Questionnaire addressed to governments, non-governmental and international organisations, including United Nations agencies, research institutions, the private sector and other interested parties for the preparation of the report of the Special Rapporteur

on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography

The report to the Commission on Human Rights of 2005 will focus on a study of child pornography on the Internet.

           The Special Rapporteur solicits the cooperation of your organization in providing relevant information and materials.  In particular he would appreciate receiving the following: 

1.                Information on existing legislation on child pornography on the Internet. This might include:

a)     Legislation on the definition of child pornography

b)     Legislation on producing, offering, distributing, transmitting, procuring and possessing child pornography through or in a computer system

c)      Information on the age of consent to sexual activity vis-à-vis the age used in child pornography legislation

d)     Legislation on Internet Service Providers in relation to child pornography on the Internet and other forms of sexual exploitation of children through the Internet

2.                  Information on the implementation of child pornography legislation on the Internet. This might include:

a)     Relevant jurisprudence

b)     Competent law enforcement agencies

- How are they resourced in terms of technological equipment and technical expertise of staff?

- Are they trained on information technology and children’s rights?

3.                  Information on initiatives to prevent and combat child pornography on the Internet and other forms of sexual exploitation of children via Internet, such as sex tourism and trafficking. This might include:

a)     Institutional and policy measures (e.g. establishment of a task force on child protection on the Internet, adoption of an action plan, etc.)

b)     Measures to protect children:

- when using the Internet (e.g. online chat)

- when identified as victims of abuse within a context of child pornography

c)      Initiatives undertaken by or in collaboration with the private sector, in particular with Internet Service Providers, chat-providers, banks and card billing companies (e.g. hotlines, codes of conduct)

d)     Initiatives undertaken by or in collaboration with NGOs, civil society and consumers’ associations

e)     Information on the coordination among different actors at the national and international levels