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Through Which A Statute Is Issued To Prevent And Counter Exploitation, Pornography And Sexual Tourism Involving Children, In Implementation Of Article 44 Of The Constitution

Original Language Title: Por medio de la cual se expide un estatuto para prevenir y contrarrestar la explotación, la pornografía y el turismo sexual con menores, en desarrollo del artículo 44 de la Constitución

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LAW 679 OF 2001

(August 3)

Official Journal No. 44,509 of 4 August 2001

By means of which a statute is issued to prevent and counteract the exploitation, pornography and sexual tourism with minors, under the development of article 44 of the Constitution.

Vigency Notes Summary

THE CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC

DECRETA:

ARTICLE 1o. OBJECT. This law aims to provide protection measures against exploitation, pornography, sexual tourism and other forms of sexual abuse with minors, by establishing rules of a preventive and sanctioning nature, and the issuance of other provisions under the development of Article 44 of the Constitution.

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ARTICLE 2o. DEFINITION. For the purposes of this law, the person who has not been 18 years of age is understood to be a minor.

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ARTICLE 3o. PASSAGE OMITTED] (El Universo, 23 March) ENFORCEMENT -- Natural and legal persons of Colombian nationality, or foreign nationals with their registered office in the country, whose activity or social object is directly or indirectly related to the marketing of goods and services through comprehensive information networks, the tourist service providers referred to in Article 62 of Law 300 of 1996 and other natural or legal persons of Colombian nationality, or foreign nationals residing in the country, which may generate or promote domestic or international tourism.

Natural persons who, having their home address abroad, perform by themselves or on behalf of a company the activities referred to in the first paragraph of this Article shall also be subject to this law. whenever they enter Colombian territory.

Similarly, under the international cooperation provided for in Article 13, the National Government will incorporate international treaties and conventions that it holds with other countries. This law, in order to enable its application to be extended to foreign natural or legal persons domiciled abroad, the social object of which is the same as the one referred to in the first paragraph of this Article.

CHAPTER II.

OF THE USE OF GLOBAL NETWORKS OF INFORMATION IN RELATION TO MINORS.

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ARTICLE 4o. COMMISSION OF EXPERTS. Within the month following the current law, the Colombian Family Welfare Institute will make up a Commission composed of legal and technical experts, and experts in global information networks and In order to establish a catalogue of abusive acts in the use and use of such networks in relation to minors. The Commission will propose technical initiatives such as detection, filtering, classification, disposal and blocking of harmful content for minors in global networks, which will be transmitted to the national government for the purpose of dictate measures in development of this law.

The members of the Commission shall be officials of the personnel plant already existing in the public entities whose function is the protection of the minor and the area of communications, and their designation shall correspond to the legal representative thereof. In any case, they will be part of the Commission, the Director of the Colombian Family Welfare Institute, the Ombudsman, an expert on computer crimes, the Prosecutor General of the Nation, and his meetings will be invited by the delegate to Colombia de la Unicef.

The Commission, referred to in this Article, shall submit a written report to the National Government within four months of its establishment, in which it shall establish the conclusions of its study and the recommendations. proposals.

PARAGRAFO. The Committee of Experts referred to in this article will cease to operate permanently, once the report for which it will be formed will be rendered. However, the National Government may convene it whenever it considers it necessary for compliance with the purposes provided for in this Law.

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ARTICLE 5o. COMMISSION REPORT. On the basis of the report referred to in the previous article, the national government, with the support of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, will adopt administrative and technical measures to prevent access to the of minors in any form of pornographic information, and to prevent the use of global information networks for the purposes of child sexual exploitation or the provision of commercial services involving sexual abuse with minors age.

Regulations on administrative and technical measures shall be issued by the National Government within six (6) months of the date of this law.

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ARTICLE 6o. SELF-REGULATORY SYSTEMS. The national government, through the Ministry of Communications, will promote and encourage the adoption of self-regulation systems and effective codes of conduct in the management and use of global networks. information. These systems and codes shall be developed with the participation of representative bodies of the providers and users of global information network services.

For these purposes, the Ministry of Communications will summon the subjects referred to in the article third of this law, to formulate in writing its proposals for self-regulation and codes. of conduct.

