1. INTRODUCTION
All Baltic Sea States have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, including article 34 where the State Party undertakes to protect children against sexual exploitation and abuse, including prostitution and involvement in pornography. According to the Convention a child means every human being below the age of 18 years, unless, under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier.
Representatives from all Member States of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) participated in the World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Stockholm in 1996, in which 122 governments were represented together with a number of NGOS , agencies within the UN family and other concerned organisations and individuals. The Congress adopted a document calling for global co-operation against commercial sexual exploitation of children. In this way the governments have pledged themselves to take a large number of specified measures at local, national, regional and international levels.
The Congress has been followed by initiatives in i.a. the Council of Europe, the European Union (EU) and the Nordic Council.
At the Second Summit of the Council of Europe in October 1997 the Heads of State and Government agreed to extend their co-operation, within the Council of Europe, with a view to preventing all forms of exploitation of children, including through the production, sale, marketing and possession of pornographic material involving children. Germany, which presently holds the chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers within the Council, has proposed that the Council holds a follow-up event to the Stockholm Congress in the spring of 1998.
In 1996 the European Council adopted a joint action, the
STOP-programme, establishing an incentive and exchange programme for persons responsible
for combating trade in human beings and sexual exploitation of children.
In a joint action against trafficking in human beings and sexual exploitation of children
which was adopted in February 1997 the Member States of EU have pledged themselves to
regulate, among other things, that:
- all sexual exploitation of children, including trafficking in children, shall be punishable by effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties,
- possession of child pornography shall be punishable,
- obstacles to effective punishment for sexual exploitation of children taking place abroad, sex tourism involving children, shall be abolished,
- national co-operation between authorities and others which have the aim of combating trafficking in human beings and sexual exploitation of children shall be intensified,
- exchange of information and international police and other judicial co-operation shall be given priority and be intensified.
The European Council has recently issued a joint declaration about the combat against tourism where children are exploited sexually.
At a conference between the ministers of justice and equality of the EU in the Hague 24-26 April 1997, a Declaration on European Guidelines for effective measures to prevent and combat trafficking in women for the purpose of sexual exploitation was adopted.
At its session in November 1996 the Nordic Council adopted a recommendation concerning initiatives in the combat against sexual abuse of children and sex tourism and about information in order to raise awareness of the serious nature of the abuse.
In April 1997 the Commissioner of the CBSS on Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, including the Rights of Persons belonging to Minorities, evaluated in a report the implementation in CBSS Member States of specific articles in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. One of the areas of study was sexual abuse of children, child prostitution and child pornography.
At a meeting of the CBSS in July 1997 the Ministers of Foreign Affairs decided upon the report and instructed the Council of Senior Officials (CSO) to organise the work on this issue, including to study and evaluate the extent of sexual exploitation in the region, and to exchange information on existing measures.
The Working Group on Assistance to Democratic Institutions (WGDI) in special session (the Expert Group) was assigned to report on commercial sexual exploitation of children in the region and to put forward proposals for co-operation projects. A Special Group within the Swedish delegation to the WGDI has supported the work.
The Expert Group has completed its task in January 1998. In a report the Expert Group has presented its conclusions and recommendations and proposals for co-operation projects. At the Second Baltic Sea States Summit in Riga in January 1998 the Heads of Government took note of the findings in the report of the Expert Group and proposed that the Presidency of the CBSS organise the continued work in the field of commercial sexual exploitation of children in accordance with the report. The present report is a compilation of material gathered during the work, mainly submitted by the experts in the Expert Group and has not been subject to any linguistic harmonisation. In order to get a clearer overview of the situation in the countries concerned a questionnaire has been circulated (annexed). The time available for the work has been short. The Group is aware that the compilation does not cover the issue of commercial sexual exploitation of children in the region as extensively as could be wished for.