In the European Union, there is no uniform policy and no consensus on the issue and laws vary widely from country to country. It is one of the main tourist attractions.
ĭe Wallen, Amsterdam’s red-light district, offers activities such as legal prostitution and a number of coffee shops that sell marijuana. For example, in 2012, a Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) convened by Ban Ki-moon and backed by United Nations Development Programme and UNAIDS, recommended decriminalization of brothels and procuring. Various United Nations commissions, however, have differing positions on the issue. Some countries not parties to the Convention also ban prostitution or the operation of brothels. The Convention seeks to combat prostitution, which it regards as "incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human person." Parties to the Convention agreed to abolish regulation of individual prostitutes, and to ban brothels and procuring. The Convention came into effect on 25 July 1951 and by December 2013 had been ratified by 82 states. On 2 December 1949, the United Nations General Assembly approved the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others. Part of the discussion impacts on whether the operation of brothels should be legal, and if so, to what sort of regulations they should be subjected.
Around the world, attitudes towards prostitution and how and if it should be regulated vary considerably, and have varied over time.