Manila, September 03: The Philippines is one of seven countries in Asia facing a serious child trafficking problem, according to a study released Wednesday by the United Nations Children Fund.
The report, Child Trafficking in East and South-East Asia: Reversing the Trend, noted that internal trafficking in the Philippines is more problematic than cross-border trafficking.
“In the Philippines, children are mainly trafficked from the rural areas to urban cities,” it said.
The study revealed that other countries facing serious child trafficking problems are China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
It said child trafficking routes in Asia indicated that origins and destinations come from less-developed to more-developed countries.
“These routes are from North Korea to north-eastern China, from eastern Russia to South Korea; from Thailand and Philippines to Japan and South Korea; from South Korea to Japan and the US; and from Colombia and Taiwan to Japan,” it said.
Factors contributing to child trafficking are poverty, family breakdown, the low status and role of children in the societies as well as lack of educational and viable employment opportunities.
“Poor legal and regulatory frameworks, weak law enforcement, under-resourced social welfare services, limited capacity of service providers and lack of recognition of or respect for children’s fundamental rights have adversely affected the lives of millions of children in the region,” it said.
–Agencies