Council Conclusions of 21 December 1999 on the implementation of measures to combat child sex tourism
Date: 1999-12-21
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: child, child protection, fight against crime, prostitution, sexual offence, tourism

31.12.1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 379/1

I

(Information)

COUNCIL

COUNCIL CONCLUSIONS

of 21 December 1999

on the implementation of measures to combat child sex tourism

(1999/C 379/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

1. DENOUNCES AND CONDEMS child sex tourism as a serious
violation of the rights of the child and human dignity;

2. RECALLS the United Nations Convention of 1989 on the
Rights of the Child on the occasion of its 10th anniversary
and the Plan for Action adopted by the World Congress on
Sexual Exploitation of children held in Stockholm in 1996;

3. CALLING for rapid progress in the work on the elaboration
of the optional protocol to the Convention of the Rights of
the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and
child pornography with a view to the successful conclusion
of the work in the year 2000;

4. WELCOMES the Commission communication of 26 May
1999 on the implementation of measures
to combat
child sex tourism as a report on the progress achieved in
the fight against sex tourism for the period 1997 to 1998
in the following four areas of action: improving knowledge
of the phenomenon of child sex tourism; strengthening the
effectiveness of laws and law enforcement, including extra-
territorial criminal
intensifying efforts to stem the
flow of sex tourists from Member States; and developing
measures to combat sex tourism in non-member countries;

law;

5. EMPHASISES the cross-sectoral nature of the fight against
child sex tourism, requiring at all levels of action a coor-
dinated and integrated approach combining justice and
tourism,
home affairs, social affairs, health, education,
new information technologies and internal market, as
well as external policies and human rights;

6. WELCOMES the European Union initiatives

to protect
children in the context of Joint Action 97/154/JHA of 24
February 1997 concerning action to combat trafficking in
human beings and sexual abuse of children (1), Common
Position (EC) No 37/1999 of 13 September 1999 adopted
by the Council with a view to adopting a Decision of the
the Council adopting a
European Parliament and of
(the Daphne
Community
of
programme

action

against

violence

children,

young people

(2000 to 2003) on preventive measures to
programme)
and
fight
women (2);
Joint Action 96/700/JHA of 29 November
1996 establishing an incentive and exchange programme
for persons responsible for combating trade in human
beings and the sexual exploitation of children (3)
(the
STOP programme, covering the period 1996 to 2000);
and the actions aimed at combating child pornography
on the Internet;

7. URGES the Commission and the Member States to continue
and further develop appropriate initiatives to combat child
sex tourism in the four areas of action outlined in the
Commission communication, based on a
cross-pillar
approach;

8. CONSIDERS it necessary for

the Commission and the
Member States to continue supporting awareness-raising
activities and encouraging the development of codes of
conduct and other self-regulatory schemes in the tourism
industry, placing a particular emphasis on their effective
implementation;

9. WELCOMES all efforts to develop measures on combating
child sex tourism through prevention, suppression, and
support for the victims in those countries where children
are specially prone to such abuse, and urges intensified
efforts to stop the flow of child sex tourism from the
Member States.

10. INVITES the Commission and the Member States to ensure
that all development and cooperation policies support the
fight against child sex tourism;

11. CALLS ON the Commission and the Member States to work
together closely in a complementary and coordinated way,
within their respective spheres of competence and in coop-
eration with relevant organisations, to combat child sex
tourism as a specific contribution to the general objective
of child protection.

(1) OJ L 63, 4.3.1997, p. 2.

(2) OJ C 317, 4.11.1999, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 322, 12.12.1996, p. 7.