Committee on the Rights of the Child

Seventy-fifth session

15 May-2 June 2017

Item 4 of the provisional agenda

Consideration of reports of States parties

List of issues in relation to the report submitted by the Russian Federation under article 12 (1) of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography

The State party is requested to submit in writing additional, updated information (10,700 words maximum), if possible before 23 February 2017. The Committee may take up all aspects of children’s rights set out in the Optional Protocol during the dialogue with the State party.

1.Please provide statistical data, disaggregated by sex, age, nationality, socioeconomic background and urban or rural residence, for the past three years, on the number of:

(a)Reported acts of sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, as well as other forms of exploitation, including child sex tourism, with additional information on the type of action taken as a result, including the prosecution of perpetrators and the sanctions imposed on them;

(b)Children trafficked from, to or through the State party and children trafficked within the country for the purpose of engagement in forced labour, illegal adoption, organ transfer, prostitution or pornography as defined in article 3 (1) of the Optional Protocol;

(c)Child victims of offences set out in the Optional Protocol who have received assistance relating to their physical and psychological recovery, social reintegration and/or the receipt of compensation or reparation for the damage suffered, in line with article 9 (3) and (4) of the Optional Protocol.

2.Please provide information on the progress made towards the establishment of a centralized system for the collection of data on all offences covered by the Optional Protocol.

3.With reference to paragraphs 142 and 143 of the State party’s report (CRC/C/OPSC/RUS/Q/1), please indicate how the National Strategy on Action for Children 2012-2017 and the regional strategies for children include lines of action focusing on the implementation of the Optional Protocol, in particular in relation to the sale and sexual exploitation of children.

4.With reference to paragraphs 57 and 130-134 of the State party’s report, please clarify how effective coordination is ensured among the numerous government departments and agencies that are responsible for the implementation of the various laws, policies and programmes relevant to the Optional Protocol.

5.With reference to paragraphs 160-172 of the State party’s report, please provide additional information on the specific functions and scope of work of the Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights and the regional children’s rights commissioners with regard to the regular monitoring and evaluation of laws, policies and programmes relevant to the implementation of the Optional Protocol.

6.With reference to paragraphs 175-185 of the State party’s report, please provide further details on the preventive measures taken to protect children in vulnerable situations from offences covered by the Optional Protocol, especially children who are victims of domestic violence, children living in institutions, children in street situations, children using the Internet without proper supervision, children who use drugs and migrant, refugee, asylum-seeking and stateless children.

7.Please inform the Committee on measures taken to regulate the private sector and to raise the awareness of private-sector entities, in particular in the tourism and the information and communications technology industries, with regard to the prohibition and prevention of offences covered by the Optional Protocol, including on measures taken to eliminate child sex tourism. Please provide information on cases of child sex tourism that have been tried by the courts of the State party.

8.Please indicate measures being taken to amend the Criminal Code in order to define and criminalize the sale of children separately from the offence of human trafficking and to bring it into full compliance with articles 2 and 3 of the Optional Protocol. Please also indicate any steps envisaged to review Federal Law No. 124-FZ of 24 July 1998 on fundamental guarantees of the rights of the child in the Russian Federation with the aim of defining and prohibiting all offences covered by the Optional Protocol.

9.Please clarify whether the legislation of the State party establishes extraterritorial jurisdiction over all the offences referred to in article 3 (1) of the Optional Protocol when committed abroad by a citizen of the State party or a person who resides habitually in the State party, or when the victim is a child who is a national of the State party.

10.In respect of child victims, including foreign child victims and child witnesses of criminal offences covered by the Optional Protocol, please provide specific information on the measures taken to protect the rights and interests of such children at all stages of the legal process and on the treatment afforded to victims, in particular in respect of psychological support, rehabilitation, reintegration and compensation, including in establishments offering specialized care.