Belgium - Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under Article 12(1) of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography: Initial report of States parties due in 2008 [2009] UNCRCSPR 39; CRC/C/OPSC/BEL/1 (16 November 2009)

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Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under Article 12 (1) of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography

ACC Autorité centrale communautaire en matière d’adoption (Central community authority for adoptions)

ACF Autorité centrale fédérale en matière d’adoption (Central Federal Authority for Adoptions)

CAEM Comité d’accompagnement de l’enfance maltraitée (French-speaking community – Support committee for abused children)

CAW Centra Algemeen Welzijnswerk (Flemish community – General social assistance centres)

CIATTEH Centre d’information et d’analyse sur la traite et le trafic des êtres humains (Information and analysis centre on trafficking and smuggling of persons)

CLB Centrum Leerlingen Begeleiding (Flemish community − see PMS in the French-speaking community)

CNDE Commission Nationale pour les Droits de l’Enfant (National Commission on the Rights of the Child)

CTB Coopération technique belge (implementing agency for Belgian development cooperation)

ECPAT End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes

KJT Kinder − en Jongerentelefoon (Flemish community – equivalent of “écoute-enfants”)

OEJAJ Observatory on Children, Youth and Assistance to Young People of the French-speaking community

ONE Office de la naissance et de l’enfance (Births and Children Office – French-speaking community − equivalent of Kind & Gezin)

OSBJ Ondersteuningsstructuur voor bijzondere jeugdbijstand (Flemish community – Youth protection support agency)

RTBF Radio-télévision belge francophone (French-speaking Belgian Radio and Television – French-speaking community)

VGC Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie – Flemish community Commission (Brussels office)

2. Over the years, and following five successive State reforms, Belgium has evolved into an efficient but complex federal structure. Some explanations in that connection may be helpful for reading this report. Given the nature of Belgium’s federal structure, the country’s affairs are no longer administered by the federal government alone, but responsibilities are now divided among the federal State and various federalized institutions: the communities and the regions. These have clearly delimited powers which are handed down to them and which they manage themselves. The federal State has mainly retained the residual powers which it also exercises independently. The pyramid structure of the former monolithic State has given way to a more complex three-tiered structure:

3. The federal State has retained powers in many areas, such as foreign affairs, national defence, justice, finance, social security, and much of public health and home affairs.

4. There are three of these: the French-speaking community, the Flemish community and the German-speaking community. The communities are responsible for: culture (youth, theatre, libraries, broadcasting, etc.), education, use of language and personal matters which comprise health policy (preventive and curative medicine) and assistance to individuals (youth protection, social assistance, family assistance, reception of immigrants, etc.). The communities are also responsible for scientific research and international relations in their areas of competence. Each community exercises these powers on its own territory. The French-speaking and Flemish communities exercise part of their powers in the Brussels Capital Region.

5. There are three of these too: the Flemish Region, Brussels-Capital and the Walloon Region. They are competent in the areas of the economy, employment, agriculture, water policy, housing, public works, energy, transport (except for the Belgian national railway company), environment, regional and town planning, nature conservation, credit, foreign trade, and supervision of the provinces, municipalities and inter-municipal undertakings. The regions are also responsible for scientific research and international relations in the areas listed above. Each region exercises these powers on its own territory.

6. Note that there is a difference between the French-speaking and Flemish institutions: the institutions of the Flemish community and Region have been merged into a single Flemish Parliament and Government.

7. In the bilingual Brussels-Capital Region, community powers are exercised by the French-speaking and Flemish communities, the French-speaking and Flemish community commissions and the Joint Community Commission (for matters affecting both communities). However, the Flemish community Commission has exclusive powers as a decentralized administration of the Flemish community. The three Community Commissions have a legislative branch and an executive branch, each with members from the institutions of the Brussels Capital Region.

8. In accordance with this government structure, the measures that the various political bodies have taken in order to implement the Protocol will be listed under separate sections. The following fixed structure has been adopted:

9. This numbering is unchanged even if, for example, only the Government of the German-speaking community has information to notify. In this case, only (c.3) appears. Obviously, an absence of information may be due to the distribution of powers between the various bodies. For instance, for the territory of the Brussels-Capital Region, reference should often be made to the information given for the Flemish and French-speaking communities. The same applies to the territory of the Walloon Region; please refer to the information given for the French- and German-speaking communities as well as that relating explicitly to the Walloon Region.

10. National level is not an official level in the Belgian Government structure. The title referring to the virtual national level is used for activities resulting from cooperation between the above-mentioned levels of competence.

11. Reference to any previous recommendations of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child relating to the topic and the extent to which these recommendations are being followed up appears at the beginning of each section.

12. The last section of each title is devoted to difficulties and future goals. To draft this section, the National Commission on the Rights of the Child (CNDE) set up a working group which produced recommendations. The various Belgian Governments have taken up a large number of these as future goals. The report was unanimously approved by the members of the CNDE (see approval report at annex A).

13. Recommendation 30(d)^[1] of the concluding observations of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child on the second periodic report of Belgium on CRC provides that adequate resources (human and financial) should be allocated to policies and programmes in this area. Information in the implementation of that recommendation is provided throughout this report.

14. The National Commission on the Rights of the Child (CNDE – see the third periodic report of Belgium on CRC, paragraphs 10-11) contacted the various Belgian authorities to obtain their contributions to the present report.

15. The Justice FPS (Crime Policy Service), which chairs the Bureau responsible for the day-to-day running of the Interdepartmental Coordination Unit combating trafficking and smuggling of persons,^[2] coordinated the contribution of the federal institutions.

16. It also obtained statistical data from the central service on trafficking and smuggling of persons of the federal police. The President of the College of Principal Public Prosecutors was asked to provide the Office’s statistics on this phenomenon. The Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism^[3] was asked to supply figures on child victims of trafficking in persons. The Statistics Unit of the Crime Policy Service provided statistics on convictions.

17. The Flemish, French- and German-speaking communities provided their information via the Agentschap Sociaal-Cultureel Werk voor Jeugd en Volwassenen (Social and Cultural Assistance Agency for Young People and Adults - ASCWJV), youth department, the Observatory on Children, Youth and Assistance to Young People (OEJAJ) and the Department of Employment, Health and Social Affairs of the Ministry of the German-speaking community respectively.

18. For more detailed information on general principles, please refer to the third periodic report of Belgium on CRC, paragraphs 120-206.

19. On 17 March 2006 Belgium ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, adopted in New York on 25 May 2000, as corrected by the Secretary-General of the United Nations on 14 November 2000.^[4]

20. In view of the definition of child pornography in the Optional Protocol, Belgium did not want its ratification to result in censorship of the written word. Belgium therefore included a statement of interpretation in the law of assent of 9 February 2006. According to that statement, “child pornography” means any visual representation of a child engaging in real or simulated sexual activities or of a visual representation of the sexual parts of a child primarily for sexual purposes.

21. Belgian law applies the principle that international human rights conventions have a direct effect in national law where they conflict with the latter. The judiciary is determining whether an international law such as the Optional Protocol has direct effect. To do so, it is basing its decision on both subjective and objective criteria.

22. The subjective criterion is to check whether the contracting State has chosen to give direct effect to the Convention. If so, the State intends the Convention to create rights and/or duties for individuals. In ratifying the Convention, Belgium stated its wish to grant Belgian citizens the subjective rights set out in the Convention.

23. The objective criterion implies that the provisions of the Convention concerned must be supplemented and tightened up to ensure that they are not subject to discretionary implementing measures.

24. An answer as to whether the provisions of the Optional Protocol are of direct effect in Belgian law must therefore be derived from the relevant Belgian precedents. However, there are no available precedents regarding the provisions of the Optional Protocol.

25. The police statistics (see annex 1) were obtained from the main national database (BNG). The BNG covers all the information systems of the integrated police force and is designed to support the work of the judicial and administrative police, so that exchanges of information are as structured and secure as possible. The BNG is a basis for judicial investigations, though it is limited as it is a database of perpetrators and crimes. Since it contains no (or only sporadic) data on victims, and the “age” variable does not necessarily have to be filled in, and moreover since – following the amendment of the law on trafficking in persons in 2005 – the 2005 figures cannot be compared with those for 2006 and 2007, the police statistics are really only indicative. It was therefore decided not to incorporate them into the report but to attach them as an annex (see annex 1).

26. “Illegal adoption” is not classed as an offence under “trafficking in persons”. The BNG records “illegal adoption” as a modus operandi in relation to several offences falling under trafficking and smuggling of persons. Searches can be carried out in combination with the age of the victim.

27. “Child prostitution” is not classed as a criminal offence. However, incitement of a minor to such “immoral acts” or exploitation or advertising in relation to immoral acts is punishable.

28. No figures are available for child prostitution linked to sex tourism. This description is not listed as a specific criminal offence. Sex tourism involving children is regarded as sexual abuse of a child abroad.

29. Please refer to annex 1 for the police data on “child pornography” and “trafficking in persons for the purposes of child pornography”.

2006
Minor victims
14
Unaccompanied minors					Accompanied minors
6					8
Date of birth	Gender	Type	Country	Outcome
23/02/1990	F	Prostitution	Hungary	CIRE trafficking in persons indefinite duration
28/06/1988	F	Trafficking	Iran	CIRE trafficking in persons indefinite duration
03/05/1989	M	Economic exploitation	Morocco	CIRE Trafficking in persons valid until 01/2009
22/01/1989	F	Prostitution	Latvia	Disappearance
15/05/1990	M	Trafficking	Iran	CIRE Trafficking in persons valid until 02/2009
01/01/1991	F	Other	Morocco	CIRE Trafficking in persons valid until 02/2009

2007
Minor victims
9
Unaccompanied minors					Accompanied minors
4					5
Date of birth	Gender	Type	Country	Outcome
28/11/1989	F	Economic exploitation	Brazil	CIRE Trafficking in persons valid until 06/2008 no application for renewal
27/06/1989	F	Prostitution	Bulgaria	Not a victim according to the prosecution service: No further news
06/10/1990	M	Trafficking	India	No news
10/03/1990	F	Prostitution	Serbia	Not a victim but CRC pursuant to article 9 of the law of 15/12/1980

2008 (January to June)
Minor victims
8
Unaccompanied minors					Accompanied minors
4					4
Date of birth	Gender	Type	Country	Outcome
20/04/1990	F	Other	Morocco	CIRE Trafficking in persons valid until 11/2008
11/09/1991	F	Trafficking	Congo	CIRE Trafficking in persons valid until 03/2009
24/12/1991	F	Prostitution	Romania	Registration certificate Trafficking in persons valid until 10/2008
03/11/1991	F	Prostitution	Uzbekistan	Not a victim, request to apply the circular of 15/09/2005

31. Since 1 September 2005 (when the new adoptions law entered force), the Central Federal Authority (ACF – see the third periodic report of Belgium on CRC, paragraph 284) has refused to recognize 209 of the 1459 foreign adoptions applied for. All these adoptions had been carried out through unrestricted channels before or after the new law entered force.

32. Most refusals are on the grounds of being contrary to public order (article 365.2, subparagraph 2.1 of the Code of Civil Procedure), taking account of the best interests of the child and his or her fundamental rights under international law. Specifically these include the absence of valid consent by the child being adopted, since he or she still lived with his or her parents at the time of the application for recognition, or because the latter are still fulfilling their obligations to the adopted child. These reasons for refusal are not in themselves indicative of the sale of the child.

33. Since 2005, ACF has had one case of refusal of recognition on grounds of the sale of the child. The mother had not given her free consent to the adoption and the adoption had come about as a result of a financial negotiation with a non-approved intermediary over the internet.

34. In other cases, ACF was unable to class them as trafficking in persons but did find reasons for adoption that were closely related to it: statement by the adopted girl that she was going to Belgium to work in the home of her adoptive parents, and that they had showed her how to do the housework and asked her to do as she was told; statement that she was going to Belgium to look after the two children of her adoptive mother and to study; statement that she was going to Belgium to maintain her family in her country of origin; assumption that the adoption was actually a means of bringing a young Chinese girl to work in the family restaurant.

35. Before analysing the collected statistical data, it is worth making the following remarks to delimit the scope of the investigations being carried out:

Table I. Number of “procuring for minors” and “child prostitution” cases (main or accessory charge) handled by the Belgian public prosecution services over the years 2002-2007 (with columns for No. and percentage for each year)

The data are broken down by the year of submission to the public prosecution service

	Procuring of minors		Child pornography		Total
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2000	11	14.10	127	4.38	138	4.64
2001	4	5.13	143	4.94	147	4.94
2002	6	7.69	523	18.05	529	17.78
2003	18	23.08	272	9.39	290	9.75
2004	11	14.10	258	8.91	269	9.04
2005	12	15.38	358	12.36	370	12.44
2006	9	11.54	463	15.98	472	15.87
2007	7	8.97	753	25.99	760	25.55
Total	78	100.00	2 897	100.00	2 975	100.00

Source: Database of the College of Principal Public Prosecutors – statistical analysts.

