Attorney General Eric Holder and European Union Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström will launch a global alliance targeting online child sexual abuse, building on the success of cross-border police operations that have dismantled international pedophile networks, reports the Associated Press. Officials from 49 nations will take part in a conference on the issue tomorrow in Brussels.

The participating nations are making a commitment to caring for victims, enhancing efforts to prosecute offenders, increasing children's awareness of online risks, and reducing the availability of child abuse material online. Last year, a U.S.-led law enforcement operation charged 72 defendants in the U.S. and targeted more than 500 people for investigation overseas in the largest U.S. prosecution of an international criminal network organized to sexually exploit children. The participants allegedly belonged to Dreamboard, a private, members-only online bulletin board.