The codes of conduct will be agreed within the year following this law and will be forwarded to the Secretaries-General of the Senate and the House.

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ARTICLE 7o. PROHIBITIONS. Providers or servers, administrators, and global information network users will not be able to:

1. Hosting on your own site images, texts, documents or audiovisual files that directly or indirectly involve sexual activities with minors.

2. Hosting on your own material pornographic material, especially in the form of images or videos, when there are indications that the people photographed or filmed are minors.

3. To host links or links in your own site, on telematic sites containing or distributing pornographic material relating to minors.

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ARTICLE 8o. DUTIES. Without prejudice to the reporting obligation enshrined in law for all residents in Colombia, providers, administrators and users of global information networks shall:

1. To report to the competent authorities any criminal act against minors who have knowledge, including the dissemination of pornographic material associated with minors.

2. Combat with all technical means at its disposal the dissemination of pornographic material with minors.

3. Refrain from using global information networks for disclosure of illegal material with minors.

4. Establish technical locking mechanisms by means of which users can protect themselves or their children from illegal, offensive or undesirable material in relation to minors.

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ARTICLE 9o. INFORMATION POINTS. The Ministry of Communications will create within the month following the issuance of this law, a direct telephone line that will serve as a point of information for providers and users of global information networks. about the legal implications of their use in connection with this law.

In the same way, within the above mentioned term, it will create an electronic page in the global networks, which users can refer to in order to make complaints against pornography events with minors and to point out the pages electronic services in which sexual services are offered with minors or pornography with minors, as well as the authors or those responsible for such sites.

In case the Ministry of Communications receives by telephone or electronic complaints that may be of a criminal nature, the same must be sent immediately to the competent authorities, in order to bring forward the appropriate investigation.

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ARTICLE 10. ADMINISTRATIVE SANCTIONS. The Ministry of Communications will take action on the basis of the complaints made, and will sanction the suppliers or servers, administrators and responsible users operating from Colombian territory, successively as follows:

1. Fines up to 100 legal minimum wages in place.

2. Cancellation or suspension of the corresponding electronic page.

242 of Law 1801 of 2016. Governs as of January 29, 2017 >

Vigency Notes
Previous Legislation

PARAGRAFO. 3 of Law 1336 of 2009. The new text is as follows: > The Ministry of Communications will have the power to require, within the time limit it determines, all the information it deems necessary for Internet service providers, related to the application of the Law 679 and others that add or modify it. In particular it may:

1. Require internet service providers to report within the period and form to be indicated to them, which control mechanisms or filters they are using for the blocking of pages with child pornography content in Internet.

2. Order internet service providers to incorporate mandatory clauses in internet portal contracts regarding the prohibition and subsequent blocking of pages with child pornography content.

Internet service providers will grant access to their networks to law enforcement and law enforcement authorities when tracking an IP number from which violations of this law occur.

The violation of these provisions will result in the application of the administrative sanctions referred to in Article 10 of Law 679 of 2001, with the criteria and formalities provided therein.

Vigency Notes

CHAPTER III.

PROCEDURAL PERSONNEL AND AWARENESS ACTIONS.

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ARTICLE 11. PROCESS PERSONNEL. Any natural or legal person shall have the obligation to report to the competent authorities any violation of the provisions of this law. The associations of parents and other non-governmental organizations whose object is the protection of children and the rights of minors, will have a procedural person to denounce and act as part of the proceedings. administrative and judicial authorities aimed at the repression of sexual abuse of minors.

The Ombudsman's Office and municipal representatives will provide all legal advice that parents ' associations may require to exercise the procedural rights referred to in this article. The failure to comply with this obligation is a serious lack of discipline.

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ARTICLE 12. AWARENESS MEASURES. The authorities of the various territorial levels and the Colombian Family Welfare Institute will implement public awareness actions on the problem of prostitution, pornography and abuse. sexual of minors. The National Government, through the Ministry of Education, will supervise the measures that the departmental, district and municipal authorities will take in this regard.

