The US State Department has announced that convicted child sex offenders will be named as such on their U.S. passports.
The passports of child sex offenders will contain a unique identifier that consists of a notice on the back cover of the book that reads, “The bearer was convicted of a sex offense against a minor, and is a covered sex offender pursuant to (U.S. law).”
The department said it would begin revoking the passports of registered child sex offenders. They will be required to obtain a new passport with the identifier in order to travel abroad.
Those applying for the first time will not be issued passports without the identifier.
The new policy is in response to the International Megan’s Law, enacted to curb child exploitation and child sex tourism.
The law prohibits the issuance of passports to child sex offenders without a unique identifier.
It is named for Megan Kanka, a 7-year-old girl who was murdered by a convicted child sex offender in 1994.
Those affected by the new law will be notified by the State Department once it receives the names from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security.
KHJ News has asked Attorney General Talauega Eleasalo Ale if US nationals from American Samoa will be included in this new policy.
Governments and police organizations from around the globe have joined together to combat the issue of the global sex trade as well as the problems of sex tourism.
The State Department estimates that 1 million children per year are driven into the global sex trade.
Many governments deal with the problem in different ways, but the end result is that it is becoming more difficult for the perpetrators of these crimes to move about the world.
