Our 2020 started with an interesting research that allowed us to dive into the work of EU institutions and international organisations leaders in the field of children’s rights.
In November 2019, on the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the European Parliament called upon the Commission to develop a new strategy for children’s rights, comprehensive of internal and external policy actions. The European Commission is working on it, and a new EU strategy on the rights of the child will be available soon to guide future EU initiatives.
Ten international organizations based in Brussels – UNICEF EU Representation, World Vision EU Representation, Save the Children, SOS Children’s Villages International, Eurochild, PICUM, Terre des Hommes, Plan International EU Liaison Office Brussels, Childfund Alliance EU Office, and Missing Children Europe – decided to team up and develop their joint advocacy strategy to contribute to the work of the Commission and coordinate their actions as a civil society. Articolo12 supported them with this task.
We collected and analysed secondary data (laws, policies, financial instruments and studies published by the EU; academic articles; reports) and primary data (questionnaires and interviews with experts from EU institutions, international organizations, civil society) that allowed us to inform an analysis of the current situation and identify the most pressing challenges for the Union in various thematic areas. Furthermore, we made an analysis of the future scenario, trying to suggest an actionable new EU child rights framework which could respond to the challenges highlighted. We developed our framework vis-à-vis the six strategic objectives of the current Commission, reflecting also on the new priorities emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic.
It has been a challenging but interesting and rewarding task for us. We sincerely thank the organizations that gave us the opportunity to contribute to their work for the future of children and adolescents in the EU and in third countries. We also thank all the experts who dedicated their time to have conversations with us and inform our recommendations.
Here you can read the public position paper based on our work.
