Sweden hopes donation to ILO will help youth escape prostitution

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN — Sweden will donate dlrs 1 million to the International Labor Organization to help young people around the world avoid prostitution, drug abuse and crime, Foreign Minister Anna Lindh said Tuesday.

The money will go to an ILO project designed to reduce unemployment among youngsters, Lindh said at the end of a three-day meeting of African and European Union experts on human trafficking in Stockholm.

"The ILO project is an important step in the effort to increase possibilities for young people to have meaningful and productive employment. In that way, the risk is decreased for young people to end up in prostitution, abuse and crime," Lindh said.

Sweden also will give 2 million kronor (dlrs 213,000) to help West African nations fight human trafficking, Lindh announced. The donation was made to the 15-member Economic Community of West African States.

Delegates at the meeting called for tougher sentences for human trafficking crimes, more support for victims and greater cooperation among police authorities.

The proposal was a preliminary step toward an action plan on human trafficking that delegates hoped to present at an EU-Africa summit in Lisbon, Portugal, in April next year.

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