Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (CYS), will be heading to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from Nov 25 to 28 to attend the World Congress III Against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents, which is a globally coordinated effort to protect children and adolescents from sexual exploitation.

This year, Singapore will be submitting the 2nd and 3rd Periodic Reports to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) Committee.

In addition to the existing laws that protect children against sexual exploitation, recent amendments have been made to meet with the objectives of the UNCRC and the World Congresses. The amendment includes a new section that has extra-territorial effect to make it an offence for Singapore citizens and Permanent Residents to solicit or engage in commercial sex with minors under 18 years of age in other countries.

The outcome of the World Congress III is to ensure that governments, civil societies and private sectors re-affirm their commitment to take action in the area of sexual exploitation of children and adolescents.

He will be accompanied by officials from MCYS and will be delivering a statement on Singapore's adoption of the Stockholm Declaration and Yokohama Global Commitment which were convened in 1996 and 2001 respectively.