Table II. Number of “procuring of minors” and “child pornography” cases handled by the Belgian public prosecutors during the years 2000-2007 (with columns for No. and percentage for each year)

		Procuring of minors		Child pornography		Total
		No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
Antwerp	Antwerp	.	.	417	14.39	417	14.02
	Hasselt	7	8.97	76	2.62	83	2.79
	Mechelen	1	1.28	78	2.69	79	2.66
	Tongeren	.	.	63	2.17	63	2.12
	Turnhout	4	5.13	117	4.04	121	4.07
	Jurisdiction	12	15.38	751	25.92	763	25.65
Brussels	Brussels	28	35.90	491	16.95	519	17.45
	Leuven	.	.	101	3.49	101	3.39
	Nivelles	3	3.85	82	2.83	85	2.86
	Jurisdiction	31	39.74	674	23.27	705	23.70
Ghent	Bruges	3	3.85	231	7.97	234	7.87
	Dendermonde	.	.	104	3.59	104	3.50
	Ghent	2	2.56	266	9.18	268	9.01
	Ieper	.	.	13	0.45	13	0.44
	Kortrijk	2	2.56	95	3.28	97	3.26
	Oudenaarde	5	6.41	29	1.00	34	1.14
	Veurne	.	.	18	0.62	18	0.61
	Jurisdiction	12	15.38	756	26.10	768	25.82
Liège	Arlon	1	1.28	26	0.90	27	0.91
	Dinant	.	.	31	1.07	31	1.04
	Huy	.	.	25	0.86	25	0.84
	Liège	2	2.56	63	2.17	65	2.18
	Marche-en-Famenne	.	.	16	0.55	16	0.54
	Namur	1	1.28	46	1.59	47	1.58
	Neufchateau	.	.	13	0.45	13	0.44
	Verviers	1	1.28	35	1.21	36	1.21
	Jurisdiction	5	6.41	255	8.80	260	8.74
Mons	Charleroi	10	12.82	42	1.45	52	1.75
	Mons	6	7.69	46	1.59	52	1.75
	Tournai	2	2.56	23	0.79	25	0.84
	Jurisdiction	18	23.08	111	3.83	129	4.34
FEDERAL PROSECUTION SERVICE	FEDERAL PROSECUTION SERVICE	.	.	350	12.08	350	11.76
FEDERAL PROSECUTION SERVICE	Jurisdiction	.	.	350	12.08	350	11.76
Belgium		78	100	2 897	100	2 975	100

Source: Database of the College of Principal Public Prosecutors – statistical analysts.

Table III. Progress, at 10 January 2008, of “procuring of minors” and “child pornography” cases before the public prosecutors between 2000 and 2007 (with columns for No. and percentage for each year)

The data are broken down according to the year they were brought before the public prosecutor

	2000		2001		2002		2003		2004		2005		2006		2007
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
(1) Information	.	.	7	1.26	14	2.52	6	1.08	10	1.80	9	1.62	70	12.61	439	79.10
(2) Terminated^[5]	63	6.98	86	9.52	231	25.58	110	12.18	113	12.51	96	10.63	129	14.29	75	8.31
(3) Available^[6]	25	6.31	14	3.54	30	7.58	47	11.87	54	13.64	81	20.45	50	12.63	95	23.99
(4) Joinder^[7]	18	4.99	12	3.32	19	5.26	43	11.91	28	7.76	98	27.15	48	13.30	95	26.32
(5) Settlement^[8]	.	.	.	.	8	47.06	2	11.76	.	.	2	11.76	4	23.53	1	5.88
(6) Mediation^[8]	.	.	.	.	4	14.29	8	28.57	3	10.71	5	17.86	6	21.43	2	7.14
(7) Investigation	4	4.94	.	.	1	1.23	7	8.64	2	2.47	3	3.70	25	30.86	39	48.15
(8) Council chamber^[8]	10	5.81	6	3.49	78	45.35	11	6.40	11	6.4	16	9.30	37	21.51	3	1.74
(9) Summons and follow-up^[8]	18	3.90	22	4.76	144	31.17	56	12.12	48	10.39	60	12.99	103	22.29	11	2.38
Total	138	4.64	147	4.94	529	17.78	290	9.75	269	9.04	370	12.44	472	15.87	760	25.55

Source: Database of the College of Principal Public Prosecutors – statistical analysts.

Table IV. Grounds for terminating proceedings in cases brought before the public prosecution service over the years 2001-2007 (with columns for No. and percentage for each year)

		Procuring of minors		Child pornography		Total
		No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
(1) appropriateness	(1) Limited social repercussions	1	3.57	13	1.49	14	1.55
	(2) Situation restored to order	1	3.57	7	0.80	8	0.89
	(4) Minor damage	.	.	6	0.69	6	0.66
	(5) Reasonable length of time elapsed	.	.	23	2.63	23	2.55
	(6) No past history	.	.	9	1.03	9	1.00
	(7) Occasional acts – specific circumstances	.	.	8	0.91	8	0.89
	(8) Young offender	.	.	2	0.23	2	0.22
	(9) Disproportionate consequences – social disorder	1	3.57	11	1.26	12	1.33
	(10) Behaviour of the victim	.	.	1	0.11	1	0.11
	(12) Insufficient grounds to investigate	.	.	85	9.71	85	9.41
	(13) Other priorities	4	14.29	25	2.86	29	3.21
(15) technical	(15) No offence	8	28.57	114	13.03	122	13.51
	(16) Insufficient charges	5	17.86	222	25.37	227	25.14
	(17) Statutory limitation	.	.	2	0.23	2	0.22
	(18) Death of the perpetrator	.	.	8	0.91	8	0.89
	(21) Incompetence	1	3.57	46	5.26	47	5.20
	(22) Authority of 'res judicata'	.	.	20	2.29	20	2.21
	(26) Perpetrator(s) unknown	7	25.00	263	30.06	270	29.90
(28) other	(29) Judicial probation	.	.	4	0.46	4	0.44
(28) other	(30) Particulars of the perpetrator	.	.	6	0.69	6	0.66
Total		28	100	875	100	903	100

Source: Database of the College of Principal Public Prosecutors – statistical analysts.

36. The tables below show not only the number of Custodial sentences and number of detainees, but also the number of convictions and the number of people sentenced for each offence, according to the statistics on sentencing compiled by the Crime Policy Service of the Federal Public Service. One person may be sentenced several times for an offence, either during the same year, or in different years. Similarly, different decisions may be taken regarding the same person. For example, a suspended sentence may be handed down for a person on a first offence. The same person may be sentenced at a second trial for the same offence some years later. The same person may therefore appear several times in the various tables and columns, and may even be counted several times under the same case.

37. The unit of account used here is therefore the number of convictions involving at least one offence of the types listed in the “convictions” tables, and the number of people sentenced for at least one offence of the types listed in the “sentenced persons” tables. The figures given relate to the years 2000 to 2006. However, the data for 2006 are provisional owing to a delay in recording.

38. The following four main categories of offences against minors have to be considered. They are as follows:

39. The Law of 28 November 2000, which entered force on 1 April 2001, made various amendments to the Law of 13 April 1995 containing provisions to combat trafficking of persons and child pornography. With the introduction of that Law, the various criminal provisions relating to those offences were renumbered and some were slightly amended (such as the provisions relating to age). The scope of the protection of minors against criminal offences was broadened. Reference is therefore sometimes made to “article x, original version” and “article x, amended version”, depending on whether it is a provision that has been amended meanwhile, or a regulation of the Criminal Code.

Crimes and offences relating to young people involved in immoral acts, corruption or prostitution

Table I. Number of convictions for the offence “incitement to immoral acts, corruption or prostitution of a minor”

Convictions	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Incitement to immoral acts, corruption or prostitution of a minor over 16 years of age (379, 1, old)	12	21	14	20	13	7	9
Incitement to immoral acts, etc. of a minor aged 14 to 16 (379, 2, old)	4	11	9	6	6	8	5
Incitement to immoral acts, etc. of a minor aged under 16 (379, 2, new)	7	9	5	5	7	10	7
Incitement to immoral acts, etc. of a minor aged 10 to 14 (379, 3, new)	3	4	4	9	9	9	10
Incitement to immoral acts, etc. of a minor under 10 years of age (379, 4 old or 379, 3, new)	2	3	3	7	1	5	2
Total	31	42	35	53	26	32	24

Table II. Number of persons sentenced for the offence “incitement to immoral acts, corruption or prostitution of a minor”

Persons sentenced	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Incitement to immoral acts, corruption or prostitution of a minor over 16 years of age (379, 1, old)	12	21	14	20	13	7	9
Incitement to immoral acts, etc. of a minor aged 14 to 16 (379, 2, old)	4	11	9	6	6	8	5
Incitement to immoral acts, etc. of a minor aged under 16 (379, 2, new)	7	9	5	5	7	10	7
Incitement to immoral acts, etc. of a minor aged 10 to 14 (379, 3, new)	3	4	4	9	9	9	10
Incitement to immoral acts, etc. of a minor under 10 years of age (379, 4 old or 379, 3, new)	2	3	3	7	1	5	2
Total	31	42	35	52	26	32	24

Table III. Number of custodial convictions for the offence “incitement to immoral acts, corruption or prostitution of a minor”

Custodial sentences	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Incitement to immoral acts, corruption or prostitution of a minor over 16 years of age (379, 1, old)	1	1	1	1	0	0	0
Incitement to immoral acts, etc. of a minor aged 14 to 16 (379, 2, old)	1	0	0	3	0	0	0
Incitement to immoral acts, etc. of a minor aged under 16 (379, 2, new)	3	0	0	0	0	1	1
Incitement to immoral acts, etc. of a minor aged 10 to 14 (379, 3, old or 379, 3, new)	0	0	2	0	1	2	1
Incitement to immoral acts, etc. of a minor under 10 years of age (379, 4 old or 379, 3, new)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	3	1	5	4	1	3	2

Table IV. Number of persons detained for the offence “incitement to immoral acts, corruption or prostitution of a minor”

Detainees	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Incitement to immoral acts, corruption or prostitution of a minor over 16 years of age (379, 1, old)	1	1	1	1	0	0	0
Incitement to immoral acts, etc. of a minor aged 14 to 16 (379, 2, old)	1	0	0	3	0	0	0
Incitement to immoral acts, etc. of a minor aged under 16 (379, 2, new)	3	0	0	0	0	1	1
Incitement to immoral acts, etc. of a minor aged 10 to 14 (379, 3, new)	0	0	2	0	1	2	1
Incitement to immoral acts, etc. of a minor under 10 years of age (379, 4 old or 379, 3, new)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	3	1	5	4	1	3	2

41. Provocation of immoral acts by a minor through words, gestures or signs in a public place.

Table V. Number of convictions for the offence “provocation of immoral acts by a minor, etc. (380 bis, new)”

Table VI. Number of persons sentenced for the offence “provocation of immoral acts by a minor, etc. (380 bis, new)”

Table VII. Number of custodial sentences for the offence “provocation of immoral acts by a minor, etc. (380 bis, new)”

Table VIII. Number of persons detained for the offence “provocation of immoral acts by a minor, etc. (380 bis, new)”

42. Recruitment, coercion, abduction or harbouring of a minor with the intent of immoral acts or prostitution.

Table IX. Number of convictions for the offence “recruitment, coercion, abduction or harbouring of a minor with the intent of immoral acts or prostitution”

Convictions	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Recruitment, co^ercion, etc. of a minor (380 bis, para. 1.1.1, old)	16	11	22	26	36	38	28
Recruitment, coercion, etc. of a minor under 16 years of age (380 bis, para. 4.1, old)	3	4	5	4	2	6	1
Recruitment, coercion, etc. of a minor under 10 years of age (380 bis, para. 5, old)	0	0	0	0	1	1	0

Table X. Number of convictions for the offence “recruitment, coercion, abduction or harbouring of a minor with the intent of immoral acts or prostitution”

Persons sentenced	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Recruitment, coercion, etc. of a minor (380 bis, para. 1.1.1, old)	16	11	22	26	36	38	28
Recruitment, coercion, etc. of a minor under 16 years of age (380 bis, para. 4.1, old)	3	4	4	4	2	6	1
Recruitment, coercion, etc. of a minor under 10 years of age (380 bis, para. 5, old)	0	0	0	0	1	1	0

Table XI. Number of custodial convictions for the offence “recruitment, coercion, abduction or harbouring of a minor with the intent of immoral acts or prostitution”

Custodial sentences	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Recruitment, co^ercion, etc. of a minor (380 bis, para. 1.1.1, old)	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Recruitment, coercion, etc. of a minor under 16 years of age (380 bis, para. 4.1, old)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Recruitment, coercion, etc. of a minor under 10 years of age (380 bis, para. 5, old)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Table XII. Number of persons detained for the offence “recruitment, coercion, abduction or harbouring of a minor with the intent of immoral acts or prostitution”

Detainees	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Recruitment, co^ercion, etc. of a minor (380 bis, para. 1.1.1, old)	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Recruitment, coercion, etc. of a minor under 16 years of age (380 bis, para. 4.1, old)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Recruitment, coercion, etc. of a minor under 10 years of age (380 bis, para. 5, old)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Table XIII. Number of convictions for the offence of “keeping a brothel (minors)”

Table XIV. Number of persons sentenced for the offence of “keeping a brothel (minors)”

44. Sale, letting or ... of rooms or other premises for the purposes of prostitution (victim = minor)

Table XV. Number of convictions for the offence “sale, letting or ... of rooms or other premises for the purposes of prostitution (victim = minor)”

Convictions	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Sale, letting or ... of rooms or other premises for the purposes of prostitution (victim = minor) (380 bis, para. 4. 3, old − 380, para. 4.3, new)	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
Sale, letting or ... of rooms or other premises for the purposes of prostitution (victim = minor under 10 years of age) (380 bis, para. 5, old)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Table XVI. Number of persons sentenced for the offence “sale, letting or ... of rooms or other premises for the purposes of prostitution”

Persons sentenced	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Sale, letting or ... of rooms or other premises for the purposes of prostitution (victim = minor) (380 bis, para. 4.3, old − 380, para. 4.3, new)	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
Sale, letting or ... of rooms or other premises for the purposes of prostitution (victim = minor under 10 years of age) (380 bis, para. 5, old)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Table XVII. Number of convictions for the offence “exploitation of immoral acts or prostitution by a minor”

Convictions	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Exploitation of immoral acts or prostitution by a minor under 16 years of age (380 bis, para. 4.4, old or 380, para. 5, new)	4	0	12	10	7	7	8
Exploitation of immoral acts or prostitution by a minor under 10 years of age (380 bis, para. 5, old)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Table XVIII. Number of persons sentenced for the offence “exploitation of immoral acts or prostitution by a minor”

Persons sentenced	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Exploitation of immoral acts or prostitution by a minor under 16 years of age (380 bis, para. 4.4, old or 380, para. 5, new)	4	0	11	10	7	7	8
Exploitation of immoral acts or prostitution by a minor under 10 years of age (380 bis, para. 5, old)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Custodial sentences	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Exploitation of immoral acts or prostitution by a minor under 16 years of age (380 bis, para. 4.4, old or 380, para. 5, new)	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Exploitation of immoral acts or prostitution by a minor under 10 years of age (380 bis, para. 5, old)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Detainees	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Exploitation of immoral acts or prostitution by a minor under 16 years of age (380 bis, para. 4.4, old or 380, para. 5, new)	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Exploitation of immoral acts or prostitution by a minor under 10 years of age (380 bis, para. 5, old)	0	0	0	0	0	0	1

46. Advertising for providing sexual services with minors or offering services by minors or persons reputed to be minors.

