Celebrating ECPAT

All of our countries face problems relating to the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC). There have been some shocking cases recently in the UK which have raised awareness of the scale of what we have to deal with – the British Prime Minister has made very clear that addressing CSEC and its underlying causes is a very high priority.

We are very conscious of of the appalling prevalence of CSEC abroad. Here, in the Horn of Africa where I work, the UK has a number of initiatives underway aimed at combating human trafficking, including of children. And in Ethiopia specifically, where gender issues are at the front and centre of our development work in general, our engagement in the Girl Hub project aims at addressing the many difficulties faced by girls and young women and how they can be empowered to overcome them. Also, like many of our Embassies and High Commissions around the world, we are working hard to deliver the Foreign Secretary’s campaign to prevent sexual violence in conflict.

Against that background, I was delighted to be present at the Hilton Hotel in Addis Ababa today at the award of the Conrad N Hilton humanitarian prize to ECPAT, in recognition of their tremendous work over 20 years to combat CSEC worldwide. And I was pleased too that this happened during a conference hosted by ECPAT to address the vast and growing problem of CSEC in Africa. There is much more work to be done, but there are many dedicated individuals – not least in the ranks of ECPAT – ready to stand up and do it.