BESTEN Think Tank VII Flagstaff Arizona June 21

BEST-EN Think Tank VII Flagstaff, Arizona, June 21 -24, 2007 Social Responsibility and Innovation on Trafficking and Child Sex Tourism: Morphing of Practice into Sustainable Tourism Policies? Camelia Tepelus, Lund University, Sweden Research Associate/Ph. D Candidate camelia. tepelus@iiiee. lu. se c/o ECPAT USA, 157 Montague Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Overview • Child sex tourism and trafficking overview • Discussion on best practices • Observations on factors coming into play for the development of policies Main argument: existing good practices need to morph towards policy articulation

CSR and Sustainable Tourism • Tourism ’least developed’ in terms of CSR initiatives (WB&IFC, 2003) • Social aspects – gap in the sustainable tourism agenda • Trafficking and sex tourism – increasing phenomena – 2 mil children fall victims every year of sexual exploitation every year, 1. 2 mil children victims of trafficking (UNICEF)

Linkages - tourism and trafficking (for sexual exploitation) • US TIP report 2006: CST 29 countries either origin, or destination countries • Trafficking UNODC definition ‘transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons’ • Topic confusion with smuggling – reg. adult sexual exploitaiton and prostitution • Legal status is clear regarding children under 18 years old ‘cannot give valid consent, and any recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of children for the purpose of exploitation is a form of trafficking regardless of the means used’ (UNODC)

Tourism innovation models against CST and trafficking • Vocational training in/by the hospitality industry for children at risk (IBLF) • Training programs for the tourism staff (Child. Wise Australia) • Codes of conduct – information, education, clauses in contracts with suppliers, work with stakeholders in destinations & annual reporting: 23 countries, over 600 companies • Govt. campaigns (Brazil) • Policy guidelines, statements, etc. (UNWTO, ILO, UNODC, OSCE, IOM).

World Tourism Forum for Peace and Sustainable Development Brazil, 2004, 2005, 2006 Outcomes: -Regional South American Task Force on the Protection of Children; - South American ministers’ declaration ‘Sustainable Tourism & Childhood’ - Regional awareness raising campaign: 12 countries in South American campaign

Information on websites, media events

Kenya, Dominican Republic – receiving country perspectives

UNICEF Japan and ECPAT Japan worked on awareness raising with JTB, JATA, and to provide information through catalogues

Discussion • Evolution of practical models was initiated by NGOs and activists • Innovation in current models needs to be documented by theory and rigorous evaluation • Insufficient awareness/denial/ in the industry, and by governments persists (progress Latin America and Eastern Europe) • Lack of coordination among driving NGO/UN actors • Gap in analysis by academia of current practical models, and their effectiveness

…towards sustainable tourism policies addressing CST and trafficking • Further academic research on CSR framework on tourism, needs to incorporate CST and trafficking amongst the ethical issues addressed. • Linkages need to be drawn from the research published in law, social sciences and criminology with the research on social impacts and globalization in tourism. • Creating incentives and acknowledging socially responsible tourism leaders • Improved coordination between the relevant UN bodies, tourism policy makers and the civil society

Conclusion and recommendations • Academia to engage with CST and trafficking as components of CSR in tourism • Morphing of innovation into policy making is essential Camelia Tepelus, Lund University, Sweden Research Associate/Ph. D Candidate camelia. tepelus@iiiee. lu. se c/o ECPAT USA, 157 Montague Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201