CoE Secretary General urged Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ireland and United  Kingdom to ratify Lanzarote Convention

ArmInfo. Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland called on Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ireland and the United Kingdom to ratify the Lanzarote  Convention. This statement he made against the background of Norway's  ratification of this convention.

Norway became the 43rd member state of the Council of Europe, which  ratified the Convention for the Protection of Children against Sexual  Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Convention). The Convention  will enter into force in Norway on October 1, 2018.

"Sexual abuse of children is the most horrendous crime, which  unfortunately is very common in Europe.  Today, Norway joins in the  fight against this phenomenon, ratifying the Lanzarote Convention of  the Council of Europe. For now, only four member states of the  Council of Europe - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ireland and the United  Kingdom - which have not yet ratified this important treaty, which  provides for a higher level of legal protection of children against  violence, I welcome the Norway's ratification Lanzarote Convention  and urge countries that have not yet done so to accede to the common  cause," said Jagland, according to the Council of Europe website.

The organization also notes that one out of every five children under  the age of 18 in Europe is a victim of sexual violence. The Lanzarote  Convention obliges states to criminalize all types of sexual offenses  committed against children, including on the Internet, and to protect  the victims and prosecute those responsible. The Convention also  calls on countries to ensure that the status of restrictions on the  initiation of a sexual offense case against children is extended  enough to effectively initiate the procedure after reaching the  victim of majority.

The Committee of Parties, the Lanzarote Committee, monitors how  effectively the States Parties apply the Lanzarote Convention.  Monitoring is divided into thematic rounds.