Table XIX. Number of convictions for the offence “advertising for immoral acts and prostitution”

Convictions	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Advertising for providing sexual services with minors ... (380 quinquies, para. 1.1, old or 380 ter, para 1.1, new)	2	0	2	0	0	1	0
... with the intent or effect of facilitating prostitution or immoral acts by a minor or his or her exploitation for sexual purposes (380 quinquies, para. 1.2, old or 380 ter, para. 1.2, new)	1	0	1	0	0	0	0

Table XX. Number of persons sentenced for the offence “advertising for immoral acts and prostitution”

Persons sentenced	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Advertising for providing sexual services with minors ... (380 quinquies, para. 1.1, old or 380 ter, para 1.1, new)	2	0	2	0	0	1
... with the intent or effect of facilitating prostitution or immoral acts by a minor or his or her exploitation for sexual purposes (380 quinquies, para. 1.2, old or 380 ter, para. 1.2, new)	1	0	1	0	0	0	0

Convictions	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Child pornography: distribution, sale, ... (383 bis, para. 1)	14	13	9	21	17	27	19
Child pornography: possession of symbols, objects, films, photographs or other visual media (383 bis, para. 2)	19	25	20	42	65	54	53
Indecent exposure in the presence of a minor under 16 years of age (385, 2)	90	68	69	70	63	66	49
Indecent exposure in the presence of a minor over 16 years of age (386, 2)	20	15	13	9	27	16	7

Table XXII. Number of persons sentenced for the offence of “indecent exposure”

Persons sentenced	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Child pornography: distribution, sale, ... (383 bis, para. 1)	14	13	9	21	17	26	19
Child pornography: possession of symbols, objects, films, photographs or other visual media (383 bis, para. 2)	19	25	20	42	65	52	53
Indecent exposure in the presence of a minor under 16 years of age (385, 2)	90	68	69	70	63	65	49
Indecent exposure in the presence of a minor over 16 years of age (386, 2)	20	15	13	9	27	16	7

Table XXIII. Number of custodial sentences for the offence of “indecent exposure”

Custodial sentences	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Child pornography: distribution, sale, ... (383 bis, para. 1)	0	1	1	0	1	2	0
Child pornography: possession of symbols, objects, films, photographs or other visual media (383 bis, para. 2)	0	1	1	3	0	3	6
Indecent exposure in the presence of a minor under 16 years of age (385, 2)	13	5	8	8	2	16	6
Indecent exposure in the presence of a minor over 16 years of age (386, 2)	6	1	2	1	1	3	2

Table XXIV. Number of persons detained for the offence of “indecent exposure”

Detainees	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Child pornography: distribution, sale, ... (383 bis, para. 1)	0	1	1	0	1	2	0
Child pornography: possession of symbols, objects, films, photographs or other visual media (383 bis, para. 2)	0	1	1	3	0	3	6
Indecent exposure in the presence of a minor under 16 years of age (385, 2)	13	5	8	8	2	15	6
Indecent exposure in the presence of a minor over 16 years of age (386, 2)	6	1	2	1	1	3	2

Table XXV. Number of convictions for offences under article 77 bis (former article on trafficking in persons), related to the offence of indecency with or without violence towards a minor

Convictions	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
indecency without violence or threats towards a minor under 16 years of age (article 372.1, Criminal Code)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
indecency with violence or threats towards a minor aged 16 or over (article 373.2, Criminal Code)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
indecency with violence or threats towards a minor under 16 years of age (article 373.3, Criminal Code)	0	0	0	0	1	0	0

47. Indecency without violence or threats towards a person aged 16 to 18 cannot be reported as there is no specific offence for this age group. It falls under the general category of “indecency”, without distinction between minor or adult victims. Since the age of victims is not recorded in the database, no data can be supplied for persons aged 16 to 18.

Table XXVI. Number of convictions for offences under 77 bis (formerly trafficking in persons) associated with the offence of “rape” and by the age of the minor

48. The “domino” database entered service in 2006. This database contains the data supplied by the Youth Care Committees and the Social Service attached to each juvenile court (SPJ) and is designed to produce statistics. These bodies can submit their information with reference to a list of subject headings (e.g. prostitution, perpetrator of sexual abuse within the family, perpetuator of sexual abuse outside the family, unaccompanied minors). The system should be fully operational in 2009.

49. No illegal adoptions were reported in the Flemish community. There are no records to date, in the Flemish community, of any children adopted via intermediaries using methods incompatible with article 21 of CRC.

50. Reference may be made to the figures available in the “Assessment Report for 2006-2007” by the support committee for the cooperation agreement for the support and treatment of perpetrators of sexual abuse (see annex 2 and paragraph 124 below). This report states that, during 2006, 99 per cent of perpetrators reported were males, 1 087 perpetrators were reported, 1 216 perpetrators were treated and supported and, finally, 24 of the perpetrators reported (= 4 per cent) were under 18 years of age. For 343 perpetrators (= 46%), the behavioural problem related to sexual violence towards minors. Forty-seven perpetrators (= 6 per cent) were reported for child pornography.

51. Child Focus, the European Center for Missing and Sexually Exploited Children, has the mission of actively supporting, at national and international levels, investigations into the disappearance, abduction or sexual exploitation of children. The organization also strives to prevent and fight against these phenomena. The centre conducted an investigation into child prostitution in Flanders entitled “op het scherp van het net”, an investigative study on youth, internet and paid sex. It aimed to survey the present nature and extent of child prostitution in Flanders, and complemented a study by the French-speaking community on child prostitution in Wallonia and Brussels (see paragraphs 55 and 148 below). The survey was completed in November 2008.

52. Reference may also be made to the third periodic report, title I.F. “Data collection and scientific study” (paragraphs 92-95).

53. No illegal adoptions were reported in the French-speaking community. There are no records to date, in the French-speaking community, of any children adopted via intermediaries using methods incompatible with article 21 of CRC.

54. For the French-speaking community in 2006, the Esperanto Centre, a reception centre for unaccompanied minor victims of trafficking, took in 24 young people involved in trafficking (see paragraphs 196 and 202 below).

55. Some figures on child prostitution in the French-speaking community may be taken from the study “young prostitutes and social responses: an inventory”. In 2004, according to the figures of the Trafficking in Persons (TEH) unit of the Federal Police, 24 minors were recorded as “voluntary” prostitutes, including three aged 14, five aged 15 , four aged 16 and twelve aged 17 (for more details, see paragraph 148 below).

57. No illegal adoptions were reported in the German-speaking community. There are no records to date, in the German-speaking community, of any children adopted via intermediaries using methods incompatible with article 21 of CRC.

58. Recommendation 28(e)^[9] of the concluding observations of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child on the second periodic report of Belgium to CRC is to improve cooperation and exchange of information among all the actors involved. The measures for implementing this recommendation consist of setting up specialist services and carrying out various initiatives. They are described in paragraphs 63, 64 and 67.

59. The recommendations of the National Commission Against Sexual Exploitation of Children were examined by two working groups (one Dutch-speaking and one French/German-speaking), in order to harmonize the judicial, protective and criminal approach on the one hand and the psychological, medical and social approach on the other, of all cases of child abuse. For more information, please refer to the third periodic report of Belgium on CRC, paragraphs 302, 623, 625 and especially 313. That report announces the widespread setting-up of consultation and coordination councils in the districts, and explains that the Belgian authorities intend to designate reference magistrates and that they are following up the application, by all players concerned, of the memoranda of understanding in order to ensure fair treatment in the interests of the child and to give better information to children and victims.

60. The action plan for the French-speaking community was signed by the competent ministers and circulated to public prosecution services in the French-speaking community. The district councils already existed in the French-speaking community. The latter have been allocated more resources. The stappenplan, which is one of the recommendations envisaged in the Flemish memorandum of understanding, was circulated to all public prosecution services in the Flemish community. Reference magistrates responsible for child abuse cases have already been designated in each judicial district. The Flemish memorandum of understanding has yet to be approved in full. Please refer to the third periodic report of Belgium on CRC, paragraphs 299 and 627, for more information on the information brochure for persons knowing of or suspecting a case of child (sexual) abuse. This brochure indirectly ensures that child victims are better informed.

61. As a reminder, the National Commission on the Rights of the Child contributes to the drafting of any report on child rights and encourages exchanges of ideas between political players and field workers in the context of working groups.

62. On 18 October 2008, European Anti-Trafficking Day, the Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism, the Samilia Foundation and three reception centres for victims of trafficking in persons, Pag-Asa, Payoke and Sürya, organized awareness-raising initiatives in three Belgian cities: Brussels, Antwerp and Liège.

63. The “Trafficking in Persons” Task Force set up by the Prime Minister in the year 2000 prompted the adoption of a Royal Decree^[10] which:

Besides its coordination function, the Interdepartmental Coordination Unit also has to make a critical assessment of the fight against trafficking and smuggling of persons.

Since the Unit meets only two or three times a year, a Bureau was formed which meets monthly. It deals with the day-to-day running of the Unit and prepares and implements the decisions, recommendations and initiatives.^[11]

In 2005, a working group was set up within the Unit to improve the status of victims of trafficking in persons, especially minors. The working group made several recommendations for the care of minor victims. On this basis it was established that, although the system for supervising unaccompanied minors was a considerable step forward for the protection of minors, it was still necessary to draw the attention of guardians and institutions organizing guardianship that certain minors were also victims of trafficking in persons. These minors should also be offered better care. The Law of 15 September 2006 (see annex 3) took several of these recommendations into account (see paragraphs 194, 198 and 199 below).

64. The national plan of action against trafficking and smuggling of persons of 11 July 2008 (see annex 4) is the first instrument of its type to be adopted in Belgium for this type of crime. Many international institutions recommend adopting this type of instrument to ensure that this phenomenon is tackled with a global approach.

65. The action plan is the fruit of the work of the various players in the Interdepartmental Coordination Unit for combating trafficking and smuggling of persons. It makes an assessment of the policy carried out since the Unit was set up. In addition to that assessment, the aim is to keep the Government’s attention focused on the issue. To that end, it stresses the important implications and the projects that should be carried out at federal level over the next ten years, and makes many proposals. These have been culled from various international and national reports and studies, and adapted to the regional context.

66. The proposals cover possible changes in the law and regulations and various aspects of awareness raising, prevention, prosecution of traffickers, or proper protection of trafficking victims – with specific measures for minors. The action plan also deals with coordination, collection of information and the assessment of policy in this area.

67. In 2001, the College of Principal Public Prosecutors set up a network of experts on trafficking and smuggling of persons. The network is responsible for assisting the Principal Public Prosecutor competent for trafficking and smuggling of persons, by means of specific projects, in his task of devising and implementing a general crime policy that is coherent and coordinated. The network of experts is composed of members of the prosecution service, the Justice FPS (Crime Policy Service), the central “trafficking in persons” service of the Federal Police and external members who take part in the activities of the network of experts as required by the subjects under discussion: the Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism, inspection services and academic experts.

68. Under their auspices, the basic instrument relating to crime policy and the detection and prosecution policy, namely the ministerial guidelines on the detection and prosecution of trafficking in persons, is regularly adapted to changes observed on the ground.^[1]

69. One of the missions of Child Focus (see paragraph 40 above) is to support and advise minor victims of sexual abuse outside the family, and their parents. In the context of the fight against organized sexual exploitation, Child Focus has an operational role in relation to the police and judicial services, notably with regard to child pornography.

70. Cooperation between Child Focus and the competent judicial and police authorities is governed by four cooperation protocols:

1. The 1998 Protocol governs cooperation between Child Focus and the judicial and police authorities on disappearances and sexual exploitation of children. It was assessed in 2001 and 2005;

2. The 2002 Protocol (also assessed in 2005) governs cooperation between the civilian point of contact at Child Focus (Childfocus-net-alert), the judicial services, the central “trafficking in persons” service of the Federal Police and the FCCU regarding child pornography on the internet;

3. The 2007 Protocol governs cooperation between Child Focus and the judicial authorities, the Justice FPS (Federal contact point for international parental abductions) and the Foreign Affairs FPS, in the area of international parental abductions and cross-border visiting rights;

4. The 2008 Protocol governs cooperation between Child Focus and the police services (police districts of Brussels-Capital and Kastze (Kampenhout, Steenokkerzeel and Zemst), the judicial services (Brussels prosecution service and principal prosecution service), the Aliens Office, the General Commissariat for Refugees and Stateless Persons and the Guardianship Service, regarding the handling of cases of minors disappearing from observation and guidance centres (COOs).

