Despite the lack of clear statistics to prove the generally accepted increase in the international sexual exploitation of children, two developments have contributed to the belief in the increase. First, more people can afford intercontinental holidays and are more open to new sexual experiences, particularly when young girls and boys are made so available for sexual purposes. Second, new technical developments make it much easier to produce and distribute pornographic material that involves children. This article identifies three main forms of international commercial sexual exploitation of children: trafficking in children for sexual purposes, child sex tourism, and the cross-border distribution of pornographic material that involves children. The main part of this article reviews developments in international efforts to combat child sexual exploitation, beginning with the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and followed by the 1996 First World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation (the "Stockholm Congress"). Some key measures were subsequently adopted at the international and national levels, including action by the European Union, which is increasingly committed to countering child sexual exploitation. This article reviews the national measures undertaken in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. 18 references