The Council of Europe is an organisation that protects and supports human rights in member states, particularly the rights of 150 million children who are citizens of member states, including 7 million Ukrainian children. The organisation is actively involved in the eradication of all forms of violence against children. "Life without violence" is also one of the main priorities of the Council of Europe Strategy for the Rights of the Child.

Protection of the rights and interests of children victims of violence, in particular sexual exploitation and abuse, as well as development of a child-friendly justice system are among the key aspects targeted by the Council of Europe Project "Combating violence against children in Ukraine", which aims to support representatives of public authorities and civil society professionals, and is being implemented according to the Council of Europe action plan for Ukraine for 2018-2022.

The Council of Europe has developed a number of standards in the field of Child-Friendly Justice. The most comprehensive list of standards is set out in the Guidelines on Child-Friendly Justice adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in 2010.

• Effective response mechanism to violence against children implies an effective system of pre–trial investigation and judicial examination of cases, that works in the best interests of the child. Therefore, every Member State should adopt regulations, procedures, to ensure due process for child victims and witnesses of violence.
• Investigations and judicial proceedings should not re-traumatise children. Best interests of the child should be a priority during investigative processes – whether the child is a victim, witness, or an alleged perpetrator.
• The legislation should ensure that offenders are effectively and timely held accountable for all crimes related to exploitation and violence.

The Council of Europe welcomes the initiatives of the Verkhovna Rada to bring the legislation of Ukraine in accordance with the Council of Europe standards, in particular the Convention on Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Convention). In particular, the Law of Ukraine No. 3055 "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding the Implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (The Lanzarote Convention)".

The changes proposed by this new Law mark a significant progress towards strengthening the protection of children from sexual abuse and exploitation in Ukraine. Notably, the amendments introduce a number of key offenses related to corporate criminal liability, possession of child sexual abuse materials, live performances by children on the Internet. The amendments also establish a number of fundamental guarantees. Namely, they change the statute of limitations, provide a clear definition of sexual materials in relation to children. In addition, the Law presents a legislative framework for a number of important preventive measures to strengthen the fight against sexual violence and sexual exploitation of children. Such measures include raising awareness among professionals, prohibiting persons on the Register of Sex Offenders from engaging in certain professions, as well as coordination and cooperation between the relevant authorities.

It is obvious that some amendments are completely new to national legislation and their practical implementation requires specific actions and significant efforts. Strengthening the capacity to respond to cases of violence continues to be relevant, especially in the context of the adoption of new legislation.

Ukraine has already anchored in its acquis a number of  legislative acts required by international standards to regulate the  work with alleged offenders. However, there are still gaps concerning work with children victims or witnesses of violence, as well as alleged perpetrators.

To support the implementation of the new legislation in Ukraine, the Council of Europe has developed a number of materials and tools within the framework of the Project "Combating violence against children in Ukraine", including the following:

1. Progress Assessment Report on the Recommendations of the Gap Analysis of Legislation, Policies, and Practices to Prevent and Combat Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Ukraine. This report was presented in September 2020 during a Round Table organised by the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Law Enforcement in cooperation with the Council of Europe project "Combating violence against children in Ukraine".
2. Analysis of the legal framework in Ukraine regarding the implementation of the Barnahus model. In this context, the Council of Europe welcomes the efforts of the Inter-Agency Coordination Council on Juvenile Justice as regards the implementation of the Barnahus model in Ukraine. These activities are of utmost importance to prevent re-traumatisation of affected children by means of child-friendly interagency cooperation and interdisciplinary response to cases of violence against children. Barnahus Standards are recommended by the Council of Europe Guidelines on Child-Friendly Justice. In addition, the Barnahus model is recognised by the Lanzarote Committee as an example of good practice for a child-friendly multi-disciplinary response to violence.
3. Methodological Guidelines on Investigative Interviewing of Children. These Guidelines were developed to increase the capacities to implement relevant national and international standards and improve the skills of professionals working with children. The Guidelines are based on the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Investigative Interview Protocol. It is a structured protocol for professionals conducting forensic interviews with children. The Methodological Guidelines present a practical tool that considers international and national best practices in the protection and safety of children victims or witnesses of violence, as well as child offenders. The publication is intended for professionals from law enforcement agencies, providers of social services, educators, lawyers, psychologists, students, postgraduates, representatives of civil society organisations.

All materials created within the framework of the Council of Europe Project "Combating violence against children in Ukraine" are available on the website of the Council of Europe office in Ukraine.

This year, the Council of Europe is also planning to conduct a study "Analysis of the System of Justice for Children in conflict with the law in Ukraine" (that is, children who are alleged perpetrators of abuse or other offenses). We hope that the materials that have already been created within the framework of the Council of Europe Project, and the results of the future study will contribute to responding to the challenges that currently exist in the system of combating juvenile crime, in the system of protecting children victims and witnesses of crimes, and in the justice system in general. The Council of Europe continues to develop child-friendly practices in order to support Ukraine in this direction.

The information was prepared within the framework of the Council of Europe Project "Combating violence against children in Ukraine" for a Joint meeting of heads of law enforcement and other state bodies of Ukraine on the observance of children's rights, dedicated to the International Children's Day. The meeting was chaired by Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova on 1 June 2021.