71. On 27 April 2007, the first two protocols were confirmed by the various partners after assessment and adaptation. On the same date, the third protocol was signed while the last protocol was formalized on 12 November 2008.

72. The smooth operation of the Child Focus organization was highlighted in a recent report by J.M. Petit, Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council (A/HRC/4/31).

73. Most of the coordination mechanisms described in this section are located at the level of the general services responsible for coordinating child and youth rights policy. The federalized institutions do not have services specializing in the specific issue of child pornography, the sale of children or child prostitution, but rather work through the general information services which have recourse, where necessary, to subsidized specialist services (see paragraphs 77, 83 and 85 below).

74. Indeed, the Communities have not so far defined or invested in policies targeted specifically at the subject matter of the Optional Protocol, namely the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. This is explained by the relatively low incidence of these phenomena in Belgium and should be seen as a deliberate choice of the Communities to avoid over-specializing in prevention and assistance for minors.

75. Accordingly, social prevention and educational policies and youth assistance policies are designed to be holistic and cross-cutting. Young people who are in danger or in difficulty are taken in hand by the general and specific services, which offer a palette of services. The young person is considered as a whole, as a young person in difficulty or danger often suffers on a number of fronts. Thus, depending on the needs identified, young people receive support in a variety of forms ranging from general social assistance, mental health support, positive cultural or citizens’ projects, sometimes involving more specialist help such as assistance in the community or protection measures.

76. The Communities are nevertheless aware of the social realities facing young people, and therefore take account of changes in society and identify the growing emerging problems. Accordingly, some initiatives for supporting sexually abused minors or minor sex offenders have been run as pilot projects (see paragraphs 139 and 329 below).

77. The Flemish Government’s integrated policy on youth and child rights was given a legal basis by the Decree of 18 July 2008 on the application of a Flemish policy for youth and child rights. At administrative level, the ASCWJV is responsible for coordinating the follow-up of CRC and its protocols, facilitated by contact persons in each administration.

78. The youth policy plan, introduced in 2002, has evolved since the above-mentioned Decree into an plan of action on child rights and is accordingly the ideal instrument for monitoring child rights in Flanders.^[12] The implementation of the Protocol discussed in the present report is integrated into both the Flemish plan of action on child rights and the youth policy plan.

79. The Flemish Government monitors the implementation of these objectives on an annual basis in the annual report on the youth and child rights policy to the Flemish Parliament and the Kinderrechtencommissaris (Child Rights Commissioner).^[13] In the context of the think tank on Flemish youth and child rights policy, the ASCWJV involves civil society and all the Flemish authorities, via contact persons, in youth and child-rights policy, including the Flemish report on the present Protocol and the activities of the National Commission on the Rights of the Child, vice-chaired by the Agency.

80. The Kinderrechtencoalitie Vlaanderen (Flemish Child Rights Coalition) and the Kinderrechtencommissariaat (Child Rights Commissariat) will no doubt each inform the Committee of their efforts and observations in their alternating report. As required by the Protocol, some initiatives are mentioned although no attempt is made to make an exhaustive list.

81. In 2006, the not-for-profit association Kinderrechtencoalitie Vlaanderen chose “violence” as its annual theme following a United Nations study led by Professor Pinheiro. The Coalition has made recommendations on child trafficking, child prostitution and sexual exploitation of children and domestic violence and violence at school and in leisure time (see http://www.kinderrechtencoalitie.be).^[14] The main Coalition members to have focused their attention on the issues covered by the Protocol are Ecpact Belgium (see http://www.ecpat.be/) and Unicef Belgium (see http://www.unicef.be ).^[15]

82. Every year the Flemish authorities circulate information material from the Kinderrechtencommissaris (see http://www.kinderrechten.be) to youth and welfare movements and education (see paragraph 59 of the third periodic report of Belgium on CRC). Brochure K-30 (2008) of the Kinderrechtencommissariaat informs children that they are entitled to protection against all forms of violence: physical, psychological and sexual violence, and child trafficking. Reference may also be made to the opinions of the Kinderrechtencommissariaat on zero tolerance of violence against children.

83. The Observatory on Children, Youth and Assistance to Young People (OEJAJ), founded in 1997, has a number of missions, including inventorizing, promoting and supporting policy on children, youth and youth assistance (see the second periodic report of Belgium on CRC, paragraphs 172-173 and the third report, paragraph 34).

84. The setting-up within the OEJAJ of a standing group to monitor CRC^[16] was confirmed by decree in 2004. It has the following missions:

85. The Births and Children Office (ONE) of the French-speaking community is launching a major campaign to combat child abuse, notably through SOS Enfants teams; it subsidizes and supervises their work. For more information on this subject, see paragraph 138 below.

86. In the context of his special mission to receive information, complaints and requests for mediation in cases of violations of children’s rights and interests, the Delegate-General of the French-speaking community for child rights may be referred to regarding child victims of the practices proscribed in the Optional Protocol. His action in this type of situation basically consists of referring children to the structures of the youth and child assistance sector that can provide appropriate assistance for their physical and psychological rehabilitation. Where appropriate, he can also report to the judicial authorities the actions of anyone engaging in the practices proscribed by the Optional Protocol. Judicial referral should not be automatic, however. There may be other ways of stopping the violence and handling such situations. The Delegate-General may also make general recommendations for handling such situations. For more information on the missions of the Delegate-General for child rights, see the third periodic report of Belgium on CRC, paragraph 33.

87. CODE − Child rights coordination for NGOs – receives financial support from the French-speaking community and has the principal goal of ensuring that Belgium implements the Convention on the Rights of the Child and of disseminating information, raising awareness and educating people about children’s rights. Its missions cover the subject matter of the Protocol. In particular it carried out research on exploitation of children in begging (see paragraph 149 below).

88. Some pilot projects, such as Groupados and the Kaleidos not-for-profit association, were conducted in the French-speaking community specifically to take care of victims of sexual abuse or minor sex offenders. For more information, see paragraph 139 below.

89. The French-speaking community supports associations active in the field covered by the Protocol through regular or occasional subsidies. For instance, it supports the Movement Against Paedophilia on Internet (MAPI). It also supports Le Nid, a pluralist association which offers support to persons linked to prostitution: prostitutes, their families and clients. The association is recognized by the French-speaking community as a lifelong learning movement. It is subsidized by the Ministry of Youth Assistance of the French-speaking community, the Ministry of Health of the Brussels-Capital Region and the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs of the Walloon Region.

90. We would restate the objective for the near future, which was set out in paragraph 102 of the third periodic report of Belgium on CRC: “With a view to further intensifying the coordination of the policies applied by the various federal departments on issues affecting children, among others, in matters where several ministers have overlapping competences (such as unaccompanied minors or trafficking in persons and children), a number of measures will be examined, notably the designation of a federal minister coordinating child rights. Furthermore, European and international coordination are clearly important. Belgium will endeavour to step up exchanges of best practice between the Member States of the European Union and to promote the integration of United Nations principles on child rights into European policies, as already happens to a certain extent (establishment of a European forum and approval of texts on child rights)”.

91. The National Commission on the Rights of the Child will invite the competent authorities to take the necessary steps to:

92. The National Commission on the Rights of the Child will call upon the Bureau of the Interdepartmental Coordination Unit for combating trafficking and smuggling of persons:

93. The National Commission on the Rights of the Child will invite the CIATTEH Management Committee to:

94. At the invitation of the National Commission on the Rights of the Child, all the competent authorities will take the initiatives necessary to mention the perpetrators as well as the victims in all statistics on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. This will apply to the police (main national database), prosecution services and the courts (registries), which will add codes for “child prostitution” and “illegal adoption” and make the fields for “age of victim” and “age of perpetrator” mandatory. Statistics will also be kept on convictions and cases in progress abroad where there is a link with Belgium.

95. At the invitation of the National Commission on the Rights of the Child, the competent authority will call upon the College of Principal Public Prosecutors to arrange for registration at the Eupen prosecution service.

96. Article 9.1 of the Optional Protocol stresses the need to adopt a preventive approach in relation to the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Information and awareness (see article 9.2 of the Optional Protocol) play an essential role in this prevention effort. In order to demonstrate clearly the special attention paid by the present report to the special vulnerability of certain children or groups of children to these phenomena, the present section will tackle separately the general prevention measures and the special prevention measures taken by the various levels of authority in Belgium.

97. Recommendation 24(f)^[17] of the concluding observations of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child on the second periodic report of Belgium on CRC relates to the strengthening of the reporting system, and the training of persons working with minor victims. The measures to monitor this recommendation consist of launching a number of initiatives in this respect, such as training for professionals, establishing civilian points of contact and electronic management of dossiers allowing a rapid exchange of information between services (such as between police forces or services within youth assistance). These initiatives are described in paragraphs 98, 101, 102, 106, 110, 111, 112, 130, 131, 132, 150, 152, 153, 200, 210, 211, 306 and 315.

98. The Belgian Safer Internet project, coordinated by Child Focus (see paragraph 40 above), is part of the European Commission’s Safer-Internet-Plus programme and brings together all partners able to work at national level for a safer internet. One of the goals of the Belgian Safer Internet project is to ensure that minors are safe on the internet, by means of studies, awareness campaigns targeting a broad audience and other action.

99. The platform’s website targets the most serious dangers that children and young people can be exposed to, on the internet and other communication channels such as mobile phones, SMS messages, etc.: child pornography, discrimination, sects, internet games, malware, etc. The website is being built in three main phases. The first phase is already complete and is aimed at parents and teachers. Teaching cards are available for the teaching profession. An information kit has been put together for families with children aged 6 to 12. It consists of a guide for parents and a light-hearted brochure for the whole family that tells the story of Céline and Julien explaining how to surf safely to their baby-sitter Camille. Parents and children can read it together. The safety kit contains useful information on how to make a computer secure, entertainment and downloading, online communication and cyber-harassment. In the manual for parents, they receive basic information and advice for supervising their child.

100. A campaign was launched in December 2002 on the prevention of sexual exploitation of minors over the internet. The aim is to alert young internet users, their parents and the teaching profession about the dangers of using unsecure internet. The campaign is an initiative of the Minister of Justice, the Flemish Minister for Education and Training, the Federal Computer Crime Unit of the Federal Police, Child Focus and VT4 (a commercial television channel). The campaign urged secure use of the internet, notably via TV spots, posters and a dedicated site: www.clicksafe.be.

101. Since 2003, some federal authorities (Home Affairs, Defence and the Federal Police), non-governmental organizations (Ecpat, Child Focus, Plan Belgique) and private- and public- sector businesses are working together to prevent child prostitution. This cooperation agreement was recently extended to include the Justice FPS (Crime Policy Service) and Development Cooperation (FPS Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation). In this context, it was also agreed to talk about “travelling abuse” rather than child prostitution. This is a unique cooperation exercise between several authorities and businesses aimed at prevented “travelling abuse”.

102. In 2004 and 2005, an awareness campaign was conducted against sexual exploitation of children. It was an initiative of the Federal Police and Ecpat Belgium in cooperation with Child Focus and some private- and public-sector businesses.^[18] A brochure and a web site www.stopprostitutionenfantine.be (www.stopkinderprostitutie.be) were produced for a wide audience. Besides its general objective of prevention, information and awareness, this campaign also laid emphasis on reporting incidents of sexual exploitation of children abroad. The campaign aimed to encourage the public to open their eyes and ears and to report incidents of child abuse, at all times and in all places, even if they occurred during a stay abroad where child prostitution is tolerated or rooted in local traditions. The campaign is addressed not only to tourists but also to anyone staying abroad for short or longer periods for business reasons. Never before has such an ambitious campaign, involving both private and public sectors, been launched in Europe. The cooperation continued and a new campaign was launched in 2007. A new poster and a new brochure were produced for it. In 2007, a European conference was organized on the theme of “travelling abusers in Europe”. By bringing together the travel industry, NGOs and the police forces, the aim was to optimize cooperation between the various services.

104. Finally, we would refer the reader to the Unicef “What do you think?” project and other awareness campaigns that Unicef conducts in the Flemish and French-speaking schools. Child trafficking is also one of the themes tackled in a mini-guide designed to stimulate debate in schools. In the province of Limbourg, several schools are working with the NGO “Stop the Traffik” (www.stopthetraffik.org).

105. Since December 1995, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been drawing the attention of all diplomatic posts and consulates, via an official circular, to the existence of penal provisions on extraterritoriality in relation to sex tourism. The representations must systematically request a police report if a Belgian is arrested for sexual abuse of a minor under 16 years of age. The representation is bound to notify the department in Brussels, both of the arrest and of the progress of the legal proceedings. All this factual information should enable the Belgian judiciary to assess whether it is competent to act based on the principle of extraterritoriality. The Minister for Foreign Affairs has also instructed embassies and consulates abroad to ask local authorities to keep them informed of any sexual abuse committed against Belgian minors.^[19]

106. In January 2008, officials of the Aliens Office responsible for this matter were trained in the Belgian approach and policy regarding trafficking in persons.

107. New training modules for police officers were introduced in February 2007. The new basic training programme for officers aims to teach them several important social skills for making contact, communicating or acting in the context of a dispute. This part of the training is designed to enable the prospective officer to assess correctly certain cultural influences when communicating with ethnic or cultural groups.

108. The new basic training programme for inspectors devotes 14 hours to action and observations in the event of racism or discrimination. The prospective officer learns to distinguish the various causes and also the prejudices regarding racism and discrimination (based on race, gender, political or religious convictions, etc.), the need to apply existing legislation and to explain it in a multicultural context, and the need to act appropriately. A training module has also been developed on the right to asylum, human rights and internal and external communication.

