EU delegation, DOJ officials meet to discuss fight vs online sexual abuse, exploitation of children
European Parliament (EU) Member Caterina Chinnici is in the Philippines to seek closer cooperation in fighting online sexual abuse or exploitation of children (OSAEC) and child sexual abuse or exploitation materials (CSAEM).
Chinnici led a delegation which held a meeting with officials of the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday, May 27.
The EU member said the aim of the meeting with DOJ officials is “to cooperate more and more and more.”
“We have the same objective and the same goal to protect the children against child sexual abuse online and offline,” she declared.
On their part, the EU member said that Europe has been working on improving their legislation against OSAEC and CSAEM.
“So, this meeting is very important -- the opportunity to discuss, the opportunity to share our expertise, our experience, the opportunity to talk about cooperation in the future,” Chinicci said.
She also said: “This is a first step to continue to work together, because you know the child sexual abuse is not only the problem of the Philippine, it’s the problem of all the countries, of all states,” she stressed.
The EU delegation includes Director Antoine Ripoll, minister counsellor for the European Union (EU) Delegation in the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); Secretary General Emilio Puccio of the European Parliament’s Intergroup on Children’s Rights; and Capt. Alessandro Averna Chinnici of the Carabinieri Company of Faenza.
The Philippine officials who met with them were DOJ Assistant Secretary Michelle Anne S. Lapiz, Undersecretary Angelo M. Tapales of the Council for the Welfare of Children, and Executive Director Barbara Mae Pagdilao-Flores of the National Center Against OSAEC and CSAEM (NCC-OSAEC-CSAEM).