Chairperson, hon Ministers and members, I must say that this year's debate has been more productive than last year's, and I am very encouraged to see our Ministers in the House to share in this debate - I really am. It shows an interest in the topic and the fight against woman and child abuse. It is unfortunate though - I mean that sincerely - that the Deputy Minister in charge of the campaign is not here, maybe there is a good reason, I don't know; but it's a pity she is not here.
I would like to thank all the members that have participated in the debate, the hon Ngcobo mentioned human trafficking and the fact that in Southern Africa it's rife and that amongst the crime affecting women it's one of the fastest growing crimes in southern Africa.
I think the hon Tshwete was off the mark a bit with the abortion Bill. The thing is that the hon member was not there for all the proceedings but if some compromises had been reached, for example, on mandatory counselling and conscientious objections, you might have had a few more yes votes in the House today and maybe got it through - anyway be that as it may.
Everybody agrees that the campaign should be 365 days, but how do we sustain the campaign that has been developed for 16 into 365 days? I think we should each year take a particular topic to deal with child and woman abuse - and there are many - and focus on it and see what we can do as Parliamentarians and as a nation to address that. I would like to suggest that this year we look at human trafficking and I want to focus particularly on children because I have a soft spot for children, not that I don't have a soft spot for women, but I think the House knows my sentiments. I have done a lot of work in the campaigns against child abuse.
Trafficking in humans and children in particular has to be one of the most heinous crimes. There are no exact numbers of how many children are trafficked around the world. However, one estimate is that 50% of trafficking victims worldwide are actually children under the age of 18. There are many reasons for the imprecise data on child trafficking. Trafficking is obviously a criminal act, shrouded in secrecy, and victims are afraid to come forward. This makes it difficult to get accurate numbers.
Despite the absence of an exact count of the trafficking of children, the numbers are enormous and the trends are on the rise around the world.
Children are trafficked for a range of exploitative practices that include labour exploitation, where children may be used to work on plantations and in mines; domestic work - and if anyone saw the Law and Order programme the hon Tshwete likes watching on TV you would have seen a few weeks ago children being trafficked from Nigeria into America for domestic work and sexual exploitation.
Children, especially girls, are trafficked to work in brothels and massage parlours. The IOL global child labour figures of 2000 indicate that 1,8 million children are exploited in the commercial sexual industry; military conscription is another reason, some 30 ongoing or recent armed conflicts in almost every region of the world are sustained by child soldiers. When poverty is acute, a girl may be regarded as an economic burden on her family and marriage to an older man may be seen as a family survival strategy. Illicit adoption is also a reason, as is sport and I find this very strange. This pertains to young boys who have been trafficked as camel jockeys, which is big business I believe in certain parts of the world; begging and body organs and of course child pornography which has become a multimillion dollar industry in itself.
The factors that contribute to making children vulnerable are obviously poverty, which many members have alluded to today. It makes children highly vulnerable to traffickers and the inequality of women and girls in many societies means they are often seen as objects and commodities. Low school enrolment is also a cause, and I am glad to see the Minister of Education here as she knows that uneducated children have few opportunities and that the longer we keep them in school the better the chances are.
Children without care givers are also vulnerable. Parents provide a safety net for their offspring. Those without parental protection, or those placed in institutions, are targets for traffickers.
According to the government's own report on the costing of the Children's Act 1,7 million children in South Africa are estimated to be maternal orphans due to HIV and Aids. This makes them extremely vulnerable to trafficking. The Unicef report clearly states that combating HIV and Aids would have the additional effect of reducing child trafficking in the world. The failure to register births is also another factor as are traditions and cultural values.
So what can we do as Parliamentarians? Parliamentarians can be instrumental in reversing this tragedy by taking action, through legislation and allocating funds to combat this scourge.
It is critical that any legislation against trafficking not be restricted to transnational trafficking. Many children are trafficked within countries, particularly from rural to urban areas.
We currently have no legislation to combat trafficking in our country. However, hon members, last year we passed the Children's Act, section 75 of which contains a chapter on trafficking in children and it is a very good chapter. It still has to be enacted and it lays dormant, gathering dust.
It was a lost opportunity when the Minister of Social Development fast- tracked certain chapters of the Children's Act, but failed to fast-track this particular chapter and maybe it can be brought to his attention that he should fast-track this chapter. As parliamentarians we can put pressure on him to do so.
We have also passed the Sexual Offences Bill, which some members also mentioned. This Bill also includes a chapter on the trafficking of people in relation to sexual crimes.
While it would be preferable to have one Act pertaining to all types of trafficking of children, women and men, we cannot sit back and wait for this Act to materialise. We as parliamentarians from all parties need to place pressure on the two Ministers concerned to fast-track the implementation of the two chapters I have mentioned.
We all need to work together irrespective of which party we may belong to. Trafficking in children compels us to join hands and act as the first line of defence against it. People who traffic in children don't care from which community children come from, and we should not care from which party we come. Thank you very much. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon members, before we make the farewell speeches, as we will be gone for a long time, I just want to announce that there are outstanding orders that have to be completed today and I have been advised that there is political consultation taking place. I, therefore, suspend the business of the House ...
I will go back to that announcement that I have just started making. In support of the debate, I now recognise the Chief Whip of the Majority Party.