Convention
All 46 Council of Europe member states have signed and ratified the Convention (Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Republic of Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom).
The Russian Federation has also signed and ratified the Convention; Tunisia acceded to it and thus became the first non-European State Party.
What is the Lanzarote Convention?
How to accede to the Lanzarote Convention
Sexual exploitation and sexual abuse are among the worst forms of violence against children. To protect them against these, the Council of Europe has adopted the most comprehensive legal instrument in this field, the Lanzarote Convention.
Since sexual violence against children is a global concern, any country across the globe may accede to the Convention. The accession process at the Council of Europe level consists of three steps:
- Request for accession in an official letter (signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs or a diplomatic representative) addressed to the Secretary General
- Consultation of the Parties to the Convention to obtain their unanimous consent
- Decision on the request by the Committee of Ministers
It takes three steps to make a giant leap forward.
Text of the Convention in several languages
The text of the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse is available in several languages:
