Speeches and Statements

UK signs up to child protection convention

Speech by Vernon Coaker, Home Office Under Secretary of State, on 8 May 2008. The text below is as prepared.

I would like to welcome you all to this event to mark the second anniversary of CEOP and celebrate its achievements. CEOP, in its first two years has shown the importance of a holistic approach to tackling the sexual exploitation and abuse of children, and the need to combat this crime in all its forms and on a number of fronts.

One of the key features of CEOP’s work is its international activity. Unfortunately the sexual exploitation and abuse of children occurs throughout the world. This makes global co-operation to combat these crimes essential. Such co-operation is necessary to try and prevent offenders travelling throughout the world in order to target children, for example, by exchanging information on offenders’ convictions and other relevant intelligence. It is also important that we do all we can to ensure that countries criminalise the sexual exploitation and abuse of children and rigorously investigate and prosecute such offences. Working together with our international partners can help us achieve this by allowing us to share expertise and experience so that we can develop a common response to a common problem.

I know that in these last two years, CEOP has been at the forefront of the global response to child sexual exploitation, and that its work reflects the view that the UK has a responsibility to take whatever steps are appropriate to protect children from exploitation by its citizens, wherever they may be in the world, and to encourage other countries to accept their responsibilities.

For this reason, it is very appropriate, and it gives me great pleasure, that I can use this occasion to announce that earlier this week, in Strasbourg, the UK became a signatory to the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse. 

The UK played an active role in negotiating this Convention, which takes a comprehensive approach to the fight against sexual exploitation of children, and its obligations cover a number of different areas including, prevention, assistance to victims, treatment of offenders, prosecution and investigation, and international co-operation. We are also pleased to signal our commitment to child protection by signing the Convention.
 
I am also pleased to say that the UK is already compliant with most of the obligations in the Convention and where there are steps that we need to take we will do so as quickly as possible to enable us to ratify.

As a response to the Convention we are amending the Sexual Offences Act 2003 to remove the condition of dual criminality in relation to sexual offences committed by British nationals against children overseas. This means that a British national will not be able to target a particular country with less stringent protection of children than England and Wales or Northern Ireland – Scotland has indicated its intention to make a similar legislative change. We will be able to prosecute UK nationals here for a sexual offence committed against a child anywhere in the world, so long as the act committed would be a relevant offence in this country. This means that our citizens will not be able to abuse children overseas and escape British justice.  We have also raised the age of a child for these purposes from 16 to 18. These changes to the law have been achieved through the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill, which has received Royal Assent today.

But, of course, there is more to do and the signature of the Convention is a signal of our commitment to protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse and to work together with our European partners, and beyond, to achieve this end.

I know that CEOP will be a vital part of this but, of course, so will the many organisations who are represented here today. I know that you will welcome the UK’s signature, and I want to take this opportunity to thank you for the invaluable contribution you make to the protection of children from sexual exploitation both practically and by ensuring that the need for us to do more is never forgotten.

CEOP itself represents a partnership and underlines the benefits of a holistic approach. This event tonight reflects the importance of working together. This week the UK has signalled the significance of working together internationally and I want to recognise that what we have achieved so far, is a testament to the benefits of working together and combining the range of expertise that is available. But there is more to de done and it is important that we continue to work together. Tonight’s event is rightly about celebrating those achievements but I would like to close by seeking your support in the future as we struggle together to keep children safe from sexual exploitation and abuse.