MOSCOW, February 1 - RAPSI. The Federation Council requested on Wednesday Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to take measures for Russia to sign in the first quarter of 2012 an optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

The lawmakers also called on Putin to speed up the signing of the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and to have these documents ratified by June 1, the International Children's Day.

Senators have expressed their concern that Russia has not yet adopted the documents, while 43 countries have alerady acceded to the convention and 152 - to the protocol.

The Federation Council has also noted that according to the Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev the government action plan scheduled protocols ratification for 2013.

The council's information policy commission chairwoman Lyudmila Narusova said that such request is also needed in view of the presidential amendments to the Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes concerning sexual abuse of children and children's pornography, which are currently considered by the lower house in the second reading.