Strasbourg

26 November 2019

Today the European Parliament adopted with a strong majority a Resolution on Children’s Rights to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This Resolution marks a historical step forward and with it, MEPs send a strong political message to the European Commission and EU Member States that children should be afforded the priority they deserve. The Resolution highlights the need to put children at heart of all EU policies and legislation and stresses that the best interests of the child should always be a primary consideration in all decisions concerning children.

“It is unacceptable that over the last few years more than 30.000 migrant children have gone missing and unaccounted for in our Union! It is important to strengthen cross-border cooperation among law-enforcement authorities in the Member States. We also highlighted the need for Member States to take an intersectional approach to address the specific challenges that many vulnerable children still face nowadays in Europe. Children with disabilities, migrant backgrounds, children of LGBTI parents, those with imprisoned parents, among others, are in fact disproportionally exposed to discrimination on multiple grounds and need a special protection! ” – said MEP Hilde Vautmans

After 30 years of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child – the most ratified International Human Rights Treaty – some progress has been made, but many are still the challenges ahead to ensure that children’s rights are always upheld in Europe and around the World and all children have the right to live free from all forms of violence. MEPs insisted in calling on President-elect Von der Leyen to give emphasis to children’s rights by appointing a special EU-representative for all EU matters and policy areas related to children.

“As we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, it is important to acknowledge the powerful contribution children & young people have given in the fight against climate change by raising the urgency from governments to take serious steps to fight against it. I am also extremely concerned about those children whose life has been torn apart by conflicts around the World. It’s been about time that the EU takes a coordinated response and now we urge Member States to act to repatriate all children of foreign fighters in North-east Syria”- said MEP Saskia Bricmont

“Despite the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights 30 years ago, there are still too many children who are victims of abuse and exploitation. The latest figures on the number of CSAM images reports are appalling and we cannot turn our back to our children. It is fundamental to step up our action and work out a multi-stakeholder approach to put an end to these heinous crimes, including by investing in preventive measures, identifying specific programmes for potential offenders and better support victims. We also want to see the creation of a European centre for the protection of children and a special representative for the rights of the child to make sure that no child is left behind in Europe!” – concluded MEP Caterina Chinnici  

More info:

Emilio Puccio – Coordinator of the European Parliament Intergroup on Children’s Rights

E: emilio.puccio@ep.europa.eu