COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

Fifty-third session

11-29 January 2010

OPTIONAL PROTOCOL ON THE SALE OF CHILDREN, CHILD PROSTITUTION AND CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

List of issues to be taken up in connection with the consideration of the initial report of Estonia ( CRC/C/OPSC/EST/1 )

The State party is requested to submit in written form additional and updated information, if possible, before 19 November 2009 .

Please provide (if available) statistical data (disaggregated by sex, age group, urban/rural area, ethnic/national origin) and analysis of trends for the years 2006, 2007 and 2008 on:

The number of children affected by the offences covered by the Optional Protocol (sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography), with additional information on type of follow-up provided on reported cases, including prosecutions, withdrawals and sanctions for perpetrators;

The number of children trafficked to and from Estonia as well as within the country for the purpose of sexual exploitation, the number of cases prosecuted with additional information on the type of follow-up provided on the outcome of the cases, including withdrawals, as well as on sanctions for perpetrators.

Please provide information on whether the institution of the Chancellor of Justice, also referred to as the Legal Chancellor, may receive complaints directly submitted by children. Please also provide the number, and percentage, of overall communications received by the Chancellor of Justice alleging violations of children’s rights in general; and children’s rights under the Optional Protocol. Please provide information on the progress of plans to set up a children’s Ombudsman, as well as on the position of such an institution with relation to State agencies and the Chancellor of Justice.

Please provide information on initiatives taken by the State party to prevent child sex tourism and whether the State party has taken any measures to disseminate the Code of Conduct developed by the World Tourism Organization on the protection of children from sexual exploitation in travel and tourism.

Please specify whether the sale of children and child prostitution as defined in article 2 of the Optional Protocol are fully prohibited and criminalized.

Please comment on the legal obligations of Internet service providers regarding child pornography.

Please provide information on measures aimed at enabling law enforcement officers to properly identify children victims of offences under the Optional Protocol, particularly sexual exploitation.

Please provide information on measures undertaken, if any, to prevent and protect the especially vulnerable children from practices covered by the Optional Protocol. With relevance to the special vulnerability of stateless children to offences under the Optional Protocol, please provide information on the number of children who remain stateless, as well as on number of children whose one or both parents are stateless.

Please provide information on measures to protect the rights and interests of child victims of the practices prohibited under the Optional Protocol, including their privacy and identity with a view to avoiding the inappropriate dissemination of information that could lead to their identification. Please provide information on measures adopted to ensure that the vulnerability and special needs of child victims as witnesses are taken into account during court proceedings, including alternatives to live in-court testimony. Please indicate whether special training, particularly legal and psychological, is provided to professionals, such as judges, social workers and medical professionals, who may come into contact with child victims of the offences under the Optional Protocol.

Please explain whether victims of all offences under the Optional Protocol can seek and receive compensation under sections 7, 8 and 12 of the Victim Support Act. Please also provide the number of child victims provided with assistance, including social reintegration and physical and psychological recovery, and compensation as stipulated in article 9 paragraphs 3 and 4 of the Optional Protocol.

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