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Recommendation 2045 (2014) Final version

Combating sexual violence against children: towards a successful conclusion of the ONE in FIVE Campaign

Author(s): Parliamentary Assembly

Origin - Text adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the Assembly, on 23 May 2014 (see Doc. 13502, report of the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development, rapporteur: Mr Valeriu Ghiletchi).

1. The Council of Europe ONE in FIVE Campaign to stop sexual violence against children was launched in Rome on 29 and 30 November 2010 and is scheduled to run for four years. The main aim of the campaign is to encourage the signature, ratification and implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (CETS No. 201, “Lanzarote Convention”).
2. As underlined in Recommendation 2013 (2013) “Parliaments united in combating sexual violence against children: mid-term review of the ONE in FIVE Campaign”, the biggest success of the campaign so far has undoubtedly been the ratification of the Lanzarote Convention by 31 member States to date.
3. However, one signature and 16 ratifications are still outstanding. Full implementation of the convention in member States (and beyond) also needs to be ensured, at international, national and local/regional levels. In this respect, the Parliamentary Assembly welcomes the Committee of Ministers’ reply to Recommendation 2013 (2013), in particular its invitation to all member States that have not yet done so to consider ratifying the convention before November 2014.
4. The Assembly remains very active in the campaign on multiple levels, in particular through its Network of Contact Parliamentarians, whose 52 members have undertaken more than 100 activities so far, and through its pilot project in Cyprus. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe has recently stepped up its activities within the framework of the campaign through its Pact of Towns and Regions to Stop Sexual Violence against Children, which has already been signed by 32 towns, regions and organisations. In addition, national campaigns are presently being run in 20 countries, contributing to national awareness raising and policy change. The participants at the Conference on the Council of Europe Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2012-2015), held in Dubrovnik (Croatia) on 27 and 28 March 2014, also renewed their commitment to the ONE in FIVE Campaign and supported the proposals made below.
5. The Assembly believes that the time frame left to reach the campaign’s aims – until November 2014 – is too short. It thus recommends that the Committee of Ministers prolong the campaign for one year – until November 2015 – in order to reap the maximum benefits.
6. The Assembly further recommends that the Committee of Ministers establish, preferably following consultations with the European Union and UNICEF, a European Day to fight sexual violence against children to sustain the benefits of the campaign in another form. This will provide States with a yearly opportunity to continue to raise awareness of sexual violence against children and to generate a dialogue on this scourge.