Armenia was selected and included among the 3 pilot countries for "End Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse" Project

On 4 March, the first meeting of the Project Steering Group of the Council of Europe Project "End Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse" took place in Strasbourg. Within the framework of the latter, the Republic of Armenia was represented by representative from the Department for Drafting Anti-Corruption and Penitentiary Policies Arpine Sargsyan.

 During the meeting, the objective of the Project was presented, the main components and actions deriving therefrom were discussed. The objective of the Project is to develop the capacities of beneficiary states in the field of the fight against online child sexual exploitation and abuse, by means of identifying the issues existing at the interstate level, mapping them, coming up with relevant recommendations aimed at their solution, promoting co-operation of interested bodies within the framework of the mentioned fight, developing capacities of law enforcement bodies, as well as implementing projects aimed at awareness raising. As a result, the beneficiary states presented their recommendations in the field under consideration and the actions deriving from the Project subject to implementation.

 As a result of the discussion, the Republic of Armenia was selected and included in the list of the 3 pilot countries of the Project. Among other things, as a pilot country, Armenia will receive technical support for bringing the national legislation into international standards, reviewing and strengthening capacities of the law enforcement bodies, including improving the training programmes being implemented.