*Machine Translation
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is the continent’s leading human rights organisation, formed of 46 member States. It was established in 1949 to promote human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Alongside the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which enshrines fundamental rights and freedoms for individuals under its jurisdiction, the Council of Europe has developed more than 200 legally binding international treaties to help protect people from various threats including torture, violence, cybercrime and child sexual exploitation and sexual abuse, etc. The Council of Europe plays a vital role in monitoring and promoting adherence to these standards through its numerous bodies, including the European Court of Human Rights. Its overarching goal is to create a Europe where all individuals enjoy fundamental rights, equality and dignity.
LEAs, judiciary, justice authorities, NGOs,...
Avenue de l'Europe F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex, France
Tel. +33 (0)3 88 41 20 00
The Council of Europe is the continent’s leading human rights organisation, formed of 46 member States. It was established in 1949 to promote human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Alongside the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which enshrines fundamental rights and freedoms for individuals under its jurisdiction, the Council of Europe has developed more than 200 legally binding international treaties to help protect people from various threats including torture, violence, cybercrime and child sexual exploitation and sexual abuse, etc. The Council of Europe plays a vital role in monitoring and promoting adherence to these standards through its numerous bodies, including the European Court of Human Rights. Its overarching goal is to create a Europe where all individuals enjoy fundamental rights, equality and dignity.
The Council of Europe’s work related to the protection of children’s rights is guided by the Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2022-2027). Two of its strategic objectives (freedom from violence for all children and access to and safe use of technologies for all children) aim to protect children from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse, including online. The Steering Committee for the Rights of the Child (CDENF) - Council of Europe’s intergovernmental body responsible for standard-setting activities in the field of the rights of the child - oversees the implementation of the Strategy.
The Lanzarote Committee is the body tasked with monitoring the effective implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Convention ). The 48 State Parties to the Convention meet three times a year to gather, analyse and share information, experiences and promising practices to strengthen the implementation of the Convention, build capacities and respond to emerging threats. The Committee also provides guidance on interpreting the provisions of the Convention through statements, opinions and declarations. (Adopted documents and activity reports of the Lanzarote Committee ).
While the Lanzarote Convention sets the ground for criminalizing sexual abuse and exploitation offences, the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime provides the relevant procedural framework for online investigations, collection of electronic evidence and international cooperation. Furthermore, the Budapest Convention seeks to strengthen protective measures for children against sexual exploitation and abuse, by criminalizing various aspects of electronic production, possession and distribution of CSAM (Article 9). The Cybercrime Convention Committee , monitors the implementation of the Convention by the Parties, adopts Guidance Notes and prepares additional legal instruments. Capacity building programmes – managed by the specialised Cybercrime Programme Office of the Council of Europe (C-PROC) in Romania – help countries worldwide to build the necessary capacities to implement the Budapest Convention, its protocols or to follow up to recommendations of the Cybercrime Convention Committee. Read more: Council of Europe Cybercrime
Avenue de l'Europe F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex, France
Tel. +33 (0)3 88 41 20 00
Council of Europe
The Lanzarote Committee dedicated its second monitoring round to: The protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse facilitated by information and communication technologies (ICTs) focusing on child self-generated sexual images and/or videos (CSGSIV). The Committee examined national legal frameworks and practices related to: prevention, protection, prosecution and promotion of national and international co-operation.
Based on this analysis, the Committee issued specific recommendations to States Parties aimed at enhancing their efforts in these key areas to better protect children from online sexual exploitation and abuse (see: Key findings). Country specific and thematic findings can be consulted here: 2nd monitoring round - Country and thematic factsheets - Children's Rights (coe.int)
The Committee has confirmed that all offences covered by the Lanzarote Convention remain criminalised regardless of the means used to commit them, be it through ICTs or not (Interpretative Opinion on the applicability of the Lanzarote Convention to sexual offences against children facilitated through the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs)).
The Committee has also found that offences related to the solicitation of children for sexual purposes should include sexual offences perpetrated during an online meeting through ICTs and not be limited to acts in preparation of a physical meeting with the child (Opinion on solicitation of children for sexual purposes through information and communication technologies (Grooming)).
In light of the increasing number of child self-generated sexually suggestive and explicit images and videos, the Committee reminds State Parties that the best interests of the child should be the primary consideration, and children should generally be addressed to victim support and not subject to criminal prosecution in connection with these materials (Opinion on child sexually suggestive or explicit images and/or videos generated, shared and received by children).
As regards the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, its text is rather clear that the procedural powers and the provisions on international co-operation are applicable not only to cybercrime but also to “other offences committed by means of a computer system”; and “the collection of evidence in electronic form of a criminal offence”, This is confirmed again in the Second Additional Protocol to the Convention on enhanced cooperation and disclosure of electronic evidence.
This scope is however not always fully understood, and the laws of some countries limit the application of procedural powers or provisions for international co-operation to a set of cybercrimes.
The Cybercrime Convention Committee adopted a Guidance Note on the scope of powers, underlining how key procedural and international co-operation provisions could be applied not only to offences against and by means of computer systems but also to a range of offences.
The Second Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime (CETS 224) opened for signature in May 2022, is a response to the ever-growing complexity of obtaining electronic evidence that may be stored in foreign, multiple, shifting or unknown jurisdictions.
It provides legal basis and tools for enhanced co-operation and disclosure of electronic evidence - such as direct cooperation with service providers and registrars, effective means to obtain subscriber information and traffic data, immediate co-operation in emergencies or joint investigations - that are subject to a system of human rights and rule of law, including data protection safeguards.
These tools are also available for investigation of CSAE offences.
The website is funded through contributions from various projects, including several EU‑funded initiatives — you can find more details about them on the About Us page. However, the views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) of specific publications only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union.
Neither the European Union nor any other granting authority can be held responsible for the content.
