ONE in FIVE campaign - Seminar Combating child sexual exploitation at local and regional levels

Congress contribution to the Council of Europe ONE in FIVE Campaign to stop sexual violence against children

9 February 2012

Palais de l’Europe, room 5, opening at 9 am

Opening speech by Emin YERITSYAN, Chair of the Congress Current Affairs Committee

Deputy Secretary General

Mr President

Ambassadors

Ladies and Gentlemen

Colleagues

May I start by wishing you all welcome to this very important seminar which is being organised to explore how we, local and regional elected representatives, can combat child sexual exploitation at the local and regional levels.  I am pleased to see so many of you have managed to get here in spite of the industrial action that is affecting the French air space at the moment.

I’m also pleased to see that so many of our partners are here, representing governments, NGOs, and law enforcement bodies.  Partnerships at all levels are essential in progressing in the fight to stop sexual violence against children, as we will see today during our exchanges.

As its contribution to the Council of Europe One in Five Campaign, the Congress has set itself the ambitious aim to develop a culture whereby towns and regions are more child-friendly and where children and young people can participate meaningfully in the development of safe communities free from sexual violence.

This is no mean feat with one child in every five, as our Campaign title implies, being a victim of sexual violence or abuse.  However, given the seriousness of this problem, I hope, no I am sure the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, representing the thousands of local and regional authorities across the Council of Europe space, is up to this challenge and has the political will to advance in the development and implementation of community-based action plans and strategies, and to invest in better services that respect children’s rights in order to deliver locally what children and families need to stop sexual violence and to bring perpetrators to justice.

We have a full day’s programme ahead of us so let us move on.