Child Trafficking

Children's trafficking has been an issue of major concern for the international community in recent years. Trafficking in persons, the illegal practice of procuring human beings for unpaid work in physically abusive settings, has reached large scales lately, with figures such as 1.2 million children annually being transported from poverty-stricken countries to wealthier nations. The trafficking of children often involves exploitation of the parents' extreme poverty. The latter may sell children to traffickers in order to pay off debts or gain income, or they may be deceived concerning the prospects of training and a better life for their children. This is increasingly prevalent in West Africa, where unfortunate children are trafficked to European nations where they are forced into slavery, prostitution, and exploitative labor in shops and factories. With this in mind, the countries of the United Nations must determine an efficient method to deal with the issue of trafficking children worldwide.

Japan, as a responsible member of the international community, has been actively working to aid children and assist in ending child trafficking. In the year 2000, Japan helped set up a child protection agency in Benin amounting $758,000. The program enacted promoted an education service for poorer people and endeavored to create alternative opportunities for families that look towards trafficking as an income source. In 2001 Japan brought forth its Yokohama Global Commitment, which called for increasing efforts to eliminate the commercial sexual exploitation of children globally. This effort was soon followed by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which sought to bring forth an international effort to protect and promote children's rights. Last but not least, in 2004, Japan established an Inter-Ministerial Liaison Committee, regarding measures to combat trafficking in persons, as a means of achieving close cooperation among all governments. This order promoted enacting measures speedily and