REPOST: Trafficking of children on

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Subject: REPOST: Trafficking of children on the rise: Repatriation policy comes under fire

Trafficking of children on the rise: Repatriation policy comes under
fire,

Bangkok Post,22 July 1998

Children are increasingly being trafficked across Southeast Asia for
prostitution, with Thailand being the main destination, says the
International Labour Organisation.

Around 80,000 women and children have been sold into Thailand's sex
trade since 1990, it says, with most coming from Burma, China's Yunan
province and Laos
respectively.

The study was carried out by Mahidol University's Institute of
Population and Social Research. Researchers found that of 16,423 foreign
prostitutes in Thailand, 30 per
cent were aged under 18.

It also found that at least 3,000 Vietnamese girls had been smuggled
into Cambodia for prostitution and that over 15 per cent of them were
under 15.

The study said trafficking for begging was a new trend in Cambodia and
Thailand with some 500 Cambodian children known to be involved in
begging in Thailand

Trafficked children were also found on construction sites and in
sweatshops. In 1996, almost 200,000 foreign children, mostly boys from
Burma, Laos and Cambodia,
were thought to be working in Thailand.

The ILO criticised the government's policy to repatriate some 300,000
illegal workers, saying the measure would push illegal migrants,
especially children, "further
underground".

The study blames trafficking in children on poverty, limited education
opportunities and family problems. It will be discussed during a July
22-24 seminar.