The International Forum “Children’s Online Safety” started in Chisinau. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the event brings together international experts, government representatives, European Union officials, representatives of the Romanian Senate, Moldovan government ministers, diplomats, information and communication technology (ICT) specialists, and civil society representatives to discuss and collaborate on child protection online. Panel discussions will take place from 15-16 February.
The forum was opened by President Maia Sandu and European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson, together with Minister of Home Affairs Adrian Efros and US Ambassador Kent D. Logsdon. The two-day forum will discuss legislative initiatives at national and European levels in response to child sexual abuse and exploitation in the online environment. Participants will discuss international legislation and experience, how to cooperate between institutions and the creation of a national register of sex offenders.
Adrian Efros told the forum that the Ministry of Interior Affairs (MAI) has set out to connect the national strategy in the field of home affairs with the EU vision of combating crimes related to the sexual exploitation of children, including online.
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“In terms of legislation, in addition to the ratification of several international treaties, such as the Budapest Convention and the Lanzarote Convention, our specialists together, with those from the judiciary, are working to remove barriers and loopholes in national legislation in the Criminal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the law on information society services, which make it difficult to identify perpetrators and hold them immediately accountable,” the MAI chief said.
“The issue of child sexual abuse is not an easy one to talk about. But it must be. A child has no power. But we give it to him. We must use our power to help end child sexual abuse. I congratulate President Sandu and the Government of Moldova for prioritizing this fight. We have made detailed EU legislation to ensure we have a longer statute of limitations for reporting crimes and to fight against the use of artificial intelligence to create new images based on child sexual abuse material,” said European Commissioner Ylva Johansson.
The head of the US diplomatic mission, Kent D. Logsdon, said the forum marks an important step to strengthen action on child protection online.
“This event underlines the strong commitment of the Republic of Moldova and its international partners to ensuring a safer digital environment for all children,” the ambassador concluded.
The Forum “Child Online Safety” is organized by the Ministry of Interior in partnership with the International Centre “La Strada Moldova,” with the support of the US Department of State and the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Moldova.