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Summary: The “Berlin Commitment” outlines
goals and focus for further
development of child-friendly policies
in 51 countries across Europe and
Central Asia and the Holy See over
the next 10 years. It focuses on the
importance to adjust national
legislation, provide the necessary
funding, monitor progress, and take
other action necessary to realise the
rights of children.
The Berlin Commitment for Children of Europe and Central Asia
Recognising that progress has been achieved during the past
decade in fulfilling the rights of the child throughout Europe and
Central Asia, in particular with regard to commitments taken at
the 1990 World Summit for Children and the obligations under
the Convention on the Rights of the Child, universally ratified by
countries of Europe and Central Asia,
Welcoming the important contribution of civil society, non-
governmental organisations, the private sector, and regional and
international organisations, especially the UN System, the Council
of Europe, the OSCE, the European Union and the
Commonwealth of Independent States, to the implementation of
the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
Also welcoming that children throughout Europe and Central Asia
are increasingly acknowledged as subjects of human rights and
that government strategies and legal frameworks, administrative
policies and practices progressively respect the right of the child
to participate in social life and to partake in the decision-making
processes which affect their lives,
Bearing in mind our responsibility towards future generations,
which implies, inter alia, that any action undertaken today, must
not endanger the enjoyment by our children of their human rights,
Recognising that poverty and economic and social disparities,
including growing income inequalities especially in the countries in
transition, lack of opportunities for leisure and recreation and
changes in family structures limit the chances of children of fully
developing their personalities, mental and physical abilities, and
of growing into a fulfilled adulthood,
Concerned that a growing number of children, particularly in the
countries in transition are being deprived of their right to grow up
in a healthy, safe and supportive family and community
environment which results in growing numbers of children at risk
of social exclusion, in significant increases in morbidity, stunting of
growth and child development delay as a consequence of poor
quality of care as well as in reduced numbers of children
participating in basic education programmes and increased rates
of juvenile delinquency, accidents and suicides,
Recognising that much still needs to be done to improve the
health and social environment for children as well as the quality
and relevance of educational programmes, and that low and/or
declining public expenditure in the countries in transition caused
by overall financial constraints and other factors, continues to
affect the provision of social services for children and their access
to quality education and health care,
Stressing the need to ensure support, including through giving
consideration to restructuring national budgets, international aid
flows, and appropriate foreign investments, for the
implementation of social reforms and programmes aimed at
promoting and protecting the rights of the child in the countries of
Europe and Central Asia, particularly in the countries in transition,
Concerned at the rise in tuberculosis, malaria, sexually
transmitted diseases, anaemia and iodine deficiency disorders in
the countries in transition and noting with concern that HIV/AIDS
continues to spread in many countries of Europe and Central
Asia, greatly affecting those under 18 years of age and
increasingly girls,
Aware of the negative impact of an increasing level of substance
abuse, including alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs, on children’s
and young people’s physical and mental health,
Also aware of the increasing numbers of children of Europe and
Central Asia at risk of all forms of abuse and violence, such as
corporal punishment, sexual and economic exploitation, the worst
forms of child labour, trafficking and homelessness,
Concerned that armed conflicts and natural disasters continue to
affect and destroy the lives of of children in Europe and Central
Asia and in this regard stressing the need for a growing
awareness of protecting children’s rights in conflict situations as
well as the importance of protecting children from environmental
threats such as chemical contamination and nuclear pollution and
of ensuring that children grow up and live in an environment that
is conducive to the highest attainable level of health,
Aware of the fact that children belonging to minorities, internally
displaced, refugee and migrant children, stateless children,
children with disabilities and children infected with HIV and
suffering from AIDS are at special risk of being victims of
discrimination, and are in need of, and have the right to, special
protection, inclusion and participation,
Taking note of the results of regional and sub-regional
preparatory conferences and consultations, including the
proposals submitted by young people and civil society
organisations working for children's rights, and welcoming the
Political Message from the Committee of Ministers of the Council
of Europe for communication to the Special Session,
Aiming to contribute in collaboration with the UN System, civil
society and children themselves to the preparations for the
United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children and
to further the development and implementation of actions for
children in the next decade.
