The President of the European Commission Ms Ursula Von Der Leyen has entrusted her Vice President for Democracy and Demography to launch a comprehensive Child Rights Strategy at the beginning of 2021. In light of this, the partners of the Child Rights Action Group together with UNICEF developed the joint position paper on a comprehensive Child Rights Strategy, which Eurodiaconia wholeheartedly endorses.
As a key principle, the Strategy should be aligned with the “UN Convention on the Rights of the Child” and the promise of the UN 2030 Agenda to leave no child behind. It should be relevant for all children globally, paying attention to those in most vulnerable situations and facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination. At the same time, the Strategy must be mandatory for all EU institutions, mainstreaming children’s rights in all internal and external EU policies, actions and programmes. To ensure its implementation, the Strategy must be action oriented, monitored, and properly supported by EU and national financial resources. Children should be an integral part of the design and implementation of the Strategy.
The priorities presented in the position paper are structured around the political guidelines of the 2019-2024 European Commission, making sure that children’s rights are mainstreamed in EU’s main priorities. Therefore, we are calling on the EU Institutions for:
- An economy that works for children
- An inclusive approach to protecting children in accordance with EU fundamental rights
- A stronger Europe for all children in the world
- Defending children’s rights in a world fit for the digital age
- A role for children in the European Green Deal
For more information, please consult the full report.