CANATUR will coordinate the Code of Behavior with the support of the ICT.
The National Tourism Chamber (CANATUR, in Spanish) established an agreement with the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT, in Spanish) to cooperate in the fight against childhood and adolescence commercial sexual exploitation in the tourism and traveling industry.
The Code of Behavior against childhood and adolescence commercial sexual exploitation is an initiative that PANIAMOR has been developed since 6 years ago, project in which CANATUR and ICT will join to the organizations and tourism industry. This joint has the purpose to protect children, promote responsible tourism development in the country, strengthens the commitment of the sector to avoid this kind of actions.
It is a commitment of the Costa Rican tourism industry to avoid and sanction childhood and adolescence commercial sexual exploitation as a responsible and sustainable tourism axle”, manifested Juan Carlos Ramos, president of CANATUR.
CANATUR will coordinate the Code of Behavior with the support of the ICT, which will establish a Managing Tribunal and a Technical Secretariat. Both will be in charge to coordinate the training of the tourism managers to apply the Code. The Managing Tribunal will be composed by representatives of the National Tourism Chamber (CANATUR), the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), the Association of Professionals in Tourism (ACOPROT), the Chamber of Costa Rican Hotels (CCH), the Association of Tour Operators (ACOT) and the Car Rental Association (ACAR) with the objective to promote the intervention of the sectors that composed the national tourism activity.
The agreement for the fight against childhood and adolescence commercial sexual exploitation will seek for the implementation of the Code of Behavior to spread it beyond all the tourism components because it is a national relevant topic”, explained Ramos.
The Managing Tribunal will administrate the implementation of the Code of Behavior and give the other productive sectors of the country all the established when they decide to include the practices. Within the actions to be implemented after the agreement is established we can find the realization of consciousness and communication campaigns to protect children and adolescents. Besides, they will impulse actions to count with political support to the cause.
Actually, there are 202 tourist enterprises from the lodging sector, tour operators, rent-a-cars, taxi services who have signed the Code of Behavior and more than 6,000 workers were trained. All enterprises should commit on the recognition of the Code and capacitate and inform the personnel with processes of induction and external symbols.
Besides, the enterprises should show their position against the exploitation. All their suppliers should present an annual report about the actions made around the frame of the Code. Costa Rica has kept itself as a country that has struggle against childhood and adolescence commercial sexual exploitation ratifying international instruments such as:
- Convention about the Children’s Rights
- Agreement 182 about the Prohibition of the Worst Ways of Childhood Works from the International Labour Organization, in 2001.
- Stockholm for the World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in 1996.
- The World Tourism Organization Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, in 2001.
- The Yokohama Global Commitment in 2001.
Besides, the Law in Costa Rica contemplates the obligation of the State and all the citizens to guarantee the protection and fulfillment of the rights of the Children and Adolescents.
The agreement establishes that CANATUR together with the ICT have the support of the lodging enterprises, rent a cars, taxi drivers and tour operators to eliminate all types of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescence such as having paid sexual intercourse, the reproduction of child pornography and sexual spectacles.
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