No cases of child trafficking, some schools reopen, UN says

From the Jakarta Post:

NEW YORK (DPA): The UN Children's Fund said on Friday it had received no reports of trafficking or abuse of children in tsunami- struck regions in the Indian Ocean, and said governments have carried out effective preventive measures.

Carol Bellamy, UNICEF director, said Jakarta has imposed a moratorium on adoption of children, particularly those now living in camps set up for tsunami victims in Aceh province. She said the Indonesian government has also increased surveillance at airports to prevent children being taken out of the country.

Her remarks aimed to allay widespread fears that children orphaned by the Dec. 26 tidal wave would fall prey to sexual exploitation or be recruited by insurgent groups in Sri Lanka and Indonesia's worst-hit Aceh province, where decades of civil strife have eroded security.

UNICEF said Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and Malaysia reported no cases of trafficking of children.

UNICEF, which has offices in the 12 Indian Ocean nations struck by the undersea earthquake, was focusing its relief operations more on Indonesia's Aceh province because of the widespread and severe damage there.

The UN estimates 118,000 people were killed in Indonesia - the largest losses of any one country. All told, about 160,000 people are believed dead in the 12 countries affected, and the death toll could double, a UN official said Thursday.

View all news and announcements