109. Furthermore, the Law of 25 March 2003, amending the Law of 8 August 1983 setting up a national register and the Law of 19 July 1991 on population registers and identity cards, introduces an electronic identity card, thereby ensuring more transparency for the authorities and citizens. It is possible to obtain free of charge an internet access card for use by children aged 12 and above, containing the data from their electronic identity card. This card enables the owner of a “chatbox” to check whether the users are really minors rather than adults trying to contact young people with malicious or deceitful intent.

110. Child Focus has set up a civilian contact point in Belgium for child pornography. Any child pornography material can be sent there. It can be reported via the website www.stopchildporno.be. This civilian contact point was set up under the European Commission’s “Safer Internet Plus” initiative and the Belgian Safer Internet project.

111. Child pornography can also be reported to the police forces. The official contact point of the Federal Police is: www.ecops.be. It is run by the Federal Computer Crime Unit (FCCU). The FCCU groups together the reports with a Belgian connection and sends them to the central “trafficking in persons” service. This service notifies the police of any report of sexual exploitation. This concerns both notifications to the FCCU via eCops and those from Child Focus. A cooperation agreement governs exchanges between Child Focus and the police and judiciary (see paragraph 69 above).

112. The central “trafficking in persons” service is also the judicial entry point for all reports of sexual exploitation of children not sent via eCops, such as reports by mail or telephone.

113. Since January 2008, a team of the central “trafficking in persons” service has been constantly browsing the internet to collect all possible information on the forms of trafficking and smuggling of persons and, essentially, trafficking and smuggling of children. It also pays special attention to sexual exploitation of children.

114. In 1999, agreements were also reached under cooperation arrangement between the Belgian judiciary and the access providers belong to the Belgian Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA). In this way users can directly report any illegal content either to the Federal Police or to the access provider’s own contact point. The latter can report the required information and so give the Federal Police the opportunity to examine the case.

115. The FCCU went through Second Life with a fine-tooth comb looking, among other things, for child pornography (visual representations). For the time being this is an exploratory mission searching for child pornography or other criminal offences.

116. The Central Federal Authority (ACF) of the Justice FPS has the goal of preventing illegal adoptions, making as many prospective adopters as possible aware of the adoption procedure applied in Belgium. A leaflet in the three national languages and a more detailed brochure (in Dutch and French) are available to explain the various aspects of adoption. Moreover, the service also sends reports to the central authorities of the Communities upon request. These opinions are based on experience gained with certain countries of origin. Finally, we would point out that, following a change in the law in 2005, a memo was sent to all Belgian embassies to inform them that Belgian visas or passports would no longer be issued unless they were approved and registered by ACF. Civil-registration officials were informed of the new rules by means of a circular.

117. As explained in paragraphs 217-219 of the third periodic report of Belgium on CRC, the Flemish Government attaches great importance to putting in place a policy of accessible and detailed information on minors, notably via the Vlaams Informatiepunt Jeugd (Flemish youth information point) and by subsidizing^[20] the Kinder− en Jongerentelefoon (Child and youth helpline) and the not-for-profit associations Kinderrechtswinkel and In Petto (http://www.inpetto-jeugddienst.be/).^[21] In 2006, the Kinder− en Jongerentelefoon prepared its own information guide for 12-year-olds (and another in 2008 via the Vlaams InformatiePunt Jeugd). It warned them against “loverboys” (http://www.life1215.be/html/ikendeander/relatiesenseksualiteit/kijkuitvoorloverboys/). In the same context, the Kinderrechtwinkels (Child rights shops) offer an information guide for 12-year-olds and In Petto has prepared a guide for 18-year-olds. These all mention the websites (http://www.jongereninformatie.be/ and http://www.kidsgids.be/).

118. The subsidies granted to Jeugd en Seksualiteit (youth and sexuality) (http://www.jeugdenseksualiteit.be/) and the Kinderrechtenhuis (Child rights centre) in Alken (http://users.pandora.be/kinderrechtenhuis) are examples related to the specific subject matter of the Protocol. Jeugd en Seksualiteit offers children and young people - and persons working with them - information, services and training on how to enjoy a happy and healthy sex life. The Child Rights Centre in Alken offers training in child rights and is a dynamic centre (using the empowerment method) offering services to children, young people and anyone working with this target group, and as a project centre.

119. The Flemish health policy includes Sensoa, the centre for expertise on AIDS and sexual health. The main aim of the association, regarding the subject matter of the Optional Protocol, is to warn children by publishing articles about sexual violence and conducting projects with children and young people on deviant sexual behaviours, to help them tackle this kind of situation. “Over de grens” (over the limit), published in 2008, is a guide on deviant sexual behaviour for parents, educators and persons looking after children. It can be consulted at the following address: http://sensoa.be/downloadfiles_shop/algemene_gids_grensoverschr_gedrag.pdf.

120. Pursuant to the new Decree of 2 March 2007 on the status of travel agencies (Belgian Government Gazette, 5 April 2007), Flanders is devising its own draft code of conduct containing a clause on child prostitution. In order to obtain the required opinions, the Flemish Government has agreed in principle to the inclusion of the following provision in the implementing order of the Flemish Government of 19 July 2007:

“Section VI. Provisions relating to the code of conductArticle 31 bis. License-holders are bound: (...) 2. to refuse to work on travel involving unlawful practices, notably child prostitution and trafficking in persons; 3. to subscribe to the principles of sustainable tourism, as defined in the Global code of ethics for tourism”.

121. The Global code of ethics for tourism was officially signed in 2008. Flanders thus undertakes to inform tourism businesses of the principles of the code. One of the 10 principles of the Code, Tourism as a vehicle for individual and collective fulfilment, also covers the fight against trafficking in children and child prostitution: “Tourism activities should respect the equality of men and women; they should promote human rights and, more particularly, the individual rights of the most vulnerable groups, notably children, the elderly, the handicapped, ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples. The exploitation of human beings in any form, (...) conflicts with the fundamental aims of tourism.”

122. In 2006, the training service of the Toerisme Vlaanderen agency also devised the syllabus “Vorm-de-vormers-cursus voor reis(bege)leiders en gidsen” (Training trainers – course for tour leaders and guides). It draws attention to the relationship between the sex industry (in particular trafficking in children and child prostitution) and the travel industry.

123. The Toerisme Vlaanderen agency is responsible for implementing Flemish tourism policy. The service has hired a project leader in the field of sustainable tourism who also incidentally deals with the issue of child prostitution. The Toerisme Vlaanderen agency is informed by ECPAT of its campaigns. The agency has also undertaken to promote these campaigns with Flemish tour operators. Each professional association of tour operators also has direct contacts with ECPAT. Most tour operators have included rules on this issue in their code of conduct.

124. On 8 October 1998, the Flemish community concluded a cooperation agreement with the Federal Government on the support and treatment of sex offenders.^[22] The aim of this cooperation agreement is to prevent reoffending and help them to reintegrate into society without being stigmatized. The Flemish community has approved specialist structures which have undertaken to support and treat sex offenders, under judicial supervision, in mental health centres (CGGs) and general social assistance centres (CAWs). The figures (see paragraph 50 above) of the support committee show that the structures for support and treatment of sex offenders in Flanders are still treating many people who download child pornography but few clients of child prostitutes.

125. The Flemish authorities are aware of the abuses that may take place in the context of young people engaged in sporting activities. It is also important to prevent all practices that might foster trafficking in children. It therefore attaches great importance to the integration of ethical principles, including child rights, into sporting activities for young people. The “panathlon” declaration^[23] is an example of this. The Flemish Government has also decided to extend, by means of a decree, medically safe sports to include ethically justified sports. In a competitive environment, such a prevention policy is important to prevent child abuse, including sexual abuse.

126. Based on the work of the working groups at the symposium “Sport op jongerenmaat” (Sport for youth), held in 2006, 10 measures were taken to make sport more open to young people. These measures are listed on the website www.sportopjongerenmaat.be. In particular, there is an undertaking to create an independent contact point for victims of abuse in sport, and to work towards the extension of the decree on medically justified sports practice and the decree on sports federations, by introducing safeguards for the mental and physical integrity of children and young people.

127. Regarding the audiovisual policy of the Flemish authorities, we would first refer the reader to paragraph 220 of the third periodic report of Belgium on CRC. Firstly, it provides for protection measures. For instance, broadcasters may not transmit programmes liable to have an adverse effect on the physical, mental or moral development of minors, notably programmes including scenes of pornography or gratuitous violence. This prohibition applies unless programming times are chosen or technical measures introduced to prevent minors from seeing or listening to these programmes in normal circumstances. If such programmes are broadcast without encryption, they must be preceded by an audible warning. These measures are a transposition of the provisions of the EU “Television without Frontiers” Directive. The Vlaams Commissariaat voor de Media (Flemish Commissariat for the Media) was set up to check that these provisions are being complied with, by a decree of 17 December 1997.

128. In elementary education and the first degree of secondary education, a new final extracurricular objective was introduced in 2007 for information and communication technology (ICT) regarding the safe, justified and effective use of ICT (do not open dubious e-mails, do not download illegal software, do not give personal data to strangers, etc.).

129. To support the teaching profession in its mission to teach children and young people how to use the internet, a major campaign was launched in autumn 2007 in cooperation with the experts and organizations involved in Safer-Internet (see paragraph 98 above). Teachers, management and ICT coordinators in all schools received a brochure containing up-to-date information, advice, course materials and guidelines on the safe use of ICT at school, and a related CD-ROM containing five educational modules on specific themes for use in a lesson, short awareness-raising films, brochures on various aspects of safe use of ICTs and an exhaustive list from several organizations entitled “Is my school cybersafe?” and an example of an agreement between the school and pupils on the use of ICT equipment. Moreover, a Sensoa educational module on the internet and sexuality is available (http://www.sensoa.be/downloadfiles_shop/seks_en_internet.pdf) and reference may be made to the website www.gezinsbond.be/veiligonline (for parents) which is funded by the Education Administration and developed on the basis of Safer Internet (see paragraph 98 above). The Education Administration, with the permission of the Dutch Ministry of the Economy, has also made a Flemish version of the highly successful “Diploma Veilig Internet” (safe internet diploma), which teaches young people of various age groups computing knowledge and skills, safe browsing and chatting, etc. A website has been developed to help teachers, parents, staff at pupil care centres!!, health coordinators, etc. to improve their capabilities for protecting children (http://www.ond.vlaanderen.be/weerbaar/).

130. Kind en Gezin has prepared guidelines for the members of its regional team (regional nurses and family carers) on reporting and action in educational situations of concern, especially with a view to clearly delimiting responsibilities, so that educational situations of concern can be detected quickly and an appropriate support solution offered without delay. The guidelines are explained in a training course lasting 2-1/2 days. Cooperation between the regional teams and doctors and consultation surgeries!!, support by key personnel, retraining by means of an e-learning module on the themes (and continuous training in future), stimulate their implementation.

131. In 2007 the not-for-profit association Steunpunt Algemeen Welzijnswerk (subsidized by the Flemish authorities) organized two training courses on the treatment of traumas for social caseworkers working in general social care. In mid-2008, training was given on social care for young people who had been victims of a single sexual attack. In the near future, spending will be stepped up on “social care for children and young people” and “victimology of traumatic events”, themes laid down in the Steunpunt training agenda. Moreover, social caseworkers regularly have recourse to commercially available training on subjects such as treating grief and trauma in children and young people.

132. A brochure “Prostitution in a minor mode” was published and sent to youth care professionals. The brochure, and the research mentioned above, can be downloaded from the website at www.carrefoursaj.be. Soon after, on 15 May 2007, a symposium was held entitled “Prostitution in a minor mode: appropriate social responses”. The proceedings of the symposium can be downloaded from the same website.

133. In the French-speaking community, there are a number of provisions and services designed to inform young people in the broad sense and also to inform them about their rights. Thus, the telephone help lines for children in the French-speaking community which were originally a service for professionals to listen to children experiencing abuse, grew into a more general prevention effort for all young people needing it. For more information on line 103, please refer to paragraph 223 of the third report of Belgium on CRC. The youth information centres, a central player in the Decree on youth centres, are decentralized services which aim to obtain young people’s approval for the information and information tools in order to be pluralist, independent and exhaustive. They carry out two functions: replying to immediate questions; and encouraging young people to become aware of the social, cultural, economic and political factors in their lives. The main goal of the Youth Rights Services (SDJ), recognized as an assistance service in an open environment, is to teach young people and families more about their rights. If necessary, the SDJ take action with institutions, thereby facilitating procedures in or out of court. The SDJ fight for a society that is more respectful of the rights of children, young people and families.

134. In the Walloon Region, the tasks of the family planning centres in connection with relationships and emotional and sex life include caring for, informing and supporting individuals, couples and families, and the development of a prevention policy.

135. In the French-speaking community, there are currently two programmes covering emotional and sex life:

136. In this connection, a working group was set up to consider a cooperation agreement designed to foster widespread take-up of these events. It is composed of representatives of the ministers concerned: the ministers of the French-speaking community responsible for health, education and equal opportunities, and the ministers responsible for supervising the planning centres for Cocof and the Walloon Region.

137. A series of publications by the unit for coordinating assistance for victims of abuse for the general public look at issues such as sex and emotional life from the point of view of respecting intimacy and distance. Similarly, the book entitled “Talking about sex with children” is a working tool available to professionals working with children.

138. The Births and Children Office (ONE) of the French-speaking community is launching a major campaign to combat child abuse, through medical and social workers and also SOS Enfants teams; it subsidizes and supervises their work. Together, they form “Action Enfance Maltraitée” (Action against child abuse), coordinated by the SOS Enfants service. The Support Committee for Abused Children (CAEM) is the internal scientific reference point of the ONE for all matters concerning assistance to abused children and the SOS Enfants teams. The data gathered each year by the SOS teams are published in the ONE annual report.

