Measures concerning legal cooperation between ASEAN countries against the sexual exploitation of children and their relationship with the optional protocol to the convention on the rights of the child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, 2000
Abstract:
Child sexual exploitation is not a new phenomenon. In the past few years, there has been a gradual increase in the extent of the exploitation in many countries around the world, especially in Asian Region, which consist of Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos People Democratic Republic, Brunei Darussalam, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Singapore. One of the preventive and protective measures on child sexual exploitation is the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography, 2000 (so-called OPSC), which has been adopted and implemented to a certain extent by most Asian countries which are members to the Protocol, except for Singapore which has yet adopted nor implemented the Protocol. The non-member status of Singapore may be problematic for effective enforcement of the Protocol. Therefore, existing members of the Protocol in Asian Region are invited to jointly put forward legal cooperation on this subject in both domestic and international level. Extensive review and analysis of existing measures among members and non-members to the OPSC show that member countries have yet to fully implement the Protocol into their domestic legal legislation i.e. the legislation has not been amended to give effect to the requirements of the Protocol. This encompasses the minimum ages of children, prohibition of the sale of children and/or trafficking for sexual purpose, child prostitution, child pornography and related matters, court jurisdiction and extraterritorial jurisdiction, prevention of the sale of children and/or trafficking for sexual purpose, child prostitution, child pornography, and protection of the rights of child victims. In addition, the non-members should be encouraged to become members of the OPSC in order to promote harmonization of domestic and international laws in Asian Region as to against child sexual exploitation.