Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has signed the law introducing amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine on the protection of children from sexual abuse and sexual exploitation.

According to a report released by the press service of the head of state on Monday, the adoption of respective amendments and additions will help improve the protection and observance of the rights of children in Ukraine, bring Ukrainian legislation closer to international standards for ensuring the protection of children from sexual exploitation, and help Ukraine implement the recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and the European Committee of Social Rights of the Council of Europe.

The document was drafted to bring Ukrainian legislation into line with the provisions of the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Violence and the European Social Charter (revised).