Sofija Korac
ECOSOC Advisor
U.S. Mission to the United Nations
New York, New York
October 12, 2020
AS DELIVERED
Thank you, Special Rapporteur Singhatch.
The United States agrees with your observation in your recent report that effective cross-border cooperation is essential to addressing the sale and sexual exploitation of children. The Department of State’s Child Protection Compact (CPC) Partnerships are examples of such cooperation.
A CPC partnership is a multi-year plan that the United States and another country initiate to strengthen that country’s efforts to effectively prosecute and convict child traffickers, provide comprehensive trauma-informed care for child victims of these crimes, and prevent child trafficking in all its forms. Tailored projects coordinate and enhance efforts by government, civil society, and the private sector to stop the exploitation and trafficking of children. Mechanisms are developed to implement partnership activities, monitor progress and assess outcomes, and sustain achievements after the partnership ends.
In recent years, the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons has provided up to $5 million annually for CPC partnership projects. The office currently has active partnerships in place with the Governments of the Philippines, Jamaica, Peru, and Mongolia. A partnership just concluded with the Government of Ghana, although programs and cooperation continue.
I’d like to end by asking a question. You note that the increasing use of the internet has given perpetrators new tools by which to exploit children, including anonymous platforms, streaming services, encrypted communications systems, and virtual currency. Can you cite any best practices to address this?
Thank you, chair.
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