Submitted by crinadmin on
Child pornography on the Internet constitutes a worldwide problem: the development of new technologies which greatly increase ways of accessing, disseminating and selling this criminal material has contributed to the growth of this phenomenon. Numerous actors from both the private and public sectors have made a commitment and worked actively to combat child pornography, leading to the implementation of many measures: legislative reforms, dismantling of networks, exposure reporting services for Internet users, filtering and blocking of Internet sites, seizures of pornographic material, arrests, awareness campaigns, etc. However, despite these many and varied initiatives there is more and more child pornography on the Internet, becoming what is today a very profitable business, with a worldwide market value estimated at billions of dollars. In the context of monitoring implementation of the recommendations made by the previous Special Rapporteur in 2005, and of follow-up to the Third World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents, held in Rio de Janeiro, and to the recommendations of the United Nations Study on Violence Against Children (A/61/299) and the recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the present report is intended to take stock of progress made, identify remaining challenges and make specific recommendations on how better to prevent and combat child pornography on the Internet. Given the seriousness of the crime, the Special Rapporteur is of the opinion that relevant legislation should be clear and comprehensive and treat child pornography on the Internet as a grave violation of the rights of the child and as a criminal act. The age of consent to sexual activity should not be a relevant factor because a minor under the age of 18 is not in a position to consent to sexual exploitation, such as child pornography, all forms of which should be criminalised and heavily penalised. The victim’s privacy must be protected and appropriate protection measures and care adapted to the needs and characteristics of children must be available. Actions undertaken should be specific and targeted and guarantee specialised resources for the identification of victims, adequate protection for child victims and child Internet users, genuine involvement of children, a committed and responsible private sector, and, lastly, coordinated, effective and structured international cooperation for the protection of all children everywhere in the world, because, it let us forget, countries have no borders where Internet use is concerned, which is a great help to sexual predators.