– British paedophiles abroad –
The committee also raised the alarm about British paedophiles who prey on children abroad.
“There are continued reports that United Kingdom citizens, including some convicted sex offenders, set up charities or travel abroad, where they sexually abuse children,” said Sandberg.
She said Southeast Asia – notably Cambodia and Thailand – was a favoured destination and that orphanages were a source of victims.
The committee said Britain should set up a specialised police unit to deal with extra-territorial sex offending.
It also called for measures to strengthen identification, investigation and prosecution of British citizens involved in such crimes abroad, and for travel bans on convicted and alleged abusers.
And it said London should review its 2003 Sexual Offences Act in order to stem the problem.
“We need to ensure that British sex offenders who undertake these activities abroad are held accountable,” said the committee’s deputy chairman Benyam Mezmur.
“They need to fill some of the loopholes that create an opportunity to travel abroad and commit these offences,” added Mezmur, an Ethiopian human rights law lecturer at the University of Western Cape in South Africa.
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