A UNITED Nations children's rights monitor has expressed strong concerns about Northern Ireland's failure to sign up to a UK-wide crime fighting body. The National Crime Agency (NCA), dubbed the British FBI, targets gangs engaged in child sexual exploitation but does not have powers in the north, largely because of nationalist concerns over accountability. A UN committee highlighted the lack of a clear system of cooperation to identify and respond to children who are particularly at risk of becoming victims, especially in Northern Ireland. It said: "The committee is strongly concerned that in the absence of the legislative consent motion, the NCA does not have powers in the devolved sphere in Northern Ireland and therefore the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), integrated within the NCA, is not fully operational in Northern Ireland." The Committee on the Rights of the Child is a body of 18 independent experts, academics from countries such as Norway and Russia, which monitors the implementation of a convention on the issue adopted by many states. Its report including Northern Ireland relates to an optional section of the convention surrounding the sale of children, child prostitution and pornography. It said: "The committee also urges the state party to establish safeguards to ensure that devolution (of justice powers from London to Belfast) does not lead to discrimination in the enjoyment of rights by children in different regions and that mechanisms such as the CEOP are extended to Northern Ireland." The NCA's head is directly accountable to home secretary Theresa May for the agency's actions and would not answer to PSNI chief con-stable George Hamilton or other local scrutiny bodies. Sinn Fein and the SDLP blocked a move to give the NCA powers to carry out police operations and recruit a g e n t s a m i d o v e r s i g h t concerns. A spokesman for justice minister David Ford, pictured, said: "The minister remains concerned about the gap in our law enforcement effectiveness on the operational side since NCA came into operation. "While PSNI has access to information that the NCA gathers, where it is relevant to Northern Ireland, and to advice, NCA teams cannot bring assistance or expertise to bear on the ground here. "That is because agreement has not been reached on NCA officers having constabulary powers here. We are, however, continuing to work to try to resolve the matter. "PSNI and NCA are also working together to maximise the possibilities under the existing framework."
