EUROJUST News Issue No

EUROJUST News Issue No. 5 - December 2011 Dear Reader, IN THIS ISSUE This issue of the Eurojust News looks at aspects of Eurojust’s contribution to the Euro- pean Union’s fight against child abuse, especially in the form of sexual abuse, sexual 1 Child Abuse exploitation and abuse through the internet. Children are self-evidently vulnerable, and need special protection from those who prey on them. The Treaty of Lisbon requires the European Union to promote the protection of the rights of the child and Eurojust is wholly 4 Interview with European committed to helping combat the exploitation of children. Commissioner Neelie Kroes If you have any comments regarding this newsletter, please contact our Press & PR Ser- 7 Interview with Yves Goe- vice at [email protected]. thals of the Belgian Federal Judicial Police Aled Williams, President of Eurojust 10 Interview with Eurojust Child Protection Contact Child Abuse Point Ola Laurell he European Commission estimates doing their utmost to protect vulnerable 12 New Administrative that between 10 and 20 per cent victims and hold offenders responsible. Director at Eurojust Tof children in Europe fall victim to some form of sexual abuse. What is Europe doing? The World Health Organization (WHO) The European Union is committed to pro- defines child abuse as “all forms of physi- tecting children and fighting against sex- cal and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual ual abuse, sexual exploitation of children abuse, neglect or negligent treatment or and child pornography. The Polish EU Pre- commercial or other exploitation, result- sidency has put Protection of Minors on ing in actual or potential harm to the their agenda and is preparing Council child’s health, survival, development or Conclusions. Since 1999, the European dignity in the context of a relationship of Commission has launched many cam- responsibility, trust or power.” paigns to raise awareness of this issue. A 2011 initiative, launched by EU Com- Child abuse is a growing phenomenon, missioner Viviane Reding, is called “Think aggravated by the development of the in- Before You Post”, and emphasizes safety ternet and the facilitation of international on the internet. travel. According to the European Finan- cial Coalition combating the commercial In 2007, the Commission adopted a Deci- distribution of child abuse images on the sion requiring Member States to reserve Internet (EFC), of which Eurojust is a member, approximately 3000 commercial child exploitation or abuse websites were in existence in 2009, with between 250 and 300 websites operating at any given time. 5 In 2010, the number of websites identi- fied fell to 61, but experts consider that this reduction reflects the successful ef- forts of paedophile networks to conceal EUROJUST their IP addresses by using sophisticated Maanweg 174 encryption devices. Sadly, the threat to NL - 2516 AB The Hague children represented by these networks remains very real. Tel: +31 70 412 5000 Fax: +31 70 412 5005 The European Union and Eurojust are [email protected] © Eurojust aware of this threat and are committed to www.eurojust.europa.eu EUROJUST News the 116 000 number for child hot- Child abuse is a growing phenomenon, lines across the European Union, and Commissioner Reding called on aggravated by the development of the internet and Member States “to make every ef- fort to implement the hotline swiftly the facilitation of international travel. to put children’s safety and security first”. and clearer definitions of these types MEPs Alliance for Children of crimes”. He stressed the need for On 24 May 2011, the European Par- a coordinated approach toward these The Members of the European Par- liament’s Committee on Civil Liber- criminals, with cooperation from all liament (MEP)’s Alliance for Children ties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE the law enforcement authorities. was created in March 2011. A super- Committee) held a meeting on trav- visory role is played by the United elling child sex offenders. The number of child abuse websites Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is growing, with an estimated 200 and the Child Rights Action Group Directive PE-CONS 51/11 new images circulated every day. (CRAG). This initiative has boosted The Directive obliges Member States the commitment of MEPs to cham- The LIBE Committee held an open to promptly remove such websites pion children’s rights and has led to hearing on 21 and 22 September hosted in their territories and to take the creation of a forum on children’s 2010 on “Combating sexual abuse, the necessary steps to obtain their rights within the European Parlia- sexual exploitation of children and removal if hosted outside their ter- ment, as well as among the Parlia- child pornography”, in connection ritories. In addition, Member States ment, the Commission and NGOs. with a new legislative proposal for a may block access to such web pages directive of the European Parliament under certain circumstances, such Safer Internet Programme and the Council to