Brussels, 31/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - Roberta Angelilli (EPP, Italy) has set up an “Alliance for Children” to better protect and defend children's rights within the European Union. She takes the view that it is necessary to transpose the provisions of the Lisbon Treaty and the Charter of Fundamental Rights into law as they now recognise children as full citizens of the EU. “The goal of the Alliance is to defend minors in internal and external policies, mainstreaming their rights in all the actions and programmes of the EU”, the MEP said.
The group has the support of UNICEF and of other non-governmental organisations committed to the defence of children. It is backed by the chairpersons of seven parliamentary committees at the European Parliament. The Alliance list of priorities is long but Roberta Angelilli above all placed emphasis on careful examination of the recent communication from Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding on “child-friendly justice”, as part of the European Union's programme on children's rights, a package which includes measures on the abduction of minors, non-accompanied children, protection within the family and the help for children who are victims of violence. Although the situation of children in Europe may seem a privileged one compared to other regions of the world, there are still many problems to be resolved, Angelilli stressed, citing that of early school drop outs, discrimination against Roma children, unaccompanied children and new forms of poverty which affect children most of all. The MEP does not, however, rule out working in the rest of the world with NGOs sensitive to problems such as child soldiers, children that fall victim to organised crime, and child labour. “We will also work with NGOs to promote programmes and policies for developing countries. But we have to start with Europe because here we have more power to impose obligations on the member states and therefore to make a difference”, Angelilli said. (I.L./transl.jl)