PARAGRAFO 1o. For public awareness measures any program, campaign or plan aimed at reporting by any means on the problem of prostitution, pornography with minors and abuse is understood sexual and minor causes and physical and psychological effects and on the responsibility of the state and society in its prevention.

PARAGRAFO 2o. The Office of the Attorney General of the Nation, through the Delegate for the Defense of the Family and the Child and the Judicial Attorneys will follow and control the respective ones.

CHAPTER IV.

MEASURES OF INTERNATIONAL SCOPE.

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ARTICLE 13. ACTIONS OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION. The National Government shall take the necessary measures to defend the fundamental rights of children and to increase the effectiveness of the rules of this law, by means of actions of international cooperation in line with the global nature of the problem of sexual exploitation, pornography and tourism associated with sexual practices with minors. In this regard, the President of the Republic may take the following measures:

1. It will suggest the inclusion of rules to prevent and counteract the sexual abuse of minors in the Tourism Cooperation Conventions to be held with other countries.

2. Take the initiative for the adoption of international agreements allowing the exchange of information on persons or undertakings offering services related to the sexual exploitation of minors, pornography with minors and tourism associated with child sex practices, through the use of global information networks or any other means of communication.

3. Encourage the implementation of mutual assistance and judicial cooperation agreements on evidence on crimes associated with sexual exploitation, child pornography and tourism associated with child sex practices.

4. It will lead to global meetings of Unicef in Colombia in order to address the problem of sexual abuse with minors.

5. It will encourage the exchange of information, statistics and the unification of global legislation against the sexual exploitation of minors.

6. It will offer or grant the extradition of foreign nationals who are accused of conduct associated with sexual exploitation and pornography with minors and tourism associated with child sex practices. For such purposes, the existence of a public treaty will not be necessary, nor will it be required that the fact that motivates it is repressed with a certain minimum sanction of liberty, although in the rest the extradition must be used compliance with the Code of Criminal Procedure.

7. It will take concrete and immediate steps to the repatriation of minors who have illegally left the country or for sexual exploitation.

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ARTICLE 14. REFUSAL AND CANCELLATION OF VISAS. No visa of any kind may be granted to enter into Colombian territory foreign nationals against whom preliminary investigations, criminal or police proceedings have been initiated in any State, or have imposed fines, or issued a measure of insurance, or have been handed a sentence of conviction for offences of sexual exploitation or against the freedom, modesty and sexual formation of minors.

Likewise, at any time the visa already granted will be cancelled, without prejudice to the corresponding criminal action that the Colombian State must advance to ensure the condition of such punishable acts.

For the same reasons, deportation, expulsion, and inadmission to Colombian territory will proceed.

These measures will also be taken in relation to those who have been accused of promoting, facilitating or concealing such crimes in any State.

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ARTICLE 15. INFORMATION SYSTEM ON SEXUAL OFFENCES AGAINST MINORS. For the prevention of sexual offences against minors and the necessary control over those who commit them, promote or facilitate the Ministry of Justice and Law, the The Administrative Department of Security, DAS, the Colombian Family Welfare Institute and the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Nation will develop an information system in which a complete database of crimes against freedom is available, the sexual modesty and formation committed on minors, their authors, accomplices, pimps, both condemned and syndicated.

The Administrative Department of Security and the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Nation will promote the formation of an international information service on people who are accused of crimes against freedom, modesty and sexual formation. on minors. For this purpose the contest of the international police agencies will be sought.

CHAPTER V.

MEASURES TO PREVENT AND COUNTERACT SEX TOURISM.

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ARTICLE 16. TOURISM PROMOTION PROGRAMS. The tourism service providers listed in Article 62 of Law 300 of 1996, and other natural or legal persons who may generate national tourism or The international community will refrain from offering in the tourism promotion programs, expressly or surreptitiously, plans for the sexual exploitation of minors. They will also take measures to prevent their workers, dependents or intermediaries, from offering tourist guidance or sexual contacts with minors.

PARAGRAFO. The Ministry of Economic Development will require tourism service providers to engage in commitments or codes of conduct, in order to protect minors from all forms of exploitation and sexual violence originated by domestic or foreign tourists.