139. The youth assistance services of the Communities take care of minors in danger. In particular, certain pilot projects have been set up specifically to take care of the victims of sexual abuse or minor sex offenders. For example, Groupados is a special unit of the SOS Enfants team of the ULB (Université Libre de Bruxelles) at the Saint Pierre University Hospital set up in 2001 to handle adolescents with sexually abusive behaviour. In view of the importance of the project and the issues for young people, the unit also set up a research facility. The Kaleidos not-for-profit association was founded by the parent association Parole d’Enfants which provides clinical care for child victims of sexual abuse.

140. The unit for coordinating assistance for victims of abuse has published two discussion papers for professionals working on child abuse, which help to understand the consequences of excessive media coverage and the growth of the virtual world on child development. Indirectly therefore, these working tools enable professionals offering assistance to victims of abuse to send out strong messages for preventing the practices proscribed by the Optional Protocol, notably the risks for minors of being exposed to pornographic images or individual or networks of paedophiles. The materials consist of two discussion papers entitled “l’enfant face aux medias: quelle responsabilité sociale et familiale?” (children and the media: our social and family responsibility) and “les dinosaures au pays du net” (dinosaurs in cyberspace).

141. The French-speaking community is implementing measures in the broadcasting and media services to ban the production and broadcasting of material publicizing proscribed practices regarding the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. It takes over and strictly applies national, federal and Community rules (articles 9 and 10 of the Decree on broadcasting) regarding the total ban on advertising for child pornography.

142. In line with that policy, Article 7 of the Order of 13 October 2006 approving the management contract of the Belgian French-speaking radio and television company (RTBF) for 2007-2011 provides that “RTBF undertakes in general not to produce, co-produce, buy, programme or broadcast unlawful audiovisual programme content”. It also stipulates that the “the authorization and monitoring panel of the Supreme Broadcasting Council shall ensure that broadcasting laws, decrees and regulations are duly complied with and shall prosecute any infringements”.

143. Following the entry into force on 1 January 2005 of the new television station particulars, in the same year the General Audiovisual and Multimedia Service published “Les préhistos jouent aux logos» (The cavemen play at logos), a comic strip for children aged 8 to 12 and accompanied by an information leaflet for use by parents and teachers, and in 2006 “Les pratiques publicitaires à la télévision − Quelques questions” (Television advertising practice – some questions), a publication for the general public.

144. The Supreme Broadcasting Council (CSA) is the broadcasting regulatory authority. It also delivers opinions and adopts recommendations. These include the code of ethics for broadcasting advertising to children, intended for both television and radio broadcasting producers, and the recommendation of 21 June 2006 on the protection of minors. In the code of ethics for broadcasting advertising to children, the television stations undertake to abide by certain principles regarding advertising intended for children. In 2007 the CSA’s Opinions Panel adopted a new code of ethics for broadcasting advertising to children. The new provisions of the regulations aim to protect children from certain psychological effects of advertising messages such as those linked to children in sexual poses or attitudes or related to excessively insistent demands. They also stress the importance for certain advertising content or practices (characters, play, sponsorship) of the principle of the separation between advertising and programmes immediately before or immediately after broadcasts for children. They recommend a buffer zone of five minutes on either side for specific advertising messages not intended for children aged under 12.

145. The code adopted has no binding force. It was however debated and adopted by the stakeholders concerned.

146. The protection of minors and the associated concepts vary over time and space. This explains why they are not defined in either the Decree or the Television without Frontiers Directive. It is for the regulator to apply these concepts to resolve the questions and difficulties of service provider. The Recommendation of 21 June 2006 on the protection of minors was issued in that perspective.

147. The French-speaking community has shown a great deal of interest in the issue of protecting children from illegal or harmful information on the internet. It first aimed to develop measures to ensure the education and development of socially responsible and critical attitudes in the use of information and communication technology (ICT) by young people. One example is the ICT passport which has the objective of lower-secondary-school pupils acquiring minimum computer skills. In particular this teaching project offers a learning module entitled “Adopting a socially responsible attitude to computer tools and data”. It also focuses on developing its training courses for teachers in new technology. The courses offered include education in the media and the development of socially responsible attitudes on the net. The French-speaking community’s official site (www.enseignement.be) also offers a wealth of information on the use of these new technologies by young people and teachers. Finally the French-speaking community offers interested schools a powerful filtering system which does not hamper the way young people use the internet. Filtering is one possible response to the issue of protecting young people on the internet, educating them being another.

148. The Minister for Childhood, Youth Care and Health in the French-speaking community has commissioned a pilot project in cooperation with not-for-profit associations working in the field in order to assess the extent of child prostitution and to obtain appropriate recommendations on the issue. The study, entitled “young prostitutes and social responses: an inventory”, was carried out by Myriam. It presented its conclusions and recommendations during 2006 and is therefore a working tool for improving policy and action on child prostitution (see paragraph 55 above).^[24]

149. CODE (see paragraph 87 above), which is subsidized by the French-speaking community, has completed research on the following in particular: a research project on the development of a social response to the issue of child begging in Belgium (Brussels, 2003), and a pilot research project on raising awareness among the public authorities of the Roma community and school integration of Roma children (Brussels, February-July 2004). These two research reports can be downloaded from the CODE website (www.lacode.be) under the heading “Publications”. In this context, CODE has looked into the issue of networks in Belgium and the relevance of the existing legislation to combat any use of a child in begging. According to information received in 2003 and 2004 during two research projects conducted by CODE with the competent authorities and grass-roots associations, most minors begging in the French-speaking community and the Brussels-Capital Region are foreign minors accompanied by their parents or family members in the broad sense, originating from central or east European countries or of Roma origin. Some of them are unaccompanied minors from the same countries, but they are a minority. Most of them are not legally entitled to stay in the country and receive no social welfare benefits (or social assistance). Begging is therefore an everyday means of survival for them. Neither of these two research projects was able to demonstrate the existence of child begging networks.

151. These working groups had the objectives of exchanging experience on the diagnostic tools each one used and highlighting the clinical signs, knowledge and specialist knowledge on abuse peculiar to each. These exchanges should also enable each professional group to take stock of the developments in each function since the teams were founded, the specific nature of that function within the multidisciplinary team and also to work on each individual’s representation, based on his or her place as a member of the SOS Enfants teams.

152. Some 15 training groups were made permanent in 2004, bringing together players in the various structures that have a role in the field of abuse. They are organized in the judicial districts of the French-speaking community. Specifically, it involves setting up multidisciplinary cross-cutting training groups at local or regional level (10 sessions). Alongside the “general” groups described above, other more specific groups are organized:

153. In 2005, the Agora group, composed of members of associations, representatives of the central administration, a representative of the minister responsible for youth care, delegates of the SAJ and judicial protection services (SPJ), youth-care counsellors and directors, drafted a paper on the first contact between a family and an SAJ. This paper highlights the conditions required to build a forward-looking partnership with families. It was widely circulated in the youth care sector after a symposium. It is used as a reference for the seminars that the administration regularly holds with youth care counsellors and directors with a view to harmonizing practices, and as a basic text in training organized for the sector.

154. In 2007, the Agora group continued its monthly meetings focusing essentially on exchanges on the initial contact of young people and families with the judicial protection service.

155. The group discussed the sense of grave danger and powerlessness that parents feel on account of the judicial procedure and the use of force.

156. Lectures and study workshops, along with an annual seminar, have also been organized in the French-speaking community since 2005, in partnership with professional field workers.

157. The main relevant legislative text in the German-speaking community is the Decree on youth care of 20 March 1995.

158. Article 4 of the Decree of the German-speaking community on broadcasting and cinema performances of 27 June 2005 prohibits “open-loop television broadcasters, radio broadcasters and providers of services other than television and radio from broadcasting (...) material liable seriously to harm the physical, mental or moral development of minors, notably any containing pornographic scenes or gratuitous violence. This provision also covers other programmes liable seriously to harm the physical, mental or moral development of minors, unless the timing of the broadcast or other technical means are used to prevent minors viewing or listening to this material in normal circumstances. Furthermore, where such broadcasts are transmitted free-to-air, they shall be preceded by an acoustic signal and shall be identified throughout the broadcast by optical means.”

159. Article 5 of the decree on youth care of 19 May 2008 which will enter force on 1 January 2009 provides for the setting-up of a youth care support committee with the main task of prevention in youth care and holding a forum on youth care every two years. The support committee will be coordinated by a Ministry official working in cooperation with the Ministry’s departments of education, health and youth.

160. Aware of the need for a public policy for the reception of new arrivals in the Brussels-Capital Region, the ministers of the College responsible for assistance to individuals together commissioned a study on the subject with a view to drawing up an inventory of the existing provisions, assessing needs and making recommendations. The study, conducted by Nathalie de Wergifosse, project leader at CIRE, is exploring a number of avenues to devise approaches that take account of the situation in Brussels and to propose a coordinated public policy for new arrivals. A number of initiatives have already been implemented, and the opening-up of an overall debate on the policy to be adopted for new arrivals will help to coordinate policy for Brussels.

161. Recommendation 30(e)^[25] of the concluding observations of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child on the second periodic report of Belgium on CRC is to undertake awareness-raising campaigns in countries of origin and transit. The measures to follow up this recommendation consist of launching several programmes to that end. They are described in paragraphs 163, 164, 165, 166 and 167.

162. Recommendation 30(f)^[26] of the concluding observations of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child on the second periodic report of Belgium on CRC is to expand cooperation with countries of origin and transit. The measures to follow up this recommendation consist in this case of launching several international programmes to that end. They are described in paragraphs 163 and 166.

163. In this multilateral context, Belgium has been funding two Unicef programmes for several years by means of a voluntary contribution:

164. In the context of the prevention of child labour, specific programmes have been funded in Morocco and set up by ILO, Unicef and Moroccan NGOs (AMESIP, AKDER). In particular this includes an International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) which specifically targets children working in Moroccan craft trades. This has enabled several children under 15 years of age to leave the circuit and receive appropriate training.

165. Many minors have been abandoned and hence have become street children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (RDC). With the help of Belgium, IOM has launched a special programme in RDC to help them return to a family environment on a sustainable basis.

166. The Directorate-General for Development Cooperation (DGCD) has a specific budget line for supporting decentralized bodies. The section on the partnership in RDC relates in particular to setting up civil status registers. The programme is part of the extension of the consolidation of experience acquired in Lubumbashi and Kinshasa. A five-year programme for 2008-2012 is being prepared covering the towns of Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, Kalamu, Kasa Vubu, Massina, Limete, Ngaliema and Mbanza-Ngungu (also the district). At the end of this five-year period, the registers will include 50 per cent of the population of these towns. This programme basically responds to the recommendations made by the Belgian Senate to set up registers to enable the children to benefit from legal recognition and to help combat child trafficking.

167. Support was also given to a programme of common radio rooms that Unicef has launched in several African countries. Its main aim is to provide schooling and promote child rights.

168. The strategic note “Respecting Child Rights in Development Cooperation”, presented to the Federal Parliament in 2008, mentions a number of measures and practices for protecting children in Belgian Cooperation partner countries against situations of abuse, whether trafficking, prostitution and pornography, or other forms of exploitation such as dangerous forms of child labour. These measures include registering births, schooling, the right to food security, combating impunity, protecting victims of trafficking, combating the recruitment of child soldiers and protecting children in armed conflicts.

169. We would refer the reader to paragraph 616 of the third periodic report of Belgium on CRC for information on Belgium’s contribution of 731 000 euros to the IPEC programme between 2001 and 2005.

(ii) Prevention campaigns designed to consolidate the status of women and children

170. In accordance with the law of 25 May 1999, the main goal of Belgian international cooperation is to realize sustainable human development by combating poverty.

171. Belgium works by applying the partnership concept and based on criteria of the relevance of development. A specific strategic note was drafted on equal opportunities for men and women. It is looking into possibilities for integrating it into national strategies for combating poverty.

172. “Jongeren tegen onaanvaardbare kinderarbeid” (Young people against unacceptable child labour, http://docs.vlaanderen.be/ontwikkelingssamenwerking/se_projecten.html) is an education for development project subsidized pursuant to the Decree of 2 April 2004 on education for development (see paragraph 67 of the third report of Belgium on CRC).

173. Staff at the Child rights centre in Alken offer a range of courses in schools and social activities for young people in Flanders. The project targets young people aged 15 to 25 and is aimed especially at young people in risk situations. A travelling exhibition (infomobiel) offered a variety of information and training incorporating the gender dimension. The North-South link takes the form of asking (former) child workers from the South to contribute their experience as experts. Additionally, young Flemings who have worked for long periods in the South have been invited and are prepared to share their experiences and opinions on child labour, in their capacity as eyewitnesses. The project aims to open a debate in Belgium (influence of the policy) on this issue, in cooperation with trade unions and the labour market, giving child workers a face and a voice so as to succeed in implementing ILO Convention No. 182.

174. We would refer the reader to paragraph 72 of the third periodic report of Belgium on CRC for more details of the education campaign on child labour which was sent in 2003 to all teachers working in education in the French-speaking community.

175. In the context of bilateral projects, the French-speaking community is supporting a number of projects on human rights in general and child rights in particular, such as a project in Senegal for training magistrates in child rights and protection and, in Bolivia, a project for drawing up a plan for prevention and monitoring of victims on the issues of domestic and sexual violence.

