Mainstreaming Children's Rights in EU Policy

Submitted by crinadmin on


 

Mainstreaming Children's Rights in EU Policy

EURONET—Eurochild joint event at the European Parliament

Hosted by Inger Segelström, MEP (Sweden)

The European Children's Network (EURONET) and Eurochild held a conference on Mainstreaming Children's Rights in EU Policy on 9 October 2007, chaired by Inger Segelström, MEP, in which EU Parliament, European Commission and NGO representatives from around the European Union participated.

EURONET and Eurochild members discussed examples of good practice, and three key recommendations were made to the European Parliament to ensure the mainstreaming of children's rights as laid down in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child:

  1. 1. The European Parliament should campaign for a specific budget to be allocated to the implementation of the Communication to enable the EC to fulfill its commitments
  1. 2. The European Parliament must hold the EC accountable to its commitments and put pressure on the EC to ensure the necessary political leadership to implement children's rights
  • 3. The European Parliament should set up an intergroup or similar body specifically working on children's rights and coordinating its activities in this area

 

Speakers at the meeting included Margaret Wachenfeld, Senior Policy Adviser at UNICEF, Jaap Doek, former Chairperson of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Kathleen Marshall, Scottish Commissioner for Children and Young People, ENOC and Maria Collins, from the European Women’s Lobby. Contributions were made on what already exists and what is missing at the EU level by representatives of the European Commission, the Fundamental Rights Agency and the Council of Europe. The Scottish Commissioner Marshall, EURONET and Eurochild members discussed examples of good practice, and insisted that mainstreaming of children’s rights should become something normal, not an add-on. Collins from the Women's Lobby presented the successfully implemented gender mainstreaming, which has served as a possible model for the mainstreaming of children’s rights. Please see the Mainstreaming Children’s Rights Report and other documents below for a full briefing on the conference.

 

Organisation: 
European Children's Network

Countries

    Please note that these reports are hosted by CRIN as a resource for Child Rights campaigners, researchers and other interested parties. Unless otherwise stated, they are not the work of CRIN and their inclusion in our database does not necessarily signify endorsement or agreement with their content by CRIN.