A/HRC/2/SR.12 26. Ms. De Bellis (Uruguay) said that the prosecution of persons trafficking children for the purpose of sexual exploitation must go hand in hand with measures to curb demand for sexual services involving minors. She agreed with the Special Rapporteur that the demand factor warranted additional attention. The growing, indiscriminate use of the Internet for the dissemination of child pornography clearly increased the incidence of such conduct and must be tackled. Despite the lack of reliable data, it was easy to imagine how the existence of child pornography sites could encourage users to proceed to action, thus increasing demand for child sexual services. The issue should be addressed through multilateral action. Education programmes aimed at combating the phenomenon were of paramount importance. Her delegation looked to the Special Rapporteur for guidance on preventive measures, including the role of social educators and victim rehabilitation centres. It would welcome additional information on those aspects in the next report. 27. Mr. Garcia (Philippines) welcomed the Special Rapporteur’s focus on the demand factor in the commercial sexual exploitation of children and enquired which prevention and awareness-raising measures he had found to be effective in reducing such demand. He asked whether efforts by Governments to criminalize and raise awareness of sex tourism had resulted in a reduction in cases of child exploitation. 28. Turning to the report by the Independent Expert, he said that although there was agreement that debt-servicing should not undermine the realization of human rights, the opposite was unfortunately true in many developing countries. Debt-ridden countries often sacrificed budget allocations for education, health care and social services in the name of fiscal responsibility and continued access to international capital markets. Endorsing the proposal by the Independent Expert to link debt relief with the achievement of MDGs, he asked what the Independent Expert thought of debt-for-equity schemes whereby part of a country’s external debt would be invested in national projects promoting social, economic and cultural rights, including the right to development. 29. Ms. Pohjankukka (Finland), speaking on behalf of the European Union, enquired about the Special Rapporteur’s views on mechanisms and methods required to strengthen international cooperation and improve operational follow-up in the area of the protection of children’s rights. It would be useful to know how the complementarity of existing human rights mechanisms could be ensured. 30. Protection of, and assistance to, child victims and consideration of their special needs were crucial in countering the commercial sexual exploitation of children. It would thus be useful to learn of any activities planned by the Special Rapporteur that would improve such protection and assistance. Her delegation would welcome additional information about concrete plans for activities to be undertaken in collaboration with the Special Rapporteur in relation to trafficking in persons, especially women and children. 31. Mr. Logar (Observer for Slovenia) said he wished to know what action might effectively reduce demand for the sexual exploitation of children. It would be useful to obtain concrete examples of the prosecution of offenders in the 30 countries that had already adopted legislation on sexual activities of their citizens involving minors abroad, and information on the difficulties encountered in such cases. 32. Mr. Rahman (Bangladesh), commending the Independent Expert for his efforts in developing the draft general guidelines, said he deplored the lack of cooperation on the part of States and other stakeholders and the resulting need for more time to prepare those guidelines. The integration of human rights perspectives in economic policies and debtservicing was an attractive and noble undertaking, as external debt burdens hampered the realization of fundamental social, economic and cultural rights in many developing countries. The resources freed by debt relief would no doubt enhance countries’ capacity to 6 GE.09-17372