Fight against paedophilia, “increased efforts”

All our efforts to curb the predators of children in cyberspace are insufficient, admits Terry Davis, general secretary of the Council of Europe, following the news of the dismantling by the Austrian police of a network of paedophiles operating on the Internet and composed of 2000 people in 77 countries. “Though such successes are not to be underestimated – says Davis – they are still too few and far between. We have to acknowledge that our Governments are not doing enough to crack down on the paedophiles who operate in cyberspace”. Confirmation of Davis’s words comes from numerous member countries of the Council of Europe that have ratified the Council’s Convention against cyber-criminality: 18 out of 46. “That Convention is – stresses Davis – a unique international instrument that is specific to crimes committed via Internet. So, while criminals are swift to exploit all the opportunities offered to them by the web, the political authorities and police forces are slow to react”. This slowness can only be overcome by increasing “international cooperation. The Convention is also open to non-European countries. So far Canada, Japan and South Africa have signed it; the USA has already ratified it”.