176. Under their programmes for backing players in indirect development cooperation, the French-speaking community and the Walloon Region are also supporting projects implemented by development NGOs or Walloon and Brussels players in decentralized cooperation. Some of the proposed projects aim to protect children and reintegrate street children, child soldiers and orphans. For instance, co-funding was provided for a project to strengthen in-service education tools on the issue of prostitution and STDs/AIDS in upper-secondary schools in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and for an awareness campaign on slave labour in Mauritania.

177. The emerging challenges clearly also include the issue of censoring certain websites: banning access to certain sites, taking prompt action and improving education in the media and improving support for parenting to improve supervision for young people.

178. At the invitation of the National Commission on the Rights of the Child, the competent authorities will optimize detection of child trafficking by means of systematic information to all the front-line players, police officers and youth care staff liable to come into contact with victims, and all persons in charge of receiving and supporting unaccompanied minors, especially guardians. Moreover, the existing training and in-service training offered within the police force, notably to investigators specializing in trafficking in persons and border-control officers, will be extended to reference persons for trafficking in persons in other sectors, and to guardians who par excellence have a duty of reporting, in the context of their in-service training.

179. With the perspective of optimizing policy, that training will also be systematically given, on the recommendation of the National Commission on the Rights of the Child, in the context of training for all professionals in contact with minors.

180. On the recommendation of the National Commission on the Rights of the Child, there are plans to expand general access to study grants and to bridging classes for minors who are (alleged) victims of trafficking, whatever their nationality of administrative status. This already happens at certain levels of authority.

181. To offset limited career options in secondary education in the French-speaking community, where necessary the possibility will be considered of issuing pupils enrolled in bridging classes with a certificate of eligibility of the Integration Council. The broader objective is to enable all pupils who have no or insufficient knowledge of the teaching language to begin or continue their education with a success rate comparable to that of native pupils, by spending time to acquire a sufficient command of the teaching language.

182. The competent authorities will also consider equality of opportunities on a routine basis in education. Following that examination, appropriate measures will be taken. Among other things, the examination will cover keeping young people in a lower grade because they are unable to produce a school achievement certificate and refusal of schools to register young people due to be coordinated in a centre in another region.

183. Regarding social integration, the rules for social welfare grants and for guaranteed family allowances for minor mothers with children will be examined notably in the light of the principle of equal opportunities. Moreover, in order to foster constant attention to discrimination and, more generally, in the interest of victims of trafficking in persons and unaccompanied minors, care for this vulnerable group will be better integrated into policy by providing, in each Community, a forum for consultation to enable points of friction to be discussed.

184. In the context of an overall policy of social inclusion, the competent authorities will give sufficient attention to precarious situations such as persons who may have to leave Belgium on account of their administrative status.

185. At the invitation of the National Commission on the Rights of the Child, the competent authorities are to ensure that a phenomenological study is carried out on child prostitution and the meaning of that concept for young people, and on pimps, paying special attention to the situation of Belgian girl or boy prostitutes, focusing on sexual exploitation, but looking also at the various ways in which this experience manifests itself, with a view to making further progress on prevention.

186. In the context of the fight against child pornography, the competent authorities are to establish a legal framework for the application of technology to block websites. The other initiatives announced in the national action plan will be carried out alongside this.

187. At the invitation of the National Commission on the Rights of the Child, the competent authorities will endeavour to establish a partnership with the forums, with a view to exercising tighter control over access to internet chat rooms. In addition, all internet chat rooms will be contacted and asked to put a link on their home pages to a telephone help line: “Kinder− en jongerentelefoon” in the Flemish community (No. 102), the “écouteenfants” service in the French-speaking community (No. 103) and the “Telefonhilfe” service of the German-speaking community (No. 108 – for adults and children).

188. The competent authorities will take the necessary steps to ensure that users of child pornography are not only punished but also have access to psychosocial support.

189. In combating sex tourism, the competent authorities prefer the tourist industry to take responsibility for its actions and regulate itself, with industry professionals putting pressure on one another and developing good practices in this area. However, the formal ban on taking any part in trips that invest in child prostitution or trafficking in persons is essential. Depending on the effectiveness of the current legal provisions, each level of authority will consider extending this ban. This exercise is already at a very advanced stage at certain levels of authority.

190. In combating sex tourism, the competent authorities prefer the tourist industry to take responsibility for its actions and regulate itself, with industry professionals putting pressure on one another and developing good practices in this area. However, the formal ban on taking any part in trips that invest in child prostitution or trafficking in persons is essential. Depending on the effectiveness of the current legal provisions, each level of authority will consider extending this ban. This exercise is already at a very advanced stage at certain levels of authority.

191. Since the adoption of the Act for the Elimination of Trafficking in Persons of 13 April and child pornography, trafficking in persons may be prosecuted as a criminal offence under Belgian law. Therefore, in accordance with article 3.1(a) of the Optional Protocol, child trafficking has become a criminal offence.

192. The Law of 10 August 2005 (see annex 6) amending various provisions to strengthen the fight against trafficking and smuggling of persons and against the practices of exploiting landlords made the necessary changes to offences relating to trafficking and smuggling of persons to bring national law into line with international standards.

193. The crime of trafficking in persons relates to offences in which a natural or legal person recruits, transports, harbours or receives a person, directly or through an intermediary, in any way whatsoever, using certain means of persuasion or certain characteristic methods, with the aim or consequence of exploiting the person concerned.

194. Exploitation may be sexual (child pornography, exploitation of prostitution) or economic (labour exploitation, begging, forced delinquency or organ trafficking). The offence is punishable by a prison sentence of up to five years and a fine of 500 to 50 000 euros. It was introduced into the Penal Code in 2005 and since then has afforded protection for all victims, of whatever nationality, and no longer foreigners only, as was the case under the old rules.

195. Involving minors in trafficking in persons is now regarded as an aggravating circumstance. Such acts are punishable by a prison sentence of 10 to 15 years and a fine of 1 000 to 100 000 euros.

196. The Laws of 1995 on trafficking in persons and child pornography and on child sexual abuse laid down penalties for sexual abuse committed against children, in accordance with article 3.1(a)(i) of the Optional Protocol. The Law of 28 November 2000 on the penal protection of minors supplemented this legislative arsenal. We would refer the reader to paragraph 625 of the third periodic report of Belgium on CRC for more detailed information on the provisions relating to better protection of victims, more stringent penalties on account of the introduction of new aggravating circumstances, the introduction of new offences (such as ritual sexual mutilation), the extension of the extraterritorial competence of the Belgian courts and tribunals and the introduction of audiovisual recording of minor victims or witnesses of various types of abuse.

197. In order to be exhaustive, reference should be made in this context to the Law of 10 August 2005 (see annex 6) which punishes child trafficking carried out with the clear intention of sexual exploitation (child pornography, exploitation of prostitution) (see paragraph 192 above).

198. Belgium has a very comprehensive legislative arsenal concerning child labour (up to age 15, i.e. while the child is obliged to attend school full time) and young people (aged 15 to 18 or 21).^[27] The general principle is that child labour is prohibited. In exceptional cases, activities forming part of a child’s education or training are allowed, i.e. activities for which an exemption is allowed (such as participation of children in cultural performances as actors, extras or singers, etc.). There are specific regulations regarding the duration and conditions of child labour.

199. In order to be exhaustive, the reader is once again referred in this context, to the Law of 10 August 2005 (see annex 6).

200. In March 2007, the Federal State Secretary for public undertakings asked the boards of directors of all public undertakings to conduct an audit with a view to drawing up an action plan on the social responsibility of the undertakings. One area of the study related to the way in which public undertakings select their suppliers and, especially, whether they check that their potential suppliers abide by the rules of the International Labour Organization, notably those prohibiting child labour.

201. The Law of 27 February 2002 on the promotion of socially responsible production provides for the possibility of awarding a social label to businesses offering socially responsible products on the Belgian market. Businesses apply to the Minister for Economic Affairs.

202. The basic criteria for awarding the label relate to compliance with the rules laid down in the basic ILO conventions, including article 3, paragraph 2(5), of the Law on the minimum working age for children (C138, the Minimum Age Convention, 1973) and the prohibition of the worst forms of child labour (C182, the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999).

203. The Law set up a committee on socially responsible production, which takes part in the procedure for awarding the label and carries out the relevant checks. The conditions for the award of the label are laid down in a Royal Decree.^[28]

204. A business wishing to obtain a label must commission a social audit company to check its whole production cycle, including subcontractors and suppliers. There is a specification setting out the items to be checked.

205. The social label helps consumers to choose products made without using child labour. In recent years, the federal authority has taken the following steps to promote the social label:

206. Article 3.1(a)(i)b of the Optional Protocol provides that the sale of children, offering, delivering or accepting a child for the purpose of the transfer of organs of the child for profit, must be fully covered under criminal or penal law.

207. Pursuant to the Law of 13 June 1986 on organ removals and transplants^[29] the removal of people’s organs without consent, whether from a minor or an adult, is punishable by a prison sentence of three months to one year and a fine or either of those penalties. The description of the offence of assault and battery (article 398 of the Penal Code) allows for a longer sentence of two years to be handed down where the victim is a minor (article 405 bis of the Penal Code). The Law of 10 August 2005 (see annex 6), which punishes child trafficking with a clearly defined intent, such as organ trafficking, is also important. Article 433 septies of the Penal Code also provides for a general aggravating circumstance if the victim is a minor.

208. The Laws of 1995 on trafficking in persons and child pornography, and on child sexual abuse laid down penalties for sexual abuse committed against children, in accordance with article 3.1(a)(i) of the Optional Protocol. The Law of 28 November 2000 (see annex 7) on the penal protection of minors supplemented this legislative arsenal. All minor victims of prostitution were thus offered better protection, with no distinction as to age. Since then the Penal Code laid down a penalty for anyone instigating, fostering or facilitating prostitution by a minor of a prison sentence of five to ten years and a fine of 500 to 25 000 euros. The younger the minor, the more severe the penalty. If the minor is under 16 years of age, the perpetrator is sentenced to ten to fifteen years’ imprisonment and a fine of 500 to 50 000 euros. If the minor is under 14 years of age, the prison sentence is fifteen to twenty years and the fine is 1 000 to 100 000 euros.

210. Such persons will be punished with a prison sentence of ten to fifteen years and a fine of 1 000 to 10 000 euros. The younger the minor, the more severe the penalty. Where the offences are committed in relation to minors under 16 years of age, the perpetrator is sentenced to fifteen to twenty years’ imprisonment and a fine of 1 000 to 100 000 euros.

211. Anyone aiding or abetting immoral acts or prostitution by a minor will also be prosecuted. They may be sentenced to one month to two years in prison and a fine of 100 to 200 000 euros.

212. Persons convicted for any of the above-mentioned offences in respect of a minor or involving a minor, may be banned, for one to twenty years, from:

1. Taking part, in any capacity, in education in a public or private institution catering for minors;

2. Taking part, as a volunteer member, member of the permanent or contract staff, or a member of the administrative and management bodies, of any legal person or de facto association that has a principal activity involving minors;

213. In view of the definition of child pornography in the Optional Protocol (see paragraph 20 above), Belgium did not want its ratification to restrict the freedom of the printed (written) press. Belgium therefore included a statement in the law of assent of 9 February 2006. According to that statement, “child pornography” means any visual representation of a child engaging in real or simulated sexual activities, or of a visual representation of the sexual parts of a child primarily for sexual purposes.

214. Article 383 bis of the Penal Code sanctions the possession of, trade in or distribution and production of child pornography materials.

215. Anyone showing, selling, renting, distributing, broadcasting or supplying emblems, objects, films, photographs, slides or other visual media representing sexual positions or acts of a pornographic nature, involving or presenting minors, or, for trade or distribution of such items, manufacturing or keeping, importing or having imported, delivered to a carrier or distributor, shall be sentenced to five to ten years’ imprisonment and a fine of 500 to 10 000 euros.

216. The above-mentioned offence will be punishable by ten to fifteen years’ imprisonment and a fine of 500 to 50 000 euros, where it constitutes an act of participation in the main or accessory activity of an association, whether or not the guilty party is a director thereof.

217. Anyone knowingly possessing such emblems, objects, films, photographs, slides or other visual media will be sentenced to one month to one years’ imprisonment and a fine of 100 to 1 000 euros.

218. Any conviction for any of the above acts, perpetrated against or involving a minor, may entail a restriction of the rights referred to in paragraph 208, for a period of one to twenty years.

219. In general, it is clear from the above that Belgian law imposes sentences for the various above-mentioned offences that take into account their grave nature, in accordance with article 4.3 of the Optional Protocol.

(iv) Penalties for attempting to commit or complicity or participation in the above-mentioned offences

220. In accordance with article 3.2 of the Optional Protocol, attempts to commit or complicity or participation in the above-mentioned offences are punishable under the Penal Code.

221. Article 380 ter of the Penal Code refers to four types of illegal advertising: advertising to offer sexual services involving minors (paragraph 1), advertising for sexual services provided by a means of telecommunication (paragraph 2), adverting for prostitution (paragraph 3 (1)) and advertising for sex tourism (paragraph 3(2)).

222. In this case, an offer of sexual services need not necessarily have a direct or indirect lucrative aim, as the nature of the punishable offence takes no account of this factor.

223. Anyone advertising to offer sexual services involving minors will be sentenced to two months to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of 200 to 2 000 euros. Where advertising is intended or has the direct or indirect effect of facilitating prostitution or immoral acts by a minor, or exploitation of a minor for sexual ends, the sentence is three months to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of 300 to 3 000 euros.

224. If these services are provided via a telecommunications medium, the sentence is one month to one year’s imprisonment and a fine of 100 to 1 000 euros.

225. In the case of advertising for prostitution, the sentence is one month to one year’s imprisonment and a fine of 100 to 1 000 euros. The same sentences apply to advertising for sex tourism.

