Doc. 8249

28 October 1998

Abuse and neglect of children

Recommendation 1371 (1998)

Reply from the Committee of Ministers

adopted at the 645^th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies (15 and 18 October 1998)

Recommendation 1371 (1998) on abuse and neglect of children adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly on 23 April 1998 mainly concerns a wide range of measures that member States of the Council of Europe should adopt in order to provide legal and social protection for children against paedophilia, exploitation for pornography, prostitution, incest, inappropriate criminal proceedings, repetition of offences of sexual violence against minors, abusive sterilisation, violence and mutilations against girls, abuse including abuse within the family, refusal of necessary care and fraudulent actions with a view to adoption.

The Committee of Ministers underlines that it adopted Recommendation No. R (79) 17 concerning the protection of children against ill-treatment, Recommendation No. R (85) 4 on violence in the family, Recommendation No. R (90) 2 on social measures concerning violence within the family, Recommendation No. R (93) 2 on the medico-social aspects of child abuse, and as early as 1991, adopted Recommendation No. R (91) 11 on sexual exploitation, pornography and prostitution of, and trafficking in, children and young adults, which sets out a comprehensive plan of action in this area.

The Committee of Ministers welcomed the fact that the Parliamentary Assembly via Recommendation 1371 (1998) recalls essential principles for efficient policies against child neglect and abuse. It also contributes to keeping these issues on the political agenda of both the Council of Europe and its member States.

Bearing in mind the considerable amount of work already carried out by the Parliamentary Assembly and its proposals the Intergovernmental Programme of Activities for 1998 provides for several new activities in this area, both under legal and social aspects.

Firstly, the legal activities will be carried out under the auspices of the European Committee on crime problems (CDPC) as follow up to the decisions taken at the Second Summit of the Council of Europe (10-11 October 1997) under the heading "Security of citizens - protection of children". When implementing these activities, in the legal area, both Recommendation 1371 (1998) of the Assembly and the results of the European Follow-up Conference to the 1996 World Congress against commercial sexual exploitation of children (Strasbourg, 28-29 April 1998) will be taken into account. The following matters will be examined:

—       the practical difficulties arising in international judicial co-operation with regard to cases involving sexual exploitation of children for commercial purposes; this activity would focus on possible lacunae in the existing criminal law conventions and could pay attention to the proposals made by the Assembly to prepare binding international instruments. Reference was made in this context to a Convention dealing in particular with child pornography (see paragraph 14.i of the Assembly Recommendation) or a Convention setting up a register of convictions for offences against minors (see paragraph 14.ii of Recommendation 1371 (1998));

—       the effective management of sex offenders in the community and in (penal) institutions;

—       the use of new communication technologies for the purpose of sexual exploitation of children and

—       the effective implementation of Recommendation No. R (91) 11 on sexual exploitation, pornography and prostitution of, and trafficking in, children and young adults.

The CDPC has dealt with this question and has set up a Reflection Group to consider, inter alia, the report on the European follow-up conference to the 1996 World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (Strasbourg, 28-29 April 1998) and the survey on the implementation of Recommendation No. R (91) 11 on sexual exploitation, pornography and prostitution of, and trafficking in, children and young adults. The Reflection Group will shortly adopt its report.

The Committee of experts on family law (CJ-FA) will examine the item concerning the international abduction of children for adoption purposes. In this respect it is necessary to take into account that, in the framework of the Council of Europe, a convention has been prepared concerning adoption in general (the scope of application is not limited to international adoptions): the European Convention on the adoption of children of 1967. This Convention is being examined by a Working Party of the CJ-FA in the context of its work on the legal status of children and may possibly be revised. The Recommendation, in particular paragraph 13 j iv., will be taken into account during this work.

The Recommendation will also be brought to the attention of committees dealing with certain specific matters such as social matters, bioethics (in particular paragraph 13 g and i) and equality (in particular paragraph h).

Secondly, as regards activities carried out in the social sector, the Programme for Children, as approved by the Ministers’ Deputies at their 634th meeting, 3-5 June 1998, specifically takes the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child as its departure point. Concerning paragraph 6 of Recommendation 1371, all member States of the Council of Europe have ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Many of the Articles of this Convention cover the questions under consideration, and it is in this context that European States are developing the ‘genuine culture of children’s rights’ referred to in paragraph 7.

The relevant document states that “the elements (of the Programme) should take into account the best interests of the child, as set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The broad basis of the Programme would be the promotion, participation and protection of children and provision of services for them”.

One of the three key elements that have been agreed for the Programme for Children is entitled “Social support systems for children at risk of, or who have been victims of, abuse, violence and exploitation”.

The areas likely to be covered in this context are rehabilitation, prevention, training and awareness raising. Possible activities include:

—        The training of professionals working with children (carers, educators, teachers, social workers etc) for the detection of sexual exploitation and abuse;

—        Methods and practice for swift action when abuse/exploitation comes to light (e.g. a protocol and procedure for social workers and other professionals);

—        The development of methods for the effective rehabilitation of child victims;

—        The inclusion of relevant material in parental education programmes, to raise the level of awareness and to provide parents with appropriate educational tools;

—        The development of positive ways to use the Internet and modern communication technology for informing children, parents and authorities about sexual exploitation and abuse.

Other associated work in the social field that might be taken into account here is a newly constituted committee of specialists on social workers, which held its first meeting in September 1998.