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PARAGUAY RATIFIES CONVENTION TO CRUSH TRAFFIC IN CHILDREN

May 12, 1998

Ratifying a convention to clamp down on transborder trafficking in children, Paraguay's ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), Carlos Víctor Montanaro, declared today that the treaty was primarily seeking to protect the basic rights and the supreme interests of children.

The convention held great importance for many countries, he added, as it sought to prevent and punish the international trafficking in minors, regulating in the process the civil and penal aspects involved in the movement of children.

At a brief ceremony held at OAS headquarters Tuesday afternoon, Montanaro reiterated Paraguay's commitment to the convention, saying it was a contribution to basic human rights "without regard to age, race, or gender."

OAS Assistant Secretary General, Ambassador Christopher R. Thomas, meanwhile, welcomed Paraguay's ratification as a "forward and very progressive step." The ratification, he said, helped to reinforce the belief around the Western Hemisphere that everything must be done to eradicate what he identified as a most difficult problem for the countries.


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