Australia thanks the Special Rapporteur for her presentation and welcomes her report.

For the first time in two decades, global trends point to a rise in child labour. In 2020, 160 million children globally were engaged in child labour. This is very concerning. 

Australia is committed to keeping children safe from all forms of sexual abuse and exploitation. In 2021, the Australian Government launched the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse 2021-2030 establishing a whole-of-nation coordinated approach to prevent and better respond to child sexual abuse in Australia in all settings.  

Our five-year National Action Plan to Combat Modern Slavery builds on Australia’s strong criminal justice response to child sexual abuse and exploitation connected with modern slavery crimes, including the forced marriage, commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking of children.

In August, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner issued mandatory reporting notices under the Online Safety (Basic Online Safety Expectations) Determination 2022 to online service providers requiring them to report on the steps they are taking to deal with child sexual exploitation and abuse material on their platforms. The aim is to improve transparency and accountability. 

We consider it important to understand and address the drivers of these crimes and thank the Special Rapporteur for her thematic study on the vulnerabilities of children to sale and sexual exploitation in the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals.

We would like to ask the Special Rapporteur how can nations work together, including with the private sector, to better prevent child sexual abuse and exploitation across borders?