In the face of increasing threats (war in Ukraine, climate change, pandemic), the Council of Europe has decided to add the theme of children’s rights in times of crisis and emergency to the five axes that structure its “Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2022-2027)”. It discussed this at a high-level conference organised in Rome on 7-8 April by the Italian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers.
Representatives of the 46 Member States, international partners, civil society and young delegates from several European countries discussed the best way to guarantee all these rights, those of children in times of crisis, but also those related to the previous themes: a life free of violence, equal opportunities and social inclusion, access to and safe use of technology, a justice system adapted to the needs of all children, and listening to the voice of every child.
“The Russian Federation’s ongoing aggression compels us to ask what we can do to protect children in armed conflicts and to ensure the rights of all those children who have been displaced or became migrants as a result of the violence”, insisted the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, at the opening of the Conference, while Olena Zelenska, First Lady of Ukraine, spoke through a message read by her country’s ambassador to Italy.
She recalled the dozens of children who have already died in the conflict and the bombing of the hospital in Mariupol, before continuing: “More than 270 medical facilities have been destroyed or damaged, children have to be sent abroad for treatment and this is sometimes impossible, autistic or disabled children cannot go to the shelters, 300 schools have been affected, thousands of teachers are working from the shelters, displaced children are living in overcrowded train stations, not to mention the hundreds of them whose whereabouts are not known”.
The issue of registration and the establishment of effective guardianship systems for unaccompanied minors did emerge from the discussions, as did the training of professionals in assisting children traumatised by war, the prevention of trafficking in persons and assistance to children who have been victims. This is done with a view to addressing these issues in a gender-sensitive and non-discriminatory way for the most vulnerable children, who may be from Roma and Traveller communities, LGBTI, with disabilities or victims of poverty.
For the Belgian Benoît Van Keirbilck, director of the NGO Defence for Children International, who became a member of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child a year ago, the Council of Europe is providing “interesting leadership” on our continent, which makes it possible to “go further” on the basis of the “foundation” of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
“The organisation’s choice to adopt ‘strategies’ allows it to set new priorities - as it does for children’s rights in times of crisis or emergency - and to give itself a clear timeframe for progress”, he said. According to him, this theme is all the more opportune as it induces “a certain flexibility” allowing the integration of issues such as climate change.
“In terms of migration, the case of Ukraine demonstrates what Europe is capable of doing, but has never been willing to do in terms of reception”, he noted. Previously, the answer was that it was impossible to take in all those fleeing war, misery or natural disasters. Those who helped them were punished, barbed wire and border guards were multiplied without succeeding in stopping the passage, and in the end adults and children were left even more physically and morally destroyed, whom we had to try to “repair”.
“The influx and reception of Ukrainian refugees proves that it is possible to do things differently”.
On Wednesday 6 April, on the eve of the Conference, six Council of Europe member states (Andorra, Belgium, Luxembourg, Monaco, San Marino and Slovenia) issued a Declaration supported by 38 other member states, which only Germany and Andorra did not sign. In this text on the consequences of the Russian aggression, they express their concerns about its impact on millions of Ukrainian children and underline the central role of the Strategy in defending children’s rights throughout the continent.
“This clearly indicates that Europe is not a safe haven for children”, the signatory states say, committing themselves to coordinating their actions and “adapting Council of Europe cooperation projects to the needs of children in Ukraine”. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)