We, the participants of the Berlin Conference on Children in
Europe and Central Asia (16-18 May 2001), affirm our
commitment to the following:
1. Take all measures in order to ensure the implementation of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratify as soon as possible
the two Optional Protocols to this Convention; develop
comprehensive national strategies and provide the necessary
resources for the implementation of the rights of the child;
strengthen and make more effective the existing monitoring
mechanisms; reinforce the essential monitoring role of the UN
Committee on the Rights of the Child by submitting detailed,
reliable and timely reports;
2. Enable ratification and full implementation of ILO Convention
No. 182 on the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the
Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, ILO Convention
No. 138 on the Minimum Age for Admission to Employment, the
1993 Hague Convention on Child Protection and Co-operation in
Respect of Intercountry Adoption, the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination
and the Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and
the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in
Persons, Especially Women and Children;
3. Adjust legislation, where appropriate, to ensure its conformity
with the norms of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and
with the principle of the best interests of the child, strengthen
governmental structures for children and independent children’s
rights commissioners, focal points for children and other
mechanisms, while recognising and facilitating the important
voluntary initiatives of civil society and the private sector for the
benefit of children;
4. Encourage social and economic policies which meet the needs
of families and their individual members, with particular attention
to the care of children; ensure opportunities for family members
to meet their social responsibilities and promote equal
partnership between women and men in families, recognising the
role of fathers; promote mutual respect, tolerance and co-
operation within families and within society; fight against
parental abductions and defend the right to personal contacts
between parents and children across national boundaries;
ensure that wherever possible children have the opportunity to
be brought up in family settings in their own countries as
opposed to institutions, and that national strategies for
alternative care, including reform or closure of institutions that
are not child-friendly be devised, where necessary;
5. Mainstream a gender perspective into all programmes and
policies, promote equality between girls and boys, eliminate
discrimination against girls in education, consider introducing
study programmes on gender education;
6. Make every effort to support and facilitate the rights of children
to participate in all relevant decision-making processes, in
accordance with their age and maturity, ensure that their views
are taken into consideration on all matters that affect them;
7. Make all possible efforts to eradicate poverty and address its
negative impact on children, inter alia by reducing economic
disparities;
8. Implement programmes to protect children from growing health
risks, including tuberculosis, malaria, hepatitis and sexually
transmitted diseases, in line with the targets set out in WHO
Health 21; combat iodine deficiency conditions and anaemia;
promote breastfeeding; undertake effective policies to promote
mental health and to protect children from alcohol and drug
abuse;
9. Pursue effective national and international information and risk-
awareness programmes to fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic;
adopt effective measures to prevent the direct transmission of
HIV/AIDS from mother to child; provide special assistance to
children orphaned by HIV/AIDS, and support the psycho-social
care of children infected with HIV and suffering from AIDS;
10. Sustain and further increase access to free and compulsory
good quality education for all children up to the minimum age for
entering into employment while ensuring equal access,
opportunities and inclusion for children from both urban and rural
areas, children belonging to minorities, indigenous children,
refugee and displaced children as well as children with disabilities
and other children in need of special protection; empower
children to use media and new technologies with competence;
11. Promote life skills education, health and hygiene education,
as well as education and participation programmes that highlight
peace, justice and tolerance;
12. Protect and remove children from all forms of work which can
harm their health, safety and morals; elaborate and implement
strategies for the effective elimination of child labour contrary to
accepted international standards, bearing in mind that education
is a key strategy for combating child labour;
13. Take all necessary measures to eliminate all forms of
discrimination and exclusion on the basis of race, language,
religion , sex or any other reason; ensure re-integration of
marginalised children, such as children living or working in the
streets and children living in state institutions, especially those
with poor quality of care; focus special attention on protection of
and support for children with disabilities, ensure early detection
of a child’s disability and early intervention, and ensure that
children with disabilities are accepted and integrated as equal
members of society, with the same entitlements and with
unimpeded access to basic health, education and other social
services;
14. Take all necessary measures in order to end all forms of
violence against children, such as sexual abuse and exploitation
and corporal punishment; combat all violence in schools; protect
children from violence and pornography in the media and on the
Internet; end trafficking of children without criminalising child
victims and ensure comprehensive rehabilitation and social re-
integration of affected children; implement policies and
rehabilitation programmes that take fully into account the rights
and special needs of children affected by armed conflict, including
refugee children, asylum-seeking and displaced children as well
as those deprived of parental care;
15. Ensure that distinct juvenile justice systems are established
and/or further developed which focus on rehabilitation and re-
integration, using deprivation of liberty only as last resort and for
the minimum possible period;
16. Recognise the importance of intergenerational justice,
especially with regard to economic, and social welfare policy, and
environmental sustainability;
17. Protect all children, irrespective of the social and economic
conditions they live in from environmental threats; create child-
respecting urban and rural environments which enable all children
to have access to a range of play and informal learning
opportunities both at home and within their local communities;
18. In the overall framework of national development plans and
the 20/20 Initiative, ensure substantive budgetary allocation to
the maximum extent of available resources, for the benefit of
children and their parents and caretakers, to the health and
education sectors and other social services, thereby giving
priority to the eradication of poverty and social exclusion affecting
children; and provide greater transparency in budget allocations
and spending on children as a proportion of national budgets;
19. Call for the reaffirmation to strive to fulfil the yet to be
attained, internationally agreed target of 0.7 percent of the gross
national product of developed countries for overall official
development assistance as soon as possible with the aim of
increasing the flow of resources for the benefit of children;
20. Take all necessary measures to continue and expand
international co-operation for children among countries of Europe
and Central Asia and ensure support, including through giving
consideration to restructuring national budgets, international aid
flows, and appropriate foreign investments, for the
implementation of social reforms and programmes aimed at
promoting and protecting the rights of the child in the countries of
Europe and Central Asia, particularly in the countries in transition,.
We have set a challenging and forward-looking agenda for
ourselves, recognising that children are citizens in their own
rights and that investing in their development is the key to
building a peaceful and prosperous Europe and Central Asia. We
must now take the legislative, administrative and other actions
necessary to realise these aims, and to monitor progress and
difficulties.
This will require commitments of time, energy and resources. We
commit ourselves to meeting our obligations under the
Convention on the Rights of the Child and thus to ensuring that
all children in Europe and Central Asia enjoy their rights. We will
seek to engage all components of civil society in the challenges
this task presents.
We pledge ourselves to this task and will work to create a
Europe and Central Asia fit for children.
pdf: www.crin.org/docs/resources/publications/berlin-commitment-final.pdf