United Nations Radio

Nearly 3,000 participants from more than 125 countries are in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to exchange lessons and experiences in the fight against child sexual exploitation, to review progress, and reinforce commitments.

This is the Third World Congress against the Sexual Exploitation of Children. The first one in Stockholm, Sweden in 1996 and the second one in Yokohama, Japan focused exclusively on commercial sexual exploitation of children, such as prostitution and pornography. The third congress in Brazil has a broader agenda, says UNICEF Spokesperson, Geoffrey Keele.

"So we're talking about perhaps peacekeepers who sexually exploit children in conflict situations, religious leaders who exploit children or a teacher who threatens a child that they won't pass unless they have sex with them - this kind of exploitation of a power relationship, this kind of an abuse of a trusting relationship, that's also being discussed here this week."

The congress in Rio de Janeiro will also look at new methods of targeting children for exploitation through the Internet and new generation mobile telephones. The event will set goals for countries to develop a legal framework, adapt policies and strengthen international cooperation to fight the sexual exploitation of children and adolescents.

Reporting for UN Radio, I'm Bissera Kostova.

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