Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse

The Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse is a multilateral Council of Europe treaty whereby states agree to criminalise certain forms of sexual abuse against children. It is the first international treaty that addresses child sexual abuse that occurs within the home or family.

Content

States that ratify the Convention agree to criminalise sexual activity with children below the legal age of consent, regardless of the context in which such behaviour occurs; it also mandates the criminalisation of child prostitution and pornography. The Convention sets out several measures to prevent child sexual exploitation and abuse, including the training and educating of children, monitoring of offenders, and the screening and training of people who are employed or volunteer to work with children.

Conclusion and entry into force

The Convention was concluded and signed on 25 October 2007 in Lanzarote, Spain. All states of the Council of Europe have signed the Convention. The last state to sign it was Czech Republic in July 2014.^[1] It came into force on 1 July 2010 after being ratified by five states.

State parties

As of December 2016, the treaty had been ratified by the following 42 states:^[2]

Although it was specifically designed for states of the Council of Europe, the Convention is open to accession by any state in the world; however, it has not been signed or ratified by any state outside of the Council of Europe.

See also

• Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography
• European system of international human rights law

References

External links

• Convention text.
• Convention information page, Council of Europe.
• Signatures and ratifications.