A/HRC/12/23 page 7 B. Definitions 1. What do we mean by child pornography? 18. Many terms are used to describe child pornography: paedo-pornography, paedophilia, infant pornography, juvenile pornography, pseudo-infant pornography, simulated pornography, virtual pornography, online sexual abuse and pornography, child erotica, etc. 19. Child pornography on the Internet is a type of sexual exploitation of children that takes many forms, depicting a child engaged in real or simulated explicit sexual activities or lewdly depicting parts of a child’s body, with the intention of stimulating sexual arousal and gratification. There may be one or several children, involved in sexual acts alone or with other children, with or without the participation of adults, who may or may not be visible. There may be highly repugnant images involving brutal anal or vaginal rape, bondage, zoophilia, oral-genital sexual relations or other degrading behaviour involving children of any age. 20. Child erotica consists of images of children posing half-dressed/naked or naked with the emphasis on sexualizing the child. 21. Virtual pornography is the production on the Internet of morphed or blended artificially created images of children involved in sexual activities. The realism of such images creates the illusion that children are actually involved. 22. In pseudo-infantile pornography or initiation pornography the models are recorded or photographed in child-like poses, staged with props to reinforce the impression of youth. 2. Definitions in international instruments 23. The Convention on the Rights of the Child defines a child as every human being below the age of 18 years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier. Pursuant to article 34 of the Convention, States parties undertake to protect the child from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. For these purposes, States parties shall in particular take all appropriate national, bilateral and multilateral measures to prevent “the exploitative use of children in pornographic performances and materials” (art. 34 (c)). 24. The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography defines child pornography as 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 (art. 2 (c)). The Optional Protocol has been ratified by 131 States, and the Committee on the Rights of the Child has urged the States parties and the international community to take whatever steps are required in order to prevent the distribution and dissemination of child pornography on the Internet. 25. Pursuant to article 3, paragraph 1 (c) of the Optional Protocol, each State party shall ensure that producing, distributing, disseminating, importing, exporting, offering, selling or possessing for the above purposes child pornography are fully covered under its criminal or penal law, whether such offences are committed domestically or transnationally or on an individual or organized basis.