Noting the provisions of international legal instruments relevant to the protection of children,
including the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of
Intercountry Adoption, the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child
Abduction, the Hague Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and
Cooperation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children,
and International Labour Organization Convention No. 182 on the Prohibition and Immediate
Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour,
Encouraged by the overwhelming support for the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
demonstrating the widespread commitment that exists for the promotion and protection of the
rights of the child,
Recognizing the importance of the implementation of the provisions of the Programme of Action
for the Prevention of the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography and the
Declaration and Agenda for Action adopted at the World Congress against Commercial Sexual
Exploitation of Children, held in Stockholm from 27 to 31 August 1996, and the other relevant
decisions and recommendations of pertinent international bodies,
Taking due account of the importance of the traditions and cultural values of each people for the
protection and harmonious development of the child, Have agreed as follows:
Article 1
States Parties shall prohibit the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography as
provided for by the present Protocol.
Article 2
For the purposes of the present Protocol:
(a) Sale of children means any act or transaction whereby a child is transferred by any person or
group of persons to another for remuneration or any other consideration;
(b) Child prostitution means the use of a child in sexual activities for remuneration or any other
form of consideration;
(c) 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.
Article 3
1. Each State Party shall ensure that, as a minimum, the following acts and activities are fully
covered under its criminal or penal law, whether such offences are committed domestically or
transnationally or on an individual or organized basis:
(a) In the context of sale of children as defined in article 2:
(i) Offering, delivering or accepting, by whatever means, a child for the purpose of:
a. Sexual exploitation of the child;
b. Transfer of organs of the child for profit;
c. Engagement of the child in forced labour;
(ii) Improperly inducing consent, as an intermediary, for the adoption of a child in violation of
applicable international legal instruments on adoption;
(b) Offering, obtaining, procuring or providing a child for child prostitution, as defined in article
2;