During a two-day Training of Trainers (ToT) on “Preventing and combatting online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA)” on 19-20 February 2026, 22 representatives from law enforcement, the justice sector, prosecutors and other relevant professionals working for and with children in Azerbaijan came together to enhance their capacity on effective responses to OCSEA, and child-friendly principles and procedures, in line with Council of Europe standards and good practices.
Through presentations and practical exercises, participants actively engaged in review and discussion of topics such as: proactive OCSEA investigations; reactive OCSEA investigations; protecting child victims and witnesses in criminal proceedings and coordination of victim support procedures and services; and multidisciplinary and interagency cooperation. Particular focus of the sessions was placed on the substantive criminal law provisions under the Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Convention), and the criminal procedures established by the Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention).
Participants also exchanged views on challenges related to AI-generated sexual abuse material, the criminalisation of child sexual abuse perpetrated by someone in a position of authority over children above the legal age of consent, data collection on OCSEA cases, and challenges in implementing international and national standards in practice. During the discussion, they underlined the importance of ethical and trauma-informed interviewing of children, responsible media reporting and extensive awareness-raising among parents on safeguarding children’s rights in the digital environment.
The modules and lesson plans of the Training of Trainers were initially prepared and delivered by the Council of Europe’s project on End Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse @Europe Plus (EndOCSEA@Europe+), and later translated into Azerbaijani within this country-specific project. Developed primarily for law enforcement and judges, the training tool seeks to support practitioners by providing them with an in‑depth and comprehensive understanding of matters related to combatting online child sexual exploitation and abuse. It also aims to enable the expeditious identification and protection of child victims of these crimes, the effective prosecution and sentencing of perpetrators, and the prevention of child sexual violence.
This activity was organised in the framework of the project on “Protection of children from violence and sexual exploitation and abuse, including in the digital environment, in Azerbaijan” under the Council of Europe Action Plan for the Azerbaijan (2022-2026).