Sir Alex Ferguson and the Manchester United team
have thrown their weight behind Unicef UK's End Child
Exploitation Campaign.
Former James Bond star Roger
Moore joined the footballers to launch a three-year campaign
to highlight some of the worst crimes committed daily against
millions of children: hazardous and exploitative labour,
trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. Unicef says
worldwide, each year, more than a million children are
trafficked for use in the sex trade, 180m are involved in
hazardous and exploitative labour, and 300,000 are actively
involved in armed conflict.
Caroline Graham, of East
Midlands Unicef, said: "A vulnerable child is easy prey for
traffickers, and can end up being exploited for labour,
commercial sexual activities or in armed
conflict.
"Poverty, exclusion, discrimination and lack
of access to education make children vulnerable to
exploitation."
Trafficking is a problem in at least 97
countries, with thousands of victims ending up in the UK every
year.
Unicef said children are "theoretically"
protected through the UN Convention on the Rights of the
Child.
"International treaties like this depend on the
strength of national laws to be truly effective, as well as on
the political will of national governments to cooperate with
each other and enforce the law," said Ms Graham.
In the
UK, children are protected by legislation, but there are
gaps.
"The Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act does
make the trafficking of people for prostitution a
crime.
"But the trafficking of people for other forms
of exploitation is still not officially recognised as a crime.
And the new law does not refer specifically to child
trafficking."
Unicef is lobbying the Government to plug
these gaps and provide safe houses, counselling and education
for victims and specialist training for those who come into
contact with youngsters at risk.
"All we are asking for
is that UK legislation is brought into line with international
agreements on trafficking and sexual exploitation, and for
improved treatment of exploited children in the UK," she
said.
The group wants the UK to sign more UN protocols
and spearhead an international battle against child
exploitation. Unicef aims to raise £5m to support its
projects.
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