/sexual satisfaction and pleasure of adults also constitutes child abuse (physical, psychological, mental) and exploitation.

Neglect and ill-treatment

Neglect of the physical, psychological and mental needs of children and ill-treatment of children are phenomena for which the definition may vary in accordance with the dominant morality of different social groups or societies. Even so, limits to what is tolerable, beyond which the state intervenes, exist virtually everywhere.

Since this category includes a large number of children who are nearing, or have reached, the critical point of either finding themselves on the streets, or remaining at home under difficult circumstances, it requires special attention. This is the category potentially swelling the numbers of street children. Social or official intervention is, to some extent, impossible. It is, however, also the category where prevention can have a real impact.

Abandonment

Abandonment of children

The ESC defines abandonment of children as the discontinuation of any interest, care or contact by parents or relatives towards the children.

Abandonment of home and family by children

The abandonment of home and family by children - temporary, repeated or permanent - is the term used to define the estrangement of the child from home and family.

It is clear from the above definitions that the exploitation and ill-treatment of children is a dynamic, multi-layered, complex and evolving process. Approaching the problem as a collection of individual offences fails to identify and tackle the root causes.

Child exploitation, in whatever form and to whatever degree, is primarily a social problem, a symptom of an unhealthy society. It is also a crime which, when practised, embodies the social problem in the shape of perpetrator and victim. Reducing a social problem to a criminal act predetermines the policies chosen to tackle the problem and the crime.

Child sex tourism

We define child sex tourism as organized tourism, of which the principal aim is to provide child sex 'services` to customers, or trips that include organized provision of such services or links with 'networks` that cater to this type of demand.

The ESC agrees with the profile and definition of the particular types of tourists involved in child sex tourism set out in the Commission communication ().

() COM(96) 547 final.

APPENDIX II to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee

Commission measures addressing the problem of child exploitation ().

() SEC(97) 1265, 24.6.1997.