Annexes to COM(2021)142 - EU strategy on the rights of the child - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
dossier | COM(2021)142 - EU strategy on the rights of the child. |
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document | COM(2021)142 ![]() |
date | March 24, 2021 |
In line with the Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy, the EU will step up its efforts to ensure meaningful child participation; to prevent, combat and respond to all forms of violence against children, including gender-based violence; to eliminate early, forced and child marriage, female genital mutilation, child trafficking, smuggling, begging, (sexual) exploitation and neglect. Work will be intensified also to prevent and end grave violations against children affected by armed conflict, including with advocacy activities promoting compliance with International Humanitarian Law. The Action Plan also supports partner countries in building and strengthening child-friendly justice and child protection systems, including for migrant, refugee and forcibly displaced children and children belonging to minorities, notably Roma. The EU will continue supporting the resettlement of children and other vulnerable people in need of international protection to the EU. The EU will support actions to address the issue of street children as well as invest in the development of quality alternative care and the transition from institution-based to quality family- and community-based care for children without parental care and children with disabilities.
The EU will continue to include children’s rights in the political dialogue with partner countries, and in particular in the context of accession negotiations and the stabilisation and association process. It will also promote measures to tackle violence and discrimination, in particular against vulnerable children, including support for civil society organisations. The EU will support the monitoring and collection of disaggregated data on the situation of children in the region, and continue to report on this in the annual enlargement package of country reports.
To achieve these objectives, the EU will coordinate the use of all its available spending programmes under the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework, in particular the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation instrument (NDICI), the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance III (IPA III) and the humanitarian aid instrument.
It will also promote actions in multilateral and regional human rights fora, advocacy and awareness raising campaigns, as well as with civil society, children and adolescents, national human rights institutions, academia, the business sector and other relevant stakeholders.
Key actions by the European Commission:
-dedicate 10% of overall funding under the NDICI in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and Americas and the Caribbean to education;
-continue allocating 10% of humanitarian aid funding for education in emergencies and protracted crises, and promote the endorsement of the Safe Schools Declaration;
-work towards making supply chains of EU companies free of child labour, notably through a legislative initiative on sustainable corporate governance;
-promote and provide technical assistance to strengthen labour inspection systems for monitoring and enforcement of child labour laws;
-provide technical assistance as Team Europe to partner countries’ administrations through its programmes and facilities, such as SOCIEUX+, the Technical Assistance and Information Exchange instrument (TAIEX) and TWINNING programmes;
-prepare a Youth Action Plan by 2022 to promote youth and child empowerment and participation;
-designate Youth focal points and strengthen child protection capacities within the EU Delegations.
7.Embedding a child perspective in all EU actions
To achieve the objectives set out in the strategy, the Commission will ensure that a children’s rights perspective is mainstreamed in all relevant policies, legislation and funding programmes 117 . This will be part of efforts to create a child-friendly culture in EU policy-making and will be supported by providing training and capacity building to EU staff, and enhanced internal coordination through the team of the Commission’s coordinator for the rights of the child. A mainstreaming checklist on the rights of the child will be developed.
Reliable and comparable data are needed to develop evidence-based policies. The Commission will invite the FRA to continue providing Member States with technical assistance and methodological support, inter alia, on the design and implementation of data-collection exercises. More age and sex-disaggregation of Eurostat data, and data generated by other EU agencies, will also be pursued, as will research on specific thematic areas covered by this strategy. This will be done through the research and innovation framework programme Horizon Europe (2021-2027) 118 .
The strategy will also help with the mainstreaming and coordination of initiatives at national level and among key stakeholders to ensure better implementation of existing EU and international legal obligations. For this, the Commission will also establish the EU Network for Children’s Rights by end of 2021. Building on the work of the existing informal expert group on the rights of the child 119 , the Network will reinforce the dialogue and mutual learning between the EU and Member States on children’s rights, and support the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the strategy. It will be composed of national representatives, and will include in some of its activities international and non-governmental organisations, representatives of local and regional authorities and children, among others. The Commission will also develop closer collaboration with regional and local authorities, and with other relevant institutions, regional and international organisations, civil society and ombudspersons for children.
