SPAIN
IPS
Alicia Fraerman
MADRID, Jan 18 (IPS) - The arrests in Spain of 33 people, including a Catholic priest, for allegedly purchasing and distributing child pornography over the Internet has highlighted the need to step up joint international efforts to combat this crime.
The 33 suspects are believed to have used credit cards to acquire child pornography from websites in Belarus and the U.S. state of Florida.
Miguel Ángel Gisbert, vice president of the non-governmental organisation Infancia Sin Fronteras (Children Without Borders), told IPS that the bulk of material used for websites like these are photographs and videos shot in developing countries.
He argued the need for international laws to fight child pornography, which all governments should be obliged to enforce.
"If there are international laws to combat the illegal weapons trade, then there is even more reason for laws to stop the trafficking in children, the abuse of children, and the trafficking of images of this abuse, whether on the Internet or by any other means," he added.