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Summary: Report from the Council of Europe's launch of a platform on children's rights with a focus on ending violence against children. The meeting took place in Strasbourg from 2 to 3 June 2009.
Strasbourg, 2-3 June 2009 Background Redressing the status of “children as possessions”, quashing violence, boosting participation and establishing child-friendly justice systems are the aims of a groundbreaking European platform for children's rights, launched last week in Strasbourg. The platform, set to energise the European child rights movement, brings together government representatives, Council of Europe experts, civil society, ombudspersons, international organisations, researchers and individual experts to share information and experience on children's rights. The launch meeting focused on violence against children, and attended by international experts keen to see the now-obligatory public commitments ripen into action, in practice as well as law. Peter Newell, of the NGO Advisory Council for Follow up to the UN Study on Violence against Children, deplored State and social endorsement of corporal punishment. He said: “Can you imagine an effective programme to challenge violence against women, or elderly people, being built in any state on laws which authorise violence disguised as domestic discipline? Every country has a criminal law on assault which protects adults from all forms of physical violence wherever we are, including in our homes, offices and at meetings like this. “We would think this was uncontroversial as well as long overdue – but if so you misjudge the capacity of adults for hypocrisy and double standards.” Meanwhile, Professor Jaap Doek, former Chairperson of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, was clearly appalled at the manner in which the UN limped towards appointing an international expert on violence against children. He said: “The Committee recommended the study was undertaken back in 2000 and 2001. It was started in 2003, presented at the UN General Assembly in 2006, and now it is May 2009, we have a three year mandate, an SRSG, but no budget and no desk!” Mr Newell went on to make the link between children's social status and their vulnerability to violence. He said: “Respect for human dignity is the foundation of human rights, as is clear from the Universal Declaration and other core instruments. Human rights are universal, and the particular task of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (the CRC) is to confirm that children too are holders of human rights: a very necessary task given the traditional low status of children as possessions, not people. It is this low status that makes children particularly vulnerable to violence.” He cautioned, however, against relying solely on legislative measures. “A clear and complete legal framework is fundamental, but not of course sufficient: law needs to be linked to educational and other measures” he said. [Read Peter's full speech here] Speaking about the other primary objectives of the platform, Maud de Boer Buquicchio said child friendly justice guidelines are being drafted and should be finalised this year, while a group of specialists will soon start working to promote a real culture of child friendly communication and information. [Read her full speech here] Draft Guidelines Participants at the meeting discussed the Council of Europe's draft guidelines on National Integrated Strategies for the Protection of children against violence, first discussed in Stockholm in 2008. The aim of the guidelines is to provide decision makers and stakeholders with tools to promote children's rights, and eradicate all forms of violence against children. Four countries have so far volunteered to undertake a review of national policies and practice: Italy, Norway, Romania and Portugal. A methodology was developed that would include an in-depth analysis of the scale and nature of violence against children, the legal institutional frameworks that are in place, recent trends in policy making, and national and local prevention strategies and their implementation. The reports were also developed on the basis of conclusions and recommendations of the UN Study on Violence Against Children, and involved governments, civil society, Ombudspersons, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, UNICEF and other experts. It is hoped that these four pilot country analyses will help in producing a model strategy that can then be adapted for each country. The representative of Slovenia welcomed the call from the Council of Europe to create a forum for exchanging information and good practice on preventing violence against children. She said the Study was an excellent starting point but said that regular expert meetings would be very useful as well. European Court Ms Mirjana Lazarova Trajkovska, Judge at the European Court of Human Rights, outlined some of the case law in the European Court in relation to children's rights. She said the majority of cases dealt with corporal punishment in the penal system, but also involving teachers and some in the home. These were mostly in relation to Article three of European Convention on Human Rights on ill treatment, and Article 8 on interference with family life. She said articles two and three of the Convention “create positive obligations on the State requiring prevention actions, effective investigations within the family, prosecution and punishment of abusers”. The Court has ruled that there are cases where parental rights should be suspended, including suspending custody or contact with children. See the European Court case law database here. Search for more examples of case law at the European Court and other monitoring bodies here. Benoit Van Keirsbilck, from Defence for Children International, Belgium section, said that removing children from their homes could sometimes be like a second punishment for the child, while removing a parent could put families in precarious situations. “I am not talking about the worst cases here of course”, he said, “but there seems to be some interesting examples of various countries that we should look at where the approach is on education and support for the family”. In response, Peter Newell noted that violence should be criminalised in the same way as it is for adults, no compromise. “Once we have the law, of course we should not use it as punitive, but first as educational, so we can keep families together, and ensure we take the child's opinion into account where they are able to”. More children suffering from outdated policies Jan Willems, from Maastricht Centre for Human Rights, said more children are now born into high risk families, and suffer from trauma and insecure attachment which is transmitted throughout the generations. He said this was partly due to the growing social divide and policies that are centuries old. Human development begins in early childhood, he said. By the age of four, our brains are 90 per cent developed and this development will very much depend on the interaction children have with their parents. Human rights are not about intervention but about prevention. So for children's rights we need a systematic approach with positive parenting, education in schools on human rights and citizenship, parental education for young and expecting parents, he said. Finally he said the first step was the banning of corporal punishment ”as this means states are obliged to invest in early childhood and support parents. It makes states proactive, rather than repressive. It means all parents and all children are included and children's rights are mainstreamed”. Ms Olof Olafsdottir, from the education department at the Council of Europe said the strategy should aim to introduce democratic citizenship and human rights education from a very early age. It should promote a positive learning environment free from violence, she added. “Education should be a place where children learn to value diversity, combat stereotypes and learn how to participate in decision making” she said. She said that children need to know that they are never to blame for the violence inflicted against