A/HRC/31/58 offences or property equivalent in value. Targeting financial proceeds is a particularly strong deterrent and reparatory measure, since on the one hand intermediaries are motivated by profit and on the other hand the seized resources can be used to fund care, recovery and reintegration programmes. 59. An essential aspect of accountability and thus of the proportionality of penalties is to ensure the safety of victims. The United Nations Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence against Children in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice underline that protection and assistance measures for child victims of violence must continue after the person accused of that violence has been convicted and sentenced. Member States should particularly ensure the right of a child victim of violence, or his or her parents or legal guardian, to be notified of the offender’s release from detention or imprisonment if they so wish. They should also ensure that the risk to a child victim of violence and the best interests of that child are considered at the time of making decisions concerning the release of the offender from detention or imprisonment or the reentry of the offender into society. 51 60. In accordance with international law, the general practice is to sentence perpetrators of child sexual exploitation to imprisonment. As far as intermediaries are concerned, penalties vary and are not always commensurate with the gravity of the crime. The length of the deprivation of liberty also varies widely and can in particular be influenced by the age and gender of both the offender and the victim. Regrettably, significant loopholes remain and prevent the conviction of offenders and thus the assurance of accountability. This is the case, for example, for the sexual exploitation of boys or the possession of child sexual abuse material, which in several countries are yet to be criminalized. 61. A fundamental precondition in order for the laws to have an impact on the demand is consequently the effective implementation of provisions and penalties. An interesting indication of conviction rates worldwide comes from the 2015 Trafficking in Persons Report, which compiles law enforcement data provided by contributing States. Out of 10,051 prosecutions in 2014, only 4,443 led to convictions. 52 Those statistics are estimates and relate to trafficking in persons in general, yet the cases include instances of child sexual exploitation. Moreover, the Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2014 concluded that among the detected victims of trafficking, 33 per cent were children and 53 per cent had been trafficked for sexual exploitation. 53 The total number of victims identified in the Trafficking in Persons Report was 44,462 in 201454 which, combined with the abovementioned figures, underlines the very significant gap between the extent of the crimes and the perpetrators involved and the law enforcement response worldwide. 62. Prosecution must also be ensured in cases of crimes committed abroad. This is the particular focus of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, which can be considered as a legal basis for extradition when there is no extradition treaty. Articles 6 and 7 also emphasize the duty of States parties to cooperate and assist with investigations, confiscations and extraditions relevant to those offences. There has consequently been a strong emphasis on extraterritorial legislation to prevent offenders from escaping prosecution. It should nonetheless be noted that judging the crime in the country of the offender, when he or she has been removed from the crime scene and the victim, is not always in the best interest of the child and of the investigation. Unfortunately, the principle 51 52 53 54 See General Assembly resolution 69/194, annex, para. 26 (a) and (d). United States Department of State, “2015 Trafficking in Persons Report”, p. 48. UNODC, Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2014, pp. 29 and 33. United States Department of State, “2015 Trafficking in Persons Report”, p. 48. 15