The Minister for Justice and Reform of the Construction Sector Jonathan Attard attended the Council of European Ministers for Justice that met in Luxembourg.
In a discussion that took place in the Council on a proposal from the European Commission on the directive dealing with the fight against sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children, Minister Jonathan Attard, while welcoming the harmonization of the legislative framework, made Malta’s position a clear one.
“Sexual abuse and exploitation, especially when it involves children, are serious crimes with reversible damage to the victims. Therefore, in general, Malta welcomes the strong and effective response proposed by the Commission, which includes an extension of the prescription periods and even takes into consideration developments with artificial intelligence,” stated the minister.
He noted that Maltese laws already criminalize child sexual abuse material generated with Artificial Intelligence, however he reiterated Malta’s commitment to work on any changes to further strengthen the legislative framework in order to continue to improve protection of children against these types of crimes.
On the agenda of the Council of Ministers there was also a debate on the proposal of the Commission which is proposing new rules for the recognition of the state of parentage among the EU member states. The minister defined this discussion as important and this is because they deal with the establishment and recognition of the state of parentage in cases of surrogate motherhood in cross-border situations. He reiterated that the aim of this regulation is to provide adequate safeguards that strengthen the protection of children in cross-border situations and to ensure the protection of their rights.
The agenda of this Council included other topics such as drug trafficking and organized crime and Russia’s aggression on Ukraine.