harmonise ap- as if cooperation fails, provided they proximately twenty criminal offences adopt transparent procedures and On 20 October 2011, Neelie Kroes, and set higher penalties for paedo- provide safeguards if they do bar Vice-President of the European Com- philes. To prevent repeated crimes, access. Web pages containing child mission responsible for the Digi- the Directive requires Member States abuse images are to be removed at tal Agenda, gave a speech entitled to adopt safer recruitment policies, source. For pages hosted outside “Making internet a better place for ensuring that convicted offend- the European Union, cooperation children – a shared responsibility”. ers are temporarily or permanently between Member States and third She spoke about one of her priori- prevented from getting jobs invol- States is essential. ties as Commissioner: to make chil- ving regular contact with children. dren safe online, empower them and Minimum penalties have been fixed protect them. She cited the Safer In- Mr Ola Laurell, Eurojust’s Contact for producing, possessing and view- ternet Programme of 1999, and how Point for Child Protection, spoke as an ing child abuse images on the in- much technology and the way it is expert in coordinating judicial actions ternet, and for sex tourism and used has changed since then. on a global scale. He said that “pic- “grooming” (making the acquaint- tures of child abuse are descriptions ance of children via the internet for Commissioner Kroes spoke directly and images of crime scenes”, and the purpose of future sexual abuse). to children about the need for pro- emphasized that the Directive would Member States may impose higher tecting their privacy and learning to provide “more tools for investigations penalties. Examples of penalties judge what sorts of photographs and under the directive range from one personal information should be put year for viewing child abuse images online. Commissioner Kroes provid- on the internet, three years for pro- ed some interesting statistics. The ducing child abuse images, and ten average age for children in Europe to years for coercive behaviour leading start going online is seven; 38 per to sexual contact or prostitution. cent of 9- to 12-year-olds have a so- cial networking profile, despite age Upon release from incarceration, restrictions, and over 30 per cent of sex offenders may be permanently children who go online do so from a barred from professional activities mobile device. that involve contact with children. In addition, potential employers could She stressed the need for raising obtain access to information about awareness, innovation, exchange of convictions, and sex offender regis- ideas and sharing of resources to re- ters may be used by Member States. spond to digital challenges. “We need The Directive, which will replace to carry on building a cross-Europe- EU legislation from 2004 (Frame- an infrastructure to empower and work Decision 2004/68/JHA), was protect children, through an extend- formally adopted by the Coun- ed and better-resourced Safer Inter- cil of Ministers on 15 November net Programme. Most of all, we need 2011. Transposition into nation- specific technical measures to protect al law must be completed by the children online. The challenge is to Member States within two years. have measures which latch onto both 2 EUROJUST News platforms and audiovisual content; measures which are flexible and responsive; and measures which allow room for both freedom of speech and viable business models.” Commissioner Kroes asked for concrete suggestions from Member States, law enforcement bodies, NGOs and internet providers within the next 18 months. She high- lighted the need to “step up the fight against child sex abuse material. I find it appalling that it takes so much time to take down child sexual abuse content…”. She will launch a communication to set up a European strategy to make the internet a better place for children, including measures to empower and protect. Council of Europe The Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse © Federal Judicial Police Belgium entered into force on 1 July 2010. The Convention is the first international treaty to address all forms of sexual violence against children, including child prostitution, paedo-pornography, grooming and corruption of children “Pictures of child abuse are descriptions through exposure to sexual content and activities. The Convention covers preventive and protective measures; and images of crime scenes”. assistance to child victims and their families; intervention programmes and measures for child sex offenders; criminal offences, including several entirely new offences; child- dren. The revised Eurojust Decision includes an obligation friendly procedures for investigation and prosecution; for the Member States to inform Eurojust about complex recording and storing data on convicted sex offenders; cross-border cases involving, inter alia, the sexual ex- international cooperation; and a monitoring mechanism.

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