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By Anthony Georgieff. The report, issued at the Council's headquarters in Copenhagen, draws a clear distinction between the western Baltic region --Scandinavia, Finland and Germany -- and those in the east -- Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Russia. It emphasizes that violations of children's rights and child abuse occur only on what it describes as an "isolated basis" in the West, but are the rule rather than the exception in the East.
The report notes that most eastern Baltic states have subscribed to all the international conventions on human and children's rights. But it says they fail to implement them either because of lack of legislation or due to official incompetence or lack of interest.
The report is the latest in a series of similar studies over the past five years. It is the first, however, to document its conclusions with concrete facts and figures. According to the report, two out of three prostitutes in Estonia are between 15 and 19 years of age. In Latvia, it says, up to 12 percent of all prostitutes are teenagers -- and one-third of them are under the age of 16 -- working mostly in the notorious Latvian brothels controlled by local or Russian organized crime groups.
In Lithuania, the report says, prostitution is concentrated largely around Vilnius' railway station and airport -- and some of the girls there are 11 years old. In Poland as well, the report says, more and more teenagers are engaged in prostitution. According to Polish sources, in the number of prostitutes aged between 12 and 14 was about for the whole country.
