Sale and sexual exploitation of children: UN rights expert launches visit to Malaysia

GENEVA (20 September 2018) – During an official visit to the country from 24 September to 1 October, the UN Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children will examine to what extent and how Malaysia is engaged in preventing and combating these issues.

“I will seek to help the Government of Malaysia promote and protect the rights of children and evaluate the risks and forms of exploitation along with the measures already adopted to fight the problem and examine the challenges that remain,” said the Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, Maud de Boer-Buquicchio.

The Special Rapporteur’s mission will focus on issues such as the sexual exploitation of children through information and communication technologies and the sale of children through illegal adoptions. She will pay particular attention to the issue of child marriage, as Malaysia is reaching a key point in a national debate on eradicating this violation of children’s rights.

“I will also meet child victims of abuse, violence and exploitation, and children in vulnerable situations, such as refugees, to make sure their opinions are duly taken into account in my recommendations to the Government and other concerned parties,” said Ms de Boer-Buquicchio.

During her eight-day visit, the UN expert will travel to Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu. She will meet representatives of the Government and the judiciary as well as provincial and local authorities, representatives of non-profit associations and NGOs, the private sector and members of the international community.

At the end of her visit, on Monday 1 October 2018, Ms de Boer-Buquicchio will share her preliminary findings with the media at a press conference, which will take place at 14:30 local time at the JW Marriott Hotel, Kuala Lumpur (Bintang 4, Level 3). Access to the news conference will be strictly limited to journalists.

The Special Rapporteur will present a comprehensive report on her visit to a subsequent meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

ENDS

Ms Maud de Boer-Buquicchio (Netherlands) was appointed as Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children by the UN Human Rights Council in May 2014 and her mandate was renewed in March 2017. She served as Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe between 2002 and 2012. Ms de Boer-Buquicchio spearheaded the adoption of the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse. She is the President of the European Federation for Missing and Exploited Children.

The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

UN Human Rights, Country Page – Malaysia

For additional information before and after the visit please contact: Dorian Hall (+41 22 917 5493 / dhall@ohchr.org) or write to srsaleofchildren@ohchr.org
In Malaysia, during the visit please contact: Shushan Khachyan (+ 41 76 615 04 03 /skhachyan@ohchr.org)

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts please contact:
Mr. Jeremy Laurence, UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+41 22 917 9383 / jlaurence@ohchr.org) 

This year is the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN on 10 December 1948. The Universal Declaration – translated into a world record 500 languages – is rooted in the principle that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” It remains relevant to everyone, every day. In honour of the 70th anniversary of this extraordinarily influential document, and to prevent its vital principles from being eroded, we are urging people everywhere to Stand Up for Human Rights: www.standup4humanrights.org.