Reference on child pornography on the Internet

At the 4th Annual Meeting (1999), the Forum Council requested the Advisory Council of Jurists (ACJ) to consider a reference on the issue of child pornography on the Internet.

The ACJ was asked to provide advice about the validity of measures to regulate child pornography on the Internet, and whether this could be reconciled with national and international laws guaranteeing the rights to freedom of expression, privacy and freedom of information.

In its Final Report, the ACJ acknowledged this tension but concluded that the interests of the child to be free from exploitation should be the primary consideration in striking a regulatory balance.

The ACJ urged member States to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention of the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.

It also recommended that the APF establish a Standing Commission to develop 'Codes of Practice', in consultation with Internet service providers, which could be adopted by member States as part of a regional approach to the problem of child pornography on the Internet.