THE BELGIAN government plans to unveil tomorrow measures to prevent and punish paedophile rings. The Foreign Minister, Mr Erik Derycke, made the announcement to a packed press conference at the Stockholm Congress Against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children.
He said the measures would include an instruction to all Belgian embassies to compile details of any Belgian national suspected of a sex crime involving children.
The public would be bombarded with brochures explaining the wrongs and risks of sex tourism, Mr Derycke added.
The minister said that at the Intergovernmental Conference of the EU, Belgium would propose that provisions in the Europol convention applying to trafficking in drugs be extended to any trade in persons. The convention is yet to be ratified.
"It is now up to every one of the 15 member states to make the Europol convention more effective," he said.
Responding to a question on the difficulty of stopping child trafficking in the envisioned "borderless" European Union Mr Derycke said this was a "very delicate issue." He described the query as a "typical English question", but the journalist who asked it turned out to be German.
I think it is the only way we can improve the situation for the future," Mr Derycke said, referring to the Schengen agreement. This allows free passage across frontiers, but is operating in only a handful of EU member states at the moment.
At the press conference, a shambolic affair with journalists standing on chairs and shouting questions in four languages, Mr Derycke avoided any comment on the suspicions of links between senior police and the paedophile ring headed by Mr Marc Dutroux.
He said any matters concerning the investigation of the murders of Melissa Russo and Julie Lejeune, and the other activities with which Mr Dutroux was associated, were matters for his colleague, the Minister for Justice.
Earlier Mr Derycke delivered an emotionally worded statement to the Congress assembly. He said Belgium was a country in mourning which has been experiencing a severe trauma . . . Today in Belgium we all live in the shadow of infamy and horror.
"This drama, whatever its particular circumstances may be%has uncovered the terrible evil afflicting Belgium and Europe, which this conference means not only to denounce but also to combat."
Outlining the Belgian position, the Minister pointed out that three laws aimed at cracking down on trafficking in people of any age for prostitution or pornography came into force only 16 months ago. Programmes to fight such exploitation of children had been launched by both the Flemish and French communities many months before the recent tragedies.
The growing health crisis of young children infected with HIV/AIDS was highlighted by the head of the United Nations programme to combat the virus worldwide, Dr Peter Piot.
Child prostitution was the "ultimate evil," Dr Piot said. He refuted the misconception widespread in some countries that children are less likely to contract or pass on the AIDS virus.
"Sex between a man and a child is particularly likely to transmit HIV.
"Because of the physical disproportion between the partners, a child who is not fully grown is more easily torn or damaged by penetrative sex, and this makes it easier for the virus to pass into the child's body," Dr Piot said. "And a child can't fight back, no matter how rough the sex or how long it lasts."
He called for more public information campaigns against the commercial sexual exploitation of children.
The full congress adopted formally its Declaration for Action against the commercial sexual exploitation of children around the world.