Children around the world have a right to protection

Last year, a court in France convicted a Frenchman of rape and sentenced him to seven years in prison for having sex with an 11-year-old girl while he was on holiday in Thailand. The case attracted worldwide attention because it seemed to mark a turning point in the fight against sexual exploitation of children.
But as a new report from the United Nations Children's Fund reveals, the battle is far from won. Indeed, the problem seems to be getting worse. According to the U.N., millions of children are being bought and sold for use as sex slaves in what is estimated to be a multibillion-dollar industry.
Children in Third World nations are especially vulnerable because of the high rate of poverty, the exploding populations and the boom in recent years of international tourism. Cheaper airfares and greater freedom to travel in formerly restricted countries have created networks of international tourists traveling to various parts of the globe to have sex with minors.
"Millions of children throughout the world are being bought and sold like chattel and used as sex slaves," says Carol Bellamy, UNICEF executive director.
The statistics are shocking. In India, there are an estimated 9 million prostitutes, of which 30 percent are children. A further 10 percent said they had started careers in prostitution before they were 18. In Latin America, a growing number of street children trade sex for money to buy food and drugs. An estimated 25,000 minors are involved in prostitution in the Dominican Republic.
Conference: The release of this year's U.N. report coincides with a conference scheduled to begin on Monday in Yokohama, Japan. The conference will not only focus on the extent of the problem, but will seek to develop strategies for ending this savagery once and for all.
The United States, which has established itself as the conscience of the world with its war on international terrorism, must take the lead in this important endeavor. UNICEF's call for laws to protect children from abuse and for enforcement of those laws with tough penalties must become the rallying cry for the international community.
The rape of innocent children is the rape of humanity.