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A European programme to end violence against children was launched last week at a conference organised by the Council of Europe and the Principality of Monaco. The event was attended by some 250 participants, including children and young people from across Europe and Central Asia. The aim of the conference was to look at children’s rights from a legal standpoint, including existing structures, instruments, tools and training programmes needed to support member states. The second was to look at violence against children, with the outcome of the Europe and Central Asia Regional Consultation for the UN Study on Violence Against Children as basis for action. The conference was opened by Ms Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, Deputy Secretary-General of the Council of Europe who said that states in the region had taken measures and made headway in the protection of children’s rights, however law was not an end in itself but a tool for achieving children’s rights. "In our building work, law is a very important raw material, but it alone cannot bear the full weight of our home… We must establish institutions, devise policies, invest in research, education, training and awareness-raising, and develop new tools with which to meet new challenges - and that is also the role of the Council of Europe!", she said. [full speech] This project being launched, she explained, was Europe’s response to building a Europe for and with children. Europe had some very good human rights standards, but as was seen at the Regional Consultation for the UN Study on Violence Against Children that took place in Lubljana in July 2005, violence persists in every member state of the Council of Europe. This project is the operational phase: “we have a precise idea of what needs to be done: promoting children’s rights and eradicating violence”. It is a campaign to help States abide by their commitments, in all sectoral policies with integrated strategies to help protect children. Addressing the young participants, she said: “This is a subject on which I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that we genuinely want to build a Europe WITH children. The bad news is that we don't know how to go about it." - Protection: children who are in extreme distress or in danger requires both emergency measures and long-term policies capable of tackling the roots of the problem. The protection of children at risk because of difficult economic, political and social situations should be enhanced through policies in the fields of social cohesion, education, youth and culture. - Prevention: in the context of the programme "Responses to violence in everyday life in a democratic society" (2002-2004) twelve principles were identified that should serve as guidelines for national and local policies aimed at preventing and reducing violence. Over the coming three years, application of these principles and assessment of the outcome will be tested. The aim is to propose model violence prevention strategies to national authorities. - Prosecution of those responsible for violence: an end to impunity, with development of penal law, provision of compensations for victims. The drafting of an international legal instrument against sexual exploitation is a major step. - Participation: By 2008, the Council hopes to have developed methodologies, tools and networks capable of guaranteeing effective participation by children, including those who do not attend school or who are socially excluded. [See also, the Programme "Responses to violence in everyday life in a democratic society" and detials of the Programme of Action] HRH Princess Caroline of Hanover, who is also President of the NGO AMADE, made an opening statement saying she was ‘a militant for the promotion and protection of children’s rights’, furthermore she said ‘we are not here today to think and talk some more, but to cooperate and set clear action points’. Children and Young People Present their Recommendations Prior to the conference, the 15 young participants, from 14 countries in the region, spent two days preparing for their contributions. They focused on the rights to protection from violence and their right to participation. Panel 1: Promotion of children’s rights, awareness raising and information, designing a European Strategy Philip D. O’Brien, Regional Director, UNICEF Geneva Regional Office, introduced this discussion by suggesting a focus on the following three areas: the most vulnerable groups of children, developing good child protection systems, and data collection and indicators. [read his full speech] Tirill from Norway, who spoke on behalf of young people, gave some ideas and examples for awareness-raising campaigns, specifying that there is a need for national, global and local campaigns. She suggested new technologies could be used as young people start using these at a young age. For instance, campaigns could make use of mobile phone technology, text messaging and the Internet. Partnership with media should be developed, such as putting adverts on television, setting up telephone helplines, online chat rooms, etc. Mr Patrick Trousson, Coordinator of the child rights project at the European Commission said there were 50 different instruments that were dealine, either directly, or indirectly with children’s rights, however there was a lack of cooperation within the European Commission. There was also a need for synergy between the different institutions from where a strategy for the 12 action points could be established, for the short, medium and the longer term. Mrs Bigot added that “the rights of the child are not just rights for those children who suffer most, but for all children. We have a lot to do to accept this. It is very easy to cry for the child victim, but actually putting the child at the centre of our policies and our protection systems is another matter. It is always up to the child to adapt, we rarely adapt to the child”. Mr Trousson ended by saying that the EU was planning to establish a European Children’s Rights Day, no dates had yet been chosen, but it seems it will be in the second half of the year. Conference Report: Building a Europe for and with Children [Monaco, 4-5 May 2006]
Day One [for day 2, click here]
The children and violence project is based on four pillars: Protection, prevention, prosecution and participation:
Jean-Charles Gardetto, Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Vice-Chair of the Parliamentary Assembly Sub-Committee on Human Rights, said it was time to give children and young people political visibility. He said this European programme would give a face and voice to children.
Children needed to be heard at national level and thus the important role played by National Ombudsmen for children and the European Network of Ombudsmen for Children (ENOC). He suggested that perhaps there should be a role for a European Ombudsman for Children, to work alongside the Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg but who would focus solely on promoting children’s rights, knowledge of them, advise member states, evaluate impact of policies on children and put children’s best interest at the center of policies.
Ms Anissai Temsamani, member of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, said that perhaps children should have their own European Network for sharing information. This network could cooperate in close collaboration with the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights.
Ms Maria Calivis, UNICEF Geneva Regional Director for Central and Eastern Europe, the Commonweatlh of Independent States and the Baltic States, said that although many legal safeguards are in place to protect children, their views have not often been translated into concrete actions and there has been little accountability.
More importantly, she explained, the most vulnerable children are still being failed by the system, including children from different ethnic groups, children in residential institutions, and unaccompanied children, to name but a few.
The rights that they felt were the least respected in Europe included:
- Protection from sexual abuse and exploitation, particularly because of taboos, or religion, early and enforced marriages, etc.
- Discrimination on the basis of skin colour, nationality, religion or those from minorities
- Lack of protection from corporal punishment, must be legislation against this and monitoring systems where children can get help.
- Freedom of expression and opinion, young must be given a place in decision making at all levels.
Also important is to see how the reporting process to the Convention on the Rights of the Child can be used for public awareness campaigns on children’s rights. This would include public debates on the issue, making sure budgets were allocated, and ensuring there is available, gender-specific data on children. He also emphasised that it was important to engage with the media, as it is not just a force for bad, as some might argue, and needed to be used as a channel for good for children.
Ms Josiane Bigot, Judge and President of the children's rights organisation Themis, said the process needed to be accelerated so that children can ‘use’ courts to claim their rights. The problem is that national remedies must have been exhausted before one can use a regional mechanism. She also said the we had to be ‘vigilant’ when referring to children’s rights, that we are not in fact using them to our own benefit. The child’s right can be taken by adults, for instance, when parents separate, or when children are placed in residential care, this is a right for adults, it is not respecting children’s rights, they are an excuse for adults to use in their own interest.
Ankie Vanderkerckhove, Belgian Children’s Rights Commissioner (Flemish Parliament) explained the political independence of ombudspersons and one important advantage for them which is that their role is to focus on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, a challenge at the same time is that politicians and Members of Parliament had a tendency to change every four or five years, and hence the need to start working with them from the beginning each time, especially as many do not know about different Conventions.