Codes or commitments of conduct shall be located in the Ministry of Economic Development within a maximum of six (6) months from the time of this law, and shall be given broad disclosure.

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ARTICLE 17. WARNING OF WARNING. The hotel or lodging establishments will include a clause in the lodging contracts that they hold from the validity of this law, reporting on the legal consequences of exploitation and abuse. sexual of minors in the country.

Travel and tourism agencies will include in their tourism advertising information in the same direction.

Domestic or foreign airlines will inform their users on international travel with destination Colombia about the existence of legislation against sexual exploitation of minors.

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ARTICLE 18. INSPECTION AND SURVEILLANCE. The Ministry of Development will inspect and monitor tourism promotion activities for the purpose of preventing and countering prostitution and sexual abuse of minors in the sector and will sanction the Tourism service providers involved.

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ARTICLE 19. INFRINGEMENTS. In addition to the infringements provided for in Article 71 of Law 300 of 1996, tourist service providers may be subject to administrative penalties, without prejudice to the penalties, when they incur any of the following:

1. To use advertising that expressly or surreptitiously suggests the provision of sexual tourism services with minors.

2. Give information to tourists, directly or through their employees, about places from where they are coordinated or where sexual services are provided with minors.

3. Driving tourists to establishments or places where prostitution of minors is practised.

4. Driving minors, directly or through their employees, to the places where the tourists are staying, even if they are located in the city, for the purpose of prostitution of minors.

5. Lease or use vehicles on tourist routes for prostitution or sexual abuse with minors.

6. Allow minors to enter hotels or places of accommodation and lodging, bars, similar businesses and other tourist establishments for the purpose of prostitution or sexual abuse of minors.

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ARTICLE 20. SANTIONS. The Ministry of Economic Development shall impose the following sanctions, in accordance with the procedure laid down for that purpose in Law 300 of 1996:

1. Fines for up to three hundred (300) current minimum statutory statutory wages, which will be allocated to the Tourism Promotion Fund for the purposes of this law.

2. Suspension up to ninety (90) calendar days of registration in the National Register of Tourism.

3. Cancellation of the registration in the National Register of Tourism that will imply the prohibition of exercising the tourist activity for five (5) years from the sanction.

The Ministry of Economic Development may delegate this function of surveillance and control to territorial entities. This delegation, however, does not exclude the responsibility of the delegator for the actions or omissions of the delegates.

PARAGRAFO. Natural or legal persons who have been sanctioned for violation of the provisions of this law may not be beneficiaries of the Tourist Development Certificate referred to in Article 48 of Act 383 of 1997 and Decree 1053 of 1998.

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ARTICLE 21. TOURISM PROMOTION FUND. 20 of Law 1101 of 2006 >

Vigency Notes
Previous Legislation
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ARTICLE 22. TAX ON ADULT VIDEOS. Trading establishments, when renting adult X-rated video films, will pay a tax corresponding to five per cent (5%) on the value of each rented video, bound for the financing of plans and programmes for the prevention and control of sexual exploitation and pornography with minors.

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ARTICLE 23. EXIT TAX. The foreign national, at the time of departure from the Colombian territory, will cover the value corresponding to a dollar of the United States of America, or its equivalent in Colombian pesos, to the financing of the plans and programmes for the prevention and control of sexual exploitation and pornography with minors.

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ARTICLE 24. FUND AGAINST THE SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF MINORS. Create the special account called Fund against the sexual exploitation of minors, attached to the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare.

The main objective of the Fund is to provide income for social investment in order to guarantee the financing of plans and programmes for the prevention and control of sexual exploitation and pornography with minors and, more for the following purposes: construction of children's homes or shelters, programmes of assistance, guidance, rehabilitation and physical and psychological recovery of minors who have been the subject of sexual exploitation; financing of repatriation programs for Colombians who have been the subject of sexual exploitation; and financing of dissemination mechanisms for the prevention of criminal actions in the field of trafficking in women and children.

