Mr President,Sweden aligns herself with the statement made by France on behalf of the EU. We welcome the first report submitted by Ms. Najat M’jid Maala and would like to voice our support for her work and the continuation of her important mandate.
As the Special Rapporteur pointed out, her mandate should not be taken in isolation from other related mandates. There is a close link between her mandate and those on violence against children, violence against women and that of the Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict, and we believe that there is every reason for those mandates to coordinate between themselves.
We encourage the Special Rapporteur to conduct regional and transnational missions due to the regional dimension of the sale of children and child prostitution and the link to organized crime, although much of the abuse takes place also in a national and domestic environment. We welcome the proposed themes for Ms M’jid’s upcoming reports on child pornography, the sale of children’s organs and the sale of children for adoption. All three themes indicate that we must come to grips with both the supply and the demand side of these ugly phenomena.
Sweden was the first country to host a world congress against sexual exploitation of children. The Third World Congress, mentioned in Ms. Maala's report, will take place this November. We would like to express our appreciation to Brazil for hosting that important gathering and to encourage all other Governments and relevant rapporteurs to participate.
Sweden urges all states who have not done so to sign the optional protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and to meticulously implement the provisions contained therein and in the Convention of the Rights of the Child.