22 September 2020 The Council of Europe together with the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Law Enforcement and PO “Ukrainian Institute for the Future” held a roundtable to discuss the latest development in the field of criminal protection of children from sexual exploitation and prevention of re-victimisation of children during criminal proceedings.

The event boosted discussions on building a stronger response to sexual exploitation and abuse of children in Ukraine through enhancing the relevant legal acts, ensuring their compliance with international standards and following best practices from Council of Europe member states. Procedural mechanisms to prevent the secondary victimisation of children who suffered abuse during their participation in criminal proceedings were also touched upon.

The representatives of the Law Enforcement Committee of the Verkhovna Rada presented a new draft Law of Ukraine “On amendments to certain legislative acts of Ukraine regarding the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual violence (the Lanzarote Convention)” (revised) (Reg. № 3055 of 11.02.2020, as revised of 20.02.2020) which aims at bringing the Ukrainian legislation fully in line with the provisions of the Lanzarote Convention and improving the functioning of criminal proceedings involving minors in the country.

During the roundtable, the following findings by Council of Europe independent experts were also presented:

• the results of the assessment by the Council of Europe of the progress achieved by the Ukrainian authorities on the recommendations set forth in the “Gap Analysis of Legislation, Policies and Practices to Prevent and Combat Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Ukraine” (carried by the Council of Europe).
• the results of the analysis by the Council of Europe of the draft Law of Ukraine “On amendments to certain legislative acts of Ukraine regarding the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual violence (the Lanzarote Convention)”.

The roundtable was multi-stakeholder and was attended by parliamentarians,  the Commissioner of the President for Children's Rights, representatives of the Secretariat of the Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, representatives of the ministries of the Cabinet of Ministers, the Office of the Prosecutor General, the National Police,  representatives of  the judicial branch, as well as diplomatic missions of foreign states and international organisations, Ukrainian and foreign human rights organisations, representatives of the civil society, the expert and scientific community, and other stakeholders.

The event was broadcasted live on YouTube channels: "RadaTVchannel" and "UIF Ukrainian Institute for the Future".

The Round Table was held within the framework of the Council of Europe Project Combating violence against children in Ukraine.