The specific sources of resources for the fund will be as follows:

1. The items assigned to you in the national budget.

2. Resources from internal and external credit.

3. The donations you receive.

4. The resources of national or international cooperation.

5. The others you get to any title.

PARAGRAFO 1. The ICBF Board of Directors will define each year which will be the actual expenses charged to the fund taking into account the investment conditions set out in this law. There will always be an appropriation within the budget that is assigned to ICBF to promote special education, which presents new vocational alternatives to them that will orient them towards decent work, for the children under exploitation or practices. sexual. A specific appropriation will also be included to investigate the causes and solutions of the issue that is the subject of this law.

The findings of these investigations will serve to define the programs and projects that will be implemented in the following fiscal vigencies.

PARAGRAFO 2. The expense computer will be the same ICBF computer.

PARAGRAFO 3. 21 of Act 1336, 2009. The new text is as follows: > It is for the ICBF to draw up annually the draft budget of the Fund for this Article, which shall be submitted to the National Government, which shall incorporate it into the annual draft of the budget. This responsibility will be jointly assumed with the Ministry of Social Protection and the support of the Inter-Institutional Commission made up of the official agencies responsible for the implementation of Law 679.

Each year, simultaneously with the award of the presentation of the Draft Annual Budget Law, the Board of Directors of the commission or the respective constitutional commissions, will officiate the ICBF to give a written opinion on the initially proposed to the government and eventually incorporated into the annual bill. The report will be formally delivered to the speakers for study and consideration.

The Secretaries of the respective Constitutional Commissions will have the responsibility to make the warnings about the particular.

Vigency Notes
Previous Legislation

PARAGRAFO 4. The Government will regulate the functions and responsibilities of the ICBF Board of Directors and the Authorising Officer on the Fund account, while internal and fiscal control must be brought forward in accordance with the current constitutional and legal rules.

PARAGRAFO 5. The collections referred to in Articles 22 and 23 of this law will be specifically targeted for the intended purposes of this status.

CHAPTER VI.

POLICE MEASURES.

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ARTICLE 25. POLICE SURVEILLANCE AND CONTROL. The National Police will have, in addition to the constitutional and legally assigned functions, the following:

1. Carry out surveillance and control of hotel or lodging establishments, tourist attractions and other places that, in the opinion of the ICBF, the Ministry of Economic Development and the National Police itself deserve surveillance special because there are indications of sexual exploitation of minors.

2. Support the administrative investigations carried out by the Ministry of Economic Development in compliance with this law.

3. Channel complaints that are filed in violation of the provisions of this law.

4. To inspect and immobilize vehicles in tourist areas where there are serious indications that they are used for the purpose of sexual exploitation of minors. Such vehicles may be sequestered and be re-killed for the payment of compensation to be caused by the offence whose commission is established within the respective criminal proceedings.

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ARTICLE 26. 242 of Law 1801 of 2016. Governs as of January 29, 2017 >

Vigency Notes
Previous Legislation
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ARTICLE 27. TELEPHONE HELPLINE. The National Police, in a term not greater than fifteen (15) days counted from the time of this law, at all territorial levels, will designate an exclusive line of assistance for minors who are subjected to sexual abuse or abuse and to receive complaints of acts of sexual abuse with minors, or of the generation, marketing or distribution of materials such as texts, documents, files or audiovisual content with pornographic content minors.

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ARTICLE 28. TRAINING OF POLICE PERSONNEL. The National Police will periodically dictate courses and training programs, in order to update police personnel on current legislation on the sexual exploitation of minors, sale and child trafficking, child pornography and minor care with basic needs totally unmet. The Inspector General of the National Police and the National Commissioner for Police will carry out the necessary checks to ensure that this function is complied with, without prejudice to the surveillance that corresponds to the control bodies.

PARAGRAFO. The Colombian Family Welfare Institute and other public entities, at all territorial levels, whose functions are related to the protection of minors, will contribute to the training of the members of the National Police.

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ARTICLE 29. National Police will carry a record of missing minors, in relation to which it will set priorities for search and return to their families. Children who have been missing for more than three months must be included in the international communication on missing persons at Interpol headquarters.

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ARTICLE 30. CUSTOMS SURVEILLANCE. It is prohibited to import any type of pornographic material in which minors are involved or in which acts of sexual abuse with minors are exhibited. The customs authorities shall take appropriate measures to intercept this class of illegal imports, without prejudice to the duties to be performed by the National Police.

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ARTICLE 31. SAFETY PLANS AND STRATEGIES. Governors and mayors shall include measures for the prevention and eradication of the sexual exploitation of minors, pornography and tourism associated with sexual practices with minors in the plans and comprehensive security strategies that are dealt with in Article 20 of Law 62 of 1993 and/or rules that modify it. Failure to comply with this duty will be disciplined in a disciplinary manner.

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ARTICLE 32. NATIONAL POLICE COMMISSION. Two (2) representatives of Colombian non-governmental organizations, whose social object includes the protection and defense of minors, will have a seat in the National Police and Participation Commission. Citizen.

CHAPTER VII.

CRIMINAL MEASURES.

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ARTICLE 33. ADD ARTICLE 303 OF THE PENAL CODE WITH THE FOLLOWING INDENT. " If the agent conducts any of the conduct described in this article with persons under fourteen years of virtual media, using global information networks, incurs the corresponding penalties decreased by a third party. "

PARAGRAFO TRANSIENT. As soon as Law 599 of 2000 is in force, this article will have the number 209.

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ARTICLE 34. Add a new article to the Penal Code, with the number 312A, of the following tenor:

Article 312A. Use or facilitation of means of communication to provide child sexual services. Anyone who uses or facilitates traditional mail, global information networks, or any other means of communication to obtain sexual contact with children under eighteen (18) years, or to offer sexual services to them, will incur Five (5) to ten (10) years imprisonment, and a fine of fifty (50) to one hundred (100) monthly minimum statutory wages in force.

The penalties mentioned in the previous paragraph will be increased by up to half (1/ 2) when the behaviors will be performed with children under twelve (12) years.

PARAGRAFO TRANSIENT. As soon as Law 599 of 2000 comes into force, this article will have the number 219A.

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ARTICLE 35. Add a new article to the Penal Code, with the number 312B, of the following tenor:

Article 312B. Failure to report. He who, by reason of his office, office, or activity, has knowledge of the use of minors for the performance of any of the conduct provided for in this chapter and will omit to inform the administrative or judicial authorities competent on such facts, having the legal duty to do so, will incur a fine of ten (10) to fifty (50) minimum statutory statutory wages in force.

If the conduct will be carried out by public servant, the loss of employment will also be imposed.

PARAGRAFO transient. As soon as Law 599 of 2000 comes into force, this article will have the number 219B.

CHAPTER VIII.

FINAL PROVISIONS.

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ARTICLE 36. STATISTICAL INVESTIGATION. 13 of Law 1336 of 2009. The new text is as follows: > In order to produce and disseminate statistical information on the sexual exploitation of children and adolescents, as well as to unify variables, DANE will explore and test statistical methodologies technically viable, process and consolidate information through a unique format to be carried out by governmental and non-governmental organisations, and at least every two years to carry out research to collect statistical information on:

-Approximate magnitude of children and adolescents under the age of 18 exploited sexually and commercially.

-Characterization of the population under the age of 18 in commercial sexual exploitation.

-Places or areas of highest incidence.

-Compensation forms.

-Forms of sexual exploitation.

-Risk factors that lead to sexual exploitation of children under 18 years of age.

-Profiles of men and women who buy sex and who are in charge of intermediation.

The ICBF may suggest to DANE to collect statistical information on some other data related to the problem. The district and municipal governors and mayors, as well as the indigenous authorities, will lend their contest to the DANE for the conduct of the investigations.

Any natural or legal person of any order or nature, domiciled or resident in national territory, is obliged to supply data to the DANE in the development of its investigation. The data collected shall not be made known to the public or to the official entities or bodies, or to the public authorities, but only to numerical and/or qualitative summaries, which prevent the deduction of individual information from them. that could be used for discrimination purposes.

The DANE will impose penalty penalties of between one (1) and fifty (50) minimum monthly legal salaries in force for any natural or legal person, or public entity that does not comply with this rule, or which impedes the performance of the Prior to the application of the procedure laid down in the Administrative Code, with due process and criteria of adequacy, proportionality and recidivism.

Vigency Notes
Previous Legislation
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