Mrs. Visa Benjamano, National Human Rights Commissioner of Thailand (NHRCT) and the Chair to Sub-Committee on Implementing the Strategy on Rights of Children and Women and Equality of Persons refers to the media coverage that the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) has considered the amendment of the Criminal Code Act pertaining to the child
pornography and child protection against sexual exploitation. The amendment includes the definition of the child pornography and possession of child pornography with legal liabilities and penalties. These would help to refrain Thailand from being used to be an international hub for trade of child pornography. This issue was placed as one of the urgent matters for consideration in the meeting of the NLA, dated 19 February 2015.

Commissioner Benjamano added that the consideration of the NLA upon those two concerns is also in line with core contents mentioned under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Right of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography that Thailand has been bound with the pledge to commit vis-à-vis its main core concerns, particularly towards the distribution of growing availability of child pornography on the internet and other evolving technologies. She also recalled the International Conference on Combating Child Pornography on the Internet, held in Vienna in 1999, in particular its conclusion calling for the worldwide criminalization of the production, distribution, exportation, transmission, importation, intentional possession and advertising of child pornography.

The Optional Protocol also mentions that the State Party shall bear in mind with the expression of sexual behaviors of adult with irresponsibility that might be contributing factors for production of child pornography and also is needed to make all efforts to raise public awareness to reduce consumer demand for the sale of child pornography and improving law enforcement at the national level.

Moreover, each State Party shall ensure that, as a minimum, the following acts and activities with the production, distribution, dissemination, importation, exportation, sales and intentional possession of child pornography, are fully covered under its criminal or penal law, whether such offences are committed domestically or transnationally or on an
individual or organized basis. (The child pornography means any representation, by whatever means, of a child engaged in real or simulated explicit sexual activities or any representation of the sexual parts of a child for primarily sexual purposes).

Commissioner Benjamano concludes with reiteration of the expected outcomes of enactment and amendment of the Criminal Code Act will help eliminate child pornography with penalization for those committing offences. So she absolutely agrees and strongly supports the amendment of the Criminal Code and appreciates the NLA for prevention and protection rights of children whom are most vulnerable requiring special protection and bearing in mind the best interests of the child.
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19/02/2015