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STATE PARTY EXAMINATION OF CANADA’S INITIAL PERIODIC REPORT ON THE OPTIONAL PROTOCOL ON THE SALE OF CHILDREN, CHILD PROSTITUTION AND CHILD PORNOGRAPHY 61TH SESSION OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD 17 SEPTEMBER 2012 – 5 OCTOBER 2012 Contents Opening Comments ............................................................................................... 1 General Measures of Implementation ..................................................................... 2 Prevention .............................................................................................................. 2 Prohibition and Related Matters ............................................................................. 3 Protection of the Rights of Victims .......................................................................... 3 International assistance and cooperation ............................................................... 4 Concluding Remarks .............................................................................................. 4
Canada ratified the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (OPSC) on 14 September 2005. On 27 September 2012, the Committee on the Rights of the Child (the Committee) examined the initial report of Canada.
Opening Comments The delegation of Canada was led by Dr Judith Bossé, Assistant Deputy Minister, Public Health Agency of Canada and by Ms Elissa Goldberg, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations Office and other international organisations in Geneva. They were supported by a delegation consisting of representatives of Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Health Canada, First Nations Affairs and Northern Development Canada, Justice Canada, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, the Government of Québec and of the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations Office in Geneva. In her opening statement, the head of delegation mentioned the National Plan of Action against trafficking of June 2012 targeting in particular women from 15 to 21 years old. She also mentioned the inclusion of two new offenses in the Criminal Code, namely the fact to make explicit sexual materials to children and the arrangement of sexual offence against children. Mr Kotrane, the Country Rapporteur, welcomed the delegation and the submission of the report of Canada under OPSC.
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General Measures of Implementation Legislation
The Committee observed that while the legislation on pornography referred to children as individuals under 18 years of age, a number of other provisions on crimes covered by the OPSC defined a child as anyone under the age of 16. The delegation acknowledged that some older provisions only considered children up to 16 years, whereas it should be 18; it assured the Committee that all recently adopted provisions covered children up to the age of 18. The Committee was concerned that child forced labour and facilitation of illegal adoptions were not defined as cases of sale of children in law. The facilitation of adoption was reportedly only considered as an offence, which could be sentenced by fines, and not as a crime which would always result in imprisonment. The delegation reported that there was a system to address the issue of irregular adoption. Provinces and territories had jurisdiction about adoption matters and sentences could therefore vary but information was always shared between all levels of the government; trafficking was considered a crime and perpetrators would incur a prison sentence. The delegation indicated that two offences had recently been included in the Criminal Code, namely the fact to make explicit sexual materials to children and the arrangement of sexual offence against children. Coordination
The Committee asked how coordination was organised between several bodies such as the national Coordination Centre for Emergencies, the Working Group on Trafficking and the Intergovernmental Group on Sexual Exploitation.
Prevention Awareness-raising
The delegation indicated that there were measures to ensure that foreign nationals were aware of the risk of sexual exploitation. For instance, Canada would not consider work permit applications of foreign nationals, such as international students, if they were at risk of sexual exploitation. The delegation mentioned programmes on prevention of trafficking linked to the “missing children” programme, in cooperation with Canadian and foreign police forces. Awareness-raising materials were distributed abroad through Canadian embassies to sensibiliser vulnerable foreign nationals on the risk of trafficking Role of the media and internet
In relation to the new Bill C10, the Committee asked whether the impact of the Bill with regard to the use of the internet by children had been evaluated. The delegation explained that the Bill had been adopted in accordance with relevant assessments and studies and was in line with the Canadian Charter on Rights and Freedoms and Canada’s international obligations. Sex Offenders
The Committee asked whether all sexual offenders were included in the National Sex Offenders Registry. The delegation mentioned that an amendment had been passed in 2011to strengthen the system of registering sex offenders. Currently, all convicted sex offenders were
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included in the registry. Moreover, individuals convicted abroad had the obligation to report to the police when arriving in Canada. Sexual exploitation
The Committee was concerned about the alleged weakness of efforts to prevent sexual exploitation. The delegation reported that the crime of trafficking had been introduced in the Criminal Code.
Prohibition and Related Matters Legal entities
The Committee asked whether the criminal responsibility of legal entities was recognised. The delegation affirmed that any crime could be attributed to legal entities, including sex tourism, provided that it could be proven that a senior officer of the legal entity concerned had committed the offence, directed an employee to commit an offense or had failed to prevent the commission of an offence by an employee, with the intention to benefit the corporation. Sex tourism
The Committee asked whether the Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Sustainable Tourism as effectively implemented by the tourism industry. The delegation indicated that two associations of travel agencies had signed the ECPAT international standards. A number of governmental working groups and entities were involved in the improvement of the respect of those regulations by the tourism industry. Disappearance of indigenous women and girls
The Committee was concerned by the reported disappearance of many indigenous girls and women as potential victims of sexual exploitation. The delegation shared the concern of the Committee on this issue and acknowledged that First Nations girls continued to disproportionately face exploitation compared to other Canadian girls. The government highlighted the efforts that had been made to reinforce the justice system and to make indigenous communities safer. Investments had been made in this regard, in particular in programmes aimed at reducing the vulnerability of girls and providing specific services to families. This work was carried out together with First Nations communities. Extraterritorial Jurisdiction
The Committee observed that according to the law on sex tourism, Canadian courts could prosecute individuals suspected of committing sexual exploitation crimes outside Canada. It asked whether this possibility was also recognised for other crimes such as sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. While the primary responsible to hold perpetrators accountable was the country in which the crime had been committed, the delegation stated that Canada could prosecute Canadian citizens and Canadian residents for crimes defined by the OPSC committed outside Canada, regardless of whether the crime was defined as such in the country where it had been committed. It stressed that the Canadian Criminal Code was fully in line with the OPSC.
Protection of the Rights of Victims Victim support NGO GROUP FOR THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
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The Committee asked about measures taken to assist victims of sex tourism and provide them with support for recovery and reintegration. The delegation indicated that provinces and territories had jurisdiction over the protection of victims; many of them had specific programmes involving the provision of psychological and physical support services by multi-disciplinary teams. The federal government provided funding to provincial and territorial governments, as well as non-governmental organisations and to Child and Youth Advocate offices which provided victims with counselling services, medical examinations and awareness programmes. The delegation added that services provided without discrimination by centres of the Province of Quebec included posttraumatic intervention, assessment of the needs of victims and information on legal actions. Victims were also accompanied for all judicial proceedings and health examinations and were referred to specialised services. These centres were available for all victims of criminal acts, both adults and children. Access to legal services
The Committee was concerned by the various obstacles impeding children to access legal services; it specifically mentioned financial obstacles and the impossibility for children to initiate civil actions. It asked whether the State was considering providing free legal access for child victims. It also asked whether children could request and receive compensation. The delegation assured the Committee that compensation could be granted through civil litigation.
International assistance and cooperation The delegation reported that Canada provided international aid on issues of trafficking and exploitation. While no exact amount could be provided, the delegation explained that the State tried to ensure that a significant proportion of this aid was directed to children. Canadian’s aid particularly targeted Colombia and Sudan.
Concluding Remarks Ms Mauras, speaking on behalf of the Committee, thanked the delegation for the dialogue. She mentioned the considerable efforts and investments made by the government in favour of children’s rights, recalling that Canada should make sure that progress benefited all children. She considered that Canada was providing a good example of coordination at different levels, although some challenges remained to achieved a more effective and fair system. The head of delegation indicated that recommendations would be carefully examined and would assist the State in its efforts to improve child rights implementation. She considered Canada as a country respectful of human rights and proud of its bilingual, diverse, multiethnic and multicultural society. Finally, Dr Bossé indicated that all levels of the State were aware of Canada’s child rights obligations and recalled that a federal system allowed the adoption of tailored and specific measures.
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