Nobel Peace Laureate Mr. Kailash Satyarthi met His Holiness Pope Francis in Vatican City on 16th November seeking support for a New Legally Binding International Law against Online Child Sexual Abuse. The Holy Father has extended his full cooperation and support to Mr. Kailash Satyarthi towards this endeavor and all other associated recommendations.

The Pope has also appointed an Officer from the Vatican to coordinate with Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation to work in this direction.

This meeting was part of Mr. Satyarthi’s efforts to build a global movement for an international law and response mechanism against digital and online forms of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Notably, the Indian Government has banned 857 pornographic websites in October following Mr. Satyarthi’s demand for ending online child sexual abuse and child pornography.

Mr. Satyarthi has been demanding for a new convention since over a year now. He has already written to all Heads of States with his appeal for a new convention. This request has also been submitted to the UN Secretary General and the OECD.

Noteworthy is the fact that Pope Francis has summoned the Presidents of Catholic Bishops conferences worldwide to the Vatican in February 2019 to discuss protecting children and preventing sexual abuse by priests. The meeting, on February 21-24, is believed to be the first of its kind, and comes amid growing child sex-abuse cases dating back decades. Mr. Satyarthi thanked the Pope for all efforts being made against rampant child sexual abuse in the Church and other associated institutions. He expressed hope that a clear roadmap for preventing child sexual abuse by priests emerges out of the global meeting of the Presidents of Catholic Bishops. The Pope assured Mr. Satyarthi that this would be a practical meeting to effectively address this burgeoning issue.