An awareness campaign from the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and the International Task Force for the Protection of Children in Tourism will seek to raise the profile of children who are being exploited.
A total of 218 million children are estimated to be engaged in labour world wide, while millions are especially vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, according to the International Labour Organisation.
UNWTO says the tourism industry has a moral obligation and a special responsibility to combat child labour, sexual exploitation and trafficking of children.
The campaign, under the banner of — “Protect Children from Exploitation in Travel and Tourism†— stresses that it is unacceptable for the industry and the travelling public to tolerate the abuse of children in all its forms.
As part of this campaign, UNWTO is encouraging the industry to enforce its Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, and protect children against harm.
The campaign was formally launched at the World Travel Market 2008 and globally on the Universal Children’s Day – November 20.
UNWTO is using various forms of media including video, web and print in order to disseminate its message. A new logo is available and a number of web pages and an email are dedicated to this campaign.
For more information go to www.unwto.org/protectchildren