226. This provision is designed to protect minors in accordance with article 9.5 of the Optional Protocol. The need to ban any advertising specifically targeting minors or mentioning services offered by minors, is stressed in Council of Europe Recommendation R No. (91) 11 concerning sexual exploitation, pornography, prostitution of, and trafficking in, children and young adults of 9 September 1991. Reference is also made to article 34 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which prohibits the exploitative use of children in pornographic performances and materials.

227. Belgian law satisfies the requirements referred to in article 3.4 of the Optional Protocol since article 5 of the Penal Code lays down the general provision that juridical persons are liable in penal matters, whatever the nature of the offence.

228. The provisions of the various levels of authority in Belgium regarding adoption are set out below. They indicate that the Belgian State, in accordance with the requirements of the Optional Protocol (article 3.5), is endeavouring to take the legal and administrative measures necessary to ensure that all adoption procedures take place in line with the applicable international rules.

229. We would refer the reader to paragraphs 86, 209, 214, 284, 292 and 654 of the third periodic report of Belgium on CRC for general information on the Belgian adoption system and its conformity with the Hague Convention of 29 May 1993 on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption.

230. Wherever there is sufficient evidence that an adoption has taken place following the abduction, sale of or traffic in children, the resulting adoption will not be recognized by the Central Federal Authority as it contravenes public order taking account of the best interests of the child and his or her fundamental rights under international law. The prosecution service has to apply for a review of such an adoption. The members of the original family may also apply for a review.

231. Pursuant to the Law of 24 April 2003 reforming adoption, an article 391 quinquies was added to the Penal Code, providing that anyone acting as an intermediary to arrange an adoption for another person without being a member of an approved adoption agency or, as a member of an approved agency, attempting to arrange an adoption in contravention of the provisions of the Law will be sentenced to one to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of 500 to 25 000 euros or one of those penalties only.

233. The competent central authority for the Community checks how each intercountry adoption takes place. In this context, the Vlaamse Centrale Autoriteit (the Flemish central adoption authority - VCA) checks that the permits required for an adoption “not ... induced by payment or compensation” are in order (article 361.4 of the Code of Civil Procedure and article 4(c)3 and (d)4 of the Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption).

234. The Flemish central adoption authority is therefore competent for preparing prospective adoptive parents for adoption, for organizing mediation concerning adoption and for monitoring adoptive families. It is therefore competent for preventing child trafficking in the context of adoption. The VCA is carrying out a detailed study of the system and has to approve it before the adoption services or independent adoptive parents may adopt in a country or origin. The VCA has striven to make a more in-depth analysis of the system and thereby to improve monitoring.

236. The VCA’s efforts to carry out analyses of the system are designed to produce an enquiry outcome for each system that ensures compliance with child rights. The VCA can approve adoption systems only if they can guarantee that adoptions are carried out in the best interests of the child and abide by both legal systems. Any new system proposed by an adoption service or an independent adoptive parent undergoes a new analysis carried out as described above, even if an enquiry has already been conducted in the country of origin concerned. Updated information is always requested in order to ensure that any new factors are included in the enquiry. In this way, the VCA takes responsibility for preventing child trafficking as far as possible.

237. For more detailed information, please refer to paragraph 285 of the third report of Belgium on CRC. Note also that, in accordance with the Decree on Intercountry Adoption of 2005, the Flemish Government has approved the not-for-profit association Steunpunt Nazorg Adoptie for one year and has awarded it an optional subsidy. The association will coordinate the provision of post-adoption monitoring.

238. In Flanders, an assessment of the adoption procedure (see paragraph 183 of the assessment of the French-speaking community) is planned during 2009.

239. The French-speaking community, via the Adoption Service – Community Central Authority (ACC), is organizing and monitoring the whole adoption process, both intercountry and domestic adoption while the federal authority takes part in the administrative phase of the recognition of adoptions approved abroad. For more detailed information, please refer to paragraphs 286-287 of the third periodic report of Belgium on CRC.

240. In terms of subsidies, the adoption agencies received new support from 2005 which enabled them to carry out their new missions, abide by the ethical priorities of the best interests of the child and not to be too dependent on the uncertainties inherent in intercountry adoption.^[30] Thus, total subsidies granted to the agencies rose from 200 000 euros in 2005 to 588 000 euros in 2006 and 2007 and will further increase to 705 000 euros in 2008.

241. This change is basically designed to recast the current system for calculating subsidies to the adoption agencies.

242. The method of calculating subsidies did in fact lead to too much variability in the subsidies granted, which were linked mainly to the number of adoptions and individual awareness interviews carried out. This created a climate of competition between the adoption agencies, which was totally opposed to the ethical approach taken by the French-speaking community in this respect. The system also proved to be too complex and arbitrary. The proposed changes aim to provide a set amount of funding for the adoption agencies, based on the principle of quality rather than quantity. The system will also provide each agency with optimum professional operating conditions. In this way the adoption agencies will have full discretion to manage the resources provided by the French-speaking community, yet be protected against a fall in the number of adoptions for which they are not responsible (such as after a suspension or sudden interruption in adoptions in the countries they work with).

243. An assessment of preparation for adoption was carried out with applicants for adoption who, for 2006-2007, gave a positive rating to 94.7 per cent of courses preparing people for a first adoption.

244. Applicants for adoption in the German-speaking community apply to the approved services in the French-speaking community. For more detailed information, please refer to paragraphs 288-289 of the third periodic report of Belgium on CRC.

245. The Belgian courts regularly have recourse to the possibility allowed by the law of precautionary attachment of the equivalent of a suspect’s assets, even if it cannot be demonstrated that the seized assets are directly connected with the offence. Moreover, there is a wide-ranging system for the confiscation of goods as referred to in article 7 of the Protocol. Similarly, when funds are seized, the courts often grant part of them to the plaintiffs as damages.^{32www.diversite.be}.

[*]In accordance with the information transmitted to States parties regarding the processing of their reports, the present document was not edited before being sent to the United Nations translation services.
[**] The annexes may be consulted at the secretariat.
^[1] “Ensure that adequate resources (human and financial) are allocated to policies and programmes in this area.”
^[2] This office deals with the daily running of the Interdepartmental Coordination Unit for combating trafficking and smuggling of persons, see paragraph 63 below.
^[3] The Centre is a public institution responsible for fostering equal opportunities and combating all forms of segregation, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, skin colour, origin, provenance or nationality. The Centre is also responsible for promoting the fight against trafficking and smuggling of persons. In carrying out its mission, the Centre is fully independent and has legal personality. See the Law of 15 February setting up a Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism, Official Government Gazette,
See the Law of 9 February 2006, Official Government Gazette, 17 March 2006; Flemish Decree of 7 February 2003, Official Government Gazette,. 2[4] February 2003 (and the transposition of the Protocol into the Flemish Actieplan Kinderrechten (2004-2012) and the Flemish Jeugdbeleidsplan (2006-2009)); Decree of the French-Speaking Community of 12 May 2004, Official Government Gazette, 7 June 2004; Decree of the German-Speaking Community of 27 October 2003, Official Government Gazette,
^[4] The Eupen prosecution service does not register its cases in the computer system as there is no German-language version.
^[5] The decision to terminate the proceedings is always provisional. Unless the prosecution has been terminated, the case may be reopened. Table 4 gives details of grounds for terminating proceedings.
^[6] Unless a case is returned to the referring prosecution service, it remains with the original prosecution service where it is considered closed. Such cases are re-opened under a new number at the destination prosecution service.
^[7] These cases are considered closed as they remain unchanged and as subsequent decisions are taken in the main case to which they are attached.
The &#[8]Settlement” category covers criminal cases where a settlement is proposed, cases awaiting a final decision (including partially paid settlements), cases closed by the payment of a settlement that terminates the prosecution and, finally, cases in which a settlement has been refused but which have not yet moved on to another stage.
This heading covers criminal cases for which mediation has been proposed, criminal cases closed after successful mediation and criminal cases in which mediation has been refused but have not since moved on to another stage.
The heading &#[8]Council chamber” covers cases from the stage of the settlement of the proceedings to the date of any trial before the criminal court. Cases ending with a termination of the prosecution remain in that state.
^[8] The heading “Summons and follow-up” contains cases involving a summons or a decision subsequent to the summons. These are cases in which a summons has been sent, a trial before a criminal court has been scheduled, a sentence has been pronounced, a set-aside has been requested, an appeal has been lodged, etc.
^[9] “Improve cooperation and exchange of information among all the actors involved, including the Aliens Office and other relevant authorities, police services, tribunals, reception centres and NGOs.”
^[10] Royal Decree of 16 May 2004 on combating trafficking and smuggling of persons, Official Government Gazette, 28 May 2004.
^[11] The Bureau members come from the Crime Policy Service (chair), Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism (secretariat), Aliens Office, the central service “trafficking and smuggling of persons” of the Federal Police, State Security, the social inspection service of the Social Security Federal Public Service, the social welfare inspection service of the Employment, Labour and Social Consultation Federal Public Service.
See the Directive of the Minister for Justice of [1]4 December 2006 on policy for detecting and prosecuting trafficking in persons, circulated to prosecution services by COL 01/2007 of 1 February 2007, see annex 5.
^[12] The second Flemish youth policy plan 2006-2009, approved by the Flemish Government on 16 December 2005, already enshrined the objectives and measures of the Flemish plan of action on child rights of 2004 and was subsequently incorporated into the national plan of action. For more information on Flemish youth and child rights policy, please refer to the third report of Belgium on the CRC, paragraphs 13, 19-30 and 294.
^[13] See the third periodic report of Belgium on the CRC, paragraph 22.
^[14] Kinderrechtencoalitie Vlaanderen asbl, third forum on child rights, Geweld tegen kinderen (child abuse), 2006, 10-13.
^[15] Since 2001, the Flemish authorities have been subsidizing Unicef Belgium for its involvement in the global action plan for children (New York, 2002 and 2007) and the “What do you think?” project (see the third periodic report of Belgium on the CRC). Since the year 2000, the not-for-profit association Kinderrechtencoalitie Vlaanderen has been receiving subsidies from the Flemish authorities in order to assemble expertise on child rights from within civil society organizations. The alternating report occupies a central position in this context. For 2008, it is an operating subsidy of 105 000 euros, plus a subsidy for projects of 41 000 euros for organizing child rights villages, an initiative whereby the not-for-profit association Kinderrechten, in cooperation with the Kinderrechtencommissaris, visits young people to inform them about child rights (http://www.kinderrechtendorp.be/).
^[16] The Standing CRC Monitoring Group is composed of representatives of members of the Government, the administrations and the ONE, the advisory councils on children, youth and youth assistance, the Delegate-General for Child Rights and non-governmental organizations working in the field of child rights. Representatives of other administrations, notably from Wallonia and Brussels, working with children and young people, the Parliament of the French-Speaking Community and any other person of institution able to contribute expertise may also be invited.
^[17] “Strengthen the reporting system, through full support of the confidential centres for abused children, and train teachers, law-enforcement officials, care workers, judges, and health professionals in the identification, reporting and management of cases of ill-treatment.”
^[18] The national railway company (SNCB/NMBS), the Defence FPS, the Foreign Affairs FPS, the Royal Belgian road haulage and logistics providers federation, the Federation of the Tourism Industry, the Economics Department of the Galilée High School, the National Lottery and NOW.be.
^[19] Taken from the first periodic report of Belgium to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, 1999, points 11 onwards, available on this website: http://www.oejaj.cfwb.be/article.php?id_article=42.
^[20] Subsidies of 2 945 000 euros in 2008 for initiatives relating to participation, information and communication with and for Flemish young people.
^[21] This not-for-profit association aims to collect signals of “ill-being” sent out by young people and use these signals to improve the well-being of all young people. In this context, In Petto considers that information to and participation of young people play a central role. It organizes consultation and a variety of action, such as “youth counsellors”, “improvement groups”, “peer questioning”, etc.
^[22] Decree of 2 March 1999, Official Government Gazette, 11 September 1999.
^[23] The panathlon declaration was signed by over 200 sports federations, sports clubs, youth organizations, schools, businesses, individual teachers and trainers, provinces and municipalities, both Flemish and Belgian, with the Flemish authorities.
^[24] Can be consulted at http://www.aidealajeunesse.cfwb.be/ajss-pro/les-etudes-soutenuesnbspspanpar-la-direction-generale-de-laide-a-la-jeunesse-span/.
^[25] “Continue to undertake awareness-raising campaigns in countries of origin.”
^[26] “Expand cooperation with countries of origin and transit.”
^[27] The Law on labour of 16 March 1971 and the Law of 30 June 1971 on administrative fines applicable to breaches of certain social welfare laws.
^[28] Royal Decree of 4 April 2003 implementing certain provisions of the Law of 27 February 2002 promoting socially responsible production.
^[29] Article 380 ter of the Penal Code (Official Government Gazette, 14 February 1987).
^[30] Order of 16 May 2008 amending the Order of 7 October 2005 on adoption, Official Government Gazette, 15 August 2008.
³¹ Law of 19 December 2002 extending the possibilities for seizure and confiscation in criminal matters, Official Government Gazette, 14 February 2002; article 43 quarter of the Penal Code. See summary of jurisprudence at www.diversite.be. See also the Centre for equal opportunities and against racism, Annual report 2006 on trafficking and smuggling of persons, chap. 2, point 2.3.1.
³² O.c., chapter 3, point 3.5. See summary of jurisprudence at HYPERLINK "http://www.diversite.be"

	United Nations	CRC/C/OPSC/BEL/1
	Convention on the Rights of the Child	Distr. General 16 November 2009 English Original: French

United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child - States Parties Reports