them. Gabriella Olofson from Save the Children Sweden that the strategy was overlooking certain sectors such as housing and infrastructure, for instance, crowded living conditions can make it hard for parents to be as good as they want to be. “When you talk to children, physical environment is always among the top five priorities they put on the table”, she said. George Moschos, Deputy Ombudsman for Children in Greece talked about the need for integrated action with coordination at local, regional and national level, that includes proper legislation and takes children's voices into account. He emphasised that we should ensure we listen to the voices of children living on the margins, such as children with disabilities, working children, children from minorities, and so on. A representative from the government of Serbia said that there are instances where particularly vulnerable groups of children are not able to speak out and need us, adults, to do so on their behalf. " Children are afraid to talk about their sexual orientation and they are victims in all segments of their lives... we need to raise public awareness about this issue as well. I think that in many communities adults are not ready to talk about this problem", he commented. Ms Ksenija Turkovic, of the University of Zagreb, and the Council of Europe group of specialists on child friendly justice, gave an update on the drafting process. She explained that there had already been a wide consultation with governments, UN agencies, civil society and other experts. She said that although there exists some international standards, the added value of these guidelines is that they deal with children who are victims, witnesses and in who are in conflict with the law. “These guidelines will contribute to the establishment of a new juridical order for children in Europe”, she said. They address judicial and extra judicial proceedings – at all stages since “we often forget what is before and what is after. But basic rights must be protected at all stages equally, and guidelines should address the issues raised by children's participation” she continued. The guidelines aim to turn principles into reality, to ensure children's rights are protected throughout the system, and to assist in designing and adapting policies, programmes and practice. They should also assist those caring for children in such situations. More specifically, when talking about victims and witnesses, initiatives should be about reducing trauma and preventing re-abuse. For children in conflict with the law, it is about keeping them out of the justice system and looking at child-centred restorative justice. More information about the child friendly justice initiative of the Council of Europe here: www.coe.int/childjustice Follow up to the UN Study Day two of the meeting focused on follow up to the UN Study on violence against children with a presentation by the newly appointed Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Marta Santos Pais. She explained that her role was to promote implementation of the recommendations of the UN Study, collect and share examples of best practice across different sectors and regions, help States to change policies and mindsets, and place children at the centre of the political agenda. She said the current draft guidelines provided a strong policy framework and strong references to the UN Study recommendations. The study, she explained, was rights-based, which meant that it addressed all forms of violence. The mandate of the SRSG is to be an independent global advocate, to act as a catalyst for action, stimulate action with a wide range of actors, and to prevent and respond to violence, she said. “Independence is very important”, she emphasised, “it is a critical dimension. The SRSG will report to the SG directly and can choose her own staff.” The office will be supported by voluntary contributions from Member States and the private sector, will be based in New York and is for three years initially. She further explained why the Council of Europe was uniquely placed to move quickly and effectively on the recommendations, saying that it is an authoritative voice for human rights. Per Sjorgren, Ambassador from Sweden said that the Council had a very strong human rights framework, with a court, a monitoring mechanism, rule of law, a commissioner for human rights, plus political bodies, such as a Committee of Ministers, but that they wanted to be still more coherent when issuing messages on children's rights matters. Elda Moreno, Director of the “Building a Europe for and with Children” programme at the CoE presented highlights from their first campaign on corporal punishment. She gave some background information on the platform's activities. In the initial period they were working towards mainstreaming children's rights in the work of the CoE. “We work in a vertical organisation but need to work transversally, which is not easy. The idea of the platform now is to identify focal points at national level and coordinate the work with them. We also need to be innovative and make use of the e-platform to make the process more participative. We are very committed to children and young people's participation, but we cannot have international participation if we do not have national and local networks.” She also said that the Council of Ministers had just approved their proposal to develop a methodology to promote child participation. Julien Attuil spoke briefly on behalf of Thomas Hammarberg, Commissioner for Human Rights, to present his views on the platform and the draft guidelines, which he said were “more like a roadmap”. He said that every form of violence should be taken into account.. He strongly feels there is a real momentum towards full prohibition of corporal punishment. “Perhaps 2009 will see the end of corporal punishment in Europe, why not?” he said. “Even if half the countries have done so, it will send a strong message to everyone and particularly to those that have not yet done so”, he continued. The message from the Commissioner was also that our work must be for the benefit of all children, including ordinary children, those with disabilities, those who may be vulnerable by virtue of their sexual orientation, and also children from minority backgrounds and those with foreign citizenship. As mentioned above, Professor Jaap Doek, former Chairperson of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and General Rapporteur for the Rio Congress, bemoaned the low priority afforded to the UN violence study's recommendations. “The SRSG on Children and Armed conflict has seven full time staff, dealing with one very specific topic, where countries concerned are easily identifiable”, he said. “Look at violence and the overarching recommendations! This concerns all forms of violence in all settings, and for all of them, there is a different need for different responses. Marta is going to take care of all that in the next three years?” Professor Doek then went on to present the outcome document from the III World Congress. He explained that this report was the result of regional meetings and background papers that proposed a draft for discussion at the Congress. There was a follow up meeting in New York in April to fine tune it and approve the final document. The document, he explained, reflects an international consensus on action that should be taken. “I am sure some are disappointed by the recommendations, as some regional ones went further, but we had to compromise to get consensus”, he continued. Read the final Outcome Document here Conclusions Elda Moreno presented some preliminary conclusions regarding the discussions that took place over the two days. Input from the participants will inform the work of the Council of Europe. Overall, it was agreed that the CoE should: On violence against children: Note Further information: Factsheets: Violence against children resources:
Child friendly justice
Please note that the full report from the Council of Europe will be made available shortly. The conclusions above are preliminary and should not be interpreted as final. We will be linking to the final report as soon as it is published.