UN expert slams India, Cambodia, Thailand over *** tourism
1 hour, 27 minutes ago
GENEVA (AFP) - India, Cambodia and Thailand are not doing enough to
protect children against the risks associated with *** tourism for
fear of damaging their economies, a UN human rights expert charged on
Friday.
Juan Miguel Petit, the UN special rap****teur on the rights of
children, said authorities in these countries are often not willing to
tackle the issue of children's ***ual exploitation for tourists'
benefit.
"Sometimes there are big pressures on governments, explicitly or
implicitly, when there are enormous touristic activities going on,
making millions of dollars," he told journalists.
"Some interests see the limitation on the ***ual market as a
limitation for their earning of money," he added.
He denounced this "insane tourism that puts at risk the lives of
hundreds and hundreds of children," saying it was against the public
interest in such countries.
In general, Asia "continues to be a very difficult, alarming place" as
far as human trafficking is concerned, Petit said.
Police often appear unconcerned about the scale and gravity of the
problem, he charged.
"They accept this kind of crime in a passive way, as if their job was
only to chase bank robbers," he said.
Many convicted Western *** offenders are drawn to Southeast Asia for
its perceived laxness in terms of child ***.
British former pop star Gary Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd,
was jailed for three years in Vietnam in 2005 for molesting girls aged
11 and 12.
He fled Britain for Southeast Asia, initially Cambodia, in 1999 after
serving half of a four-month prison term for possession of child
****ography.
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