This strategy should be read in conjunction with the Strategy to strengthen the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the EU, and the European Democracy action plan. It complements targeted efforts to make EU rights and values more tangible in areas such as 120 the protection of children in migration, equality and inclusion, gender equality, anti-racism and pluralism, EU citizenship rights, victims’ rights, the fight against child sexual abuse, social rights and inclusive education and training 121 . It is also in line with the priorities set out in the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 122 .
7.1 Contribution of EU funds to the strategy’s implementation
EU funding is key to support the implementation of EU policies in the Member States. With this strategy, the Commission will support Member States to make the best use of EU funds in their initiatives to protect and fulfil the rights of the child. It should also encourage child rights budgeting and explore ways to track spending of EU budget in this area, so that funds are channelled towards the most pressing needs. Funding for child rights should be prioritised by Member States in the EU funding programmes, according to identified needs at national and regional level. Under the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework,
The European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) support investments in human capacity and infrastructure development, equipment and access to services in education, employment, housing, social, health and child care, as well as the shift from institutional to family- and community-based services.
Member States that have a rate of child at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion higher than the EU average (in 2017-2019) will have to earmark 5% of the ESF+ for combatting child poverty, while other Member States will be required to earmark an appropriate amount. In the 2021-2027 programming period, Member States should fulfil several enabling conditions, which might have a close link to child rights measures. This includes policy frameworks in the field of poverty reduction, Roma inclusion and compliance with the UNCRPD and the Charter. The new AMIF will reinforce the protection of unaccompanied migrant children by recognising and providing financial support and incentives for their particular reception, accommodation and other special needs, with a co-financing rate up to 75%, which may be increased to 90 % for projects implemented under specific actions.
Other EU funds and programmes can be used for the realisation of children’s rights , include the Justice Programme, the CERV Programme, Erasmus+, Horizon2020, the Digital Programme, the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), REACT-EU, and InvestEU. In addition, the Technical Support Instrument is able, on request, to provide technical support to Member States to develop capacity-building actions.
Member States are invited to ensure a coordinated approach at national, macro-regional 123 , regional and local level in the programming and implementation of EU funds, as well as involve local and regional authorities, civil society organisations, including organisations working with and for children, and social and economic partners in preparing, revising, implementing and monitoring programmes for the 2021-2027 EU funds.
The strategy also addresses the inequalities exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis, which has disproportionately affected vulnerable children. As part of this work, the Commission will encourage Member States to make full use of the possibilities offered by NextGenerationEU to mitigate the disproportionate impact of the crisis, and will help Member States to mainstream children’s rights in the design and implementation of reforms through the Technical Support Instrument.
For real progress to be made on the ground, this strategy needs to be accompanied by commitments and investments at national level. The Commission calls on EU Member States to develop, where not yet available, robust and evidence-based national strategies on the rights of the child, in cooperation with all relevant stakeholders, including children; and in synergy with other relevant national strategies and plans. It also calls on Member States to ratify all UNCRC Optional Protocols and UNCRPD Optional protocols, and duly consider the Concluding Observations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child 124 and of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 125 . The Commission also invites the Member States to support all actions recommended in this strategy through appropriate financial resources, including EU funding.
Conclusion
The European Commission is fully committed to support children develop their potential as engaged, responsible citizens. For this to happen, participation in democratic life needs to start during childhood. All children have the right to express their views on matters that concern them, and to have them taken into account. To enable their active participation, we also must tackle poverty, inequalities and discrimination to break the intergenerational cycle of disadvantage.
This strategy is inclusive by design and will be inclusive in its implementation. The Commission will monitor the implementation of the strategy at EU and national level, and report on the progress at the annual European Forum on the rights of the child. Children will be part of the monitoring and evaluation, notably through the future Children’s Participation Platform. The strategy’s actions will be adapted where needed.
The Commission invites the European Parliament and the Council to endorse the strategy and work together on its implementation. The Commission calls on the Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee to promote dialogue with local and regional authorities and civil society.
We all have the responsibility to listen to children and to act now. To use the words expressed by one of the members of the Eurochild Children’s Council: “Well done is better than well said”.
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