Authors: Ally Dunhill and Prerna Humpal, Eurochild
This month 32 years ago, the international community recognized children as rights holders. Not the property of their parents. Not the future asset of their government. Children as individuals-have the right to express, be taken care of, learn, play, etc.!
How far have we come to realize the rights of all children in Europe?
Although great progress has been made in recognizing children’s rights, not all children enjoy the guarantees provided by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
this COVID-19 pandemic Exacerbated existing inequalities, set back years of progress, and exposed a huge gap between the promise of children’s rights and reality.
“I don’t have a computer, my village has no internet, and I don’t have any data. I lost my uncle. (…) I don’t have the energy to go to class.The teachers knew this, but they suspended me because I couldn’t connect for the past three months and I had to repeat. “(Roman girl, 15 years old, Spain)—— Our Europe, our rights, our future
this Climate crisis And the resulting increase in the severity and frequency of natural disasters poses a huge risk to the realization of a safe and secure today and a sustainable future for children. Natural disasters can disrupt schools, increase economic and food insecurity, or cause forced displacement.
In addition, a few but outspoken critics of children’s rights have misled society and weaponized children’s rights, such as Hungary Earlier this year, a question was raised about the promise made more than 30 years ago.
We are at a critical moment for children’s rights. We are witnessing serious crises in many areas. These crises are destroying the social structure of the European Union and affecting the most vulnerable groups in our society, especially children. The child poverty rate in the European Union is rising; children seeking leadership to deal with the climate crisis seem to be frustrated with the recent COP-26 negotiations; education seems to be far from the reality of children because they face anxiety about the future.
At the same time, the EU is experiencing extraordinary political momentum To protect the human rights of children. Child protection is an important step forward in combating child poverty and social exclusion. The new agreement on the European Social Fund forces all EU countries to invest sufficient resources to solve this problem. The European Commission pledged to lift 5 million children out of poverty by 2030. Although this is not an ideal goal, countries are encouraged to surpass it. These achievements are the result of years of hard work by EU policymakers, experts and civil society organizations.
However, at least a quarter of children in the EU are at risk of poverty or social exclusion.this Latest statistics It shows that child poverty or social exclusion in the EU has increased by nearly two percentage points on average. All European countries are experiencing this situation. In every EU member state, there are children who grow up when their basic human needs are not met. Not only are their lives threatened, but they are also deprived of opportunities and possibilities to grow, achieve, and contribute to society.
The EU recently adopted Child rights strategy (