CONCURRENCE ON DOL'S UPDATE OF THE EO 13126 LIST

UNCLAS MOSCOW 001999 SIPDIS DOL/ILAB FOR SASSER AND CASTRO, DRL/ILCSR FOR MITTELHAUSER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB ECON EIND SOCI RS SUBJECT: CONCURRENCE ON DOL'S UPDATE OF THE EO 13126 LIST REF: SECSTATE 80911 ¶1. (U) Post concurs with DOL's inclusion of pornographic products from the Russian Federation on the revised EO 13126 list, see reftel. Both official and non-government sources confirmed that the commercial, sexual exploitation of children in the Russian pornography industry continued to thrive despite the addition to the Criminal Code in 2003 of Article 242.1, which prohibits the manufacture and circulation of materials with pornographic representations of minors. According to statistics collected by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA),the manufacture and sale of child pronography increased by a factor of ten over the past few years. In 2008, MIA registered 223 incidences of the illegal dissemination of pornographic materials or items involving minors. MIA blocked over 150 websites in the first six months of 2009 for displaying pornographic content involving minors. In a July interview with the BBC news agency, Russian human rights activists also noted the growth of rights violations connected with the dissemination of child pornography. ¶2. (U) For further information, refer to: BBC (www.bbc.co.uk/russian/russia/2009/07/ 090710 cyber fight russia.shtml); Duma (asozd2.duma.gov.ru/main.nsf/(ViewDoc)?OpenAg ent&work/dz.nsf/ ByID&9FA8264ED16983BEC32575E7003F21BA); and MIA (www.mvd.ru). RUBIN