Child Protection

Wednesday, 20 March 2024

Questions (812)

Joan Collins

Question:

812. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Justice the reason the Minister for State in her Department stated on 1 December 2023 that the State should be in a position to ratify Second Optional Protocol to the Convention in the Rights of a Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; if the State will be in the position to ratify the second optional protocol once the new Criminal legislation (Sexual Offences and Hunan Trafficking) Bill 2023 once enacted is enacted. [11774/24]

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Written answers

Minister for Justice

The Government is firmly committed to ratification of the Second Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking) Bill 2023, which is currently before the Houses, will remove the final obstacles to ratification of the Protocol. The Bill will deal with the issues relating to extra-territorial jurisdiction and amend the Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) Act 2008 by the insertion of the Second Optional Protocol to the list of international agreements to which the Act of 2008 applies to ensure that Ireland is compliant with the requirements of the Protocol.

Once the outstanding legal obstacles have been removed, ratification of the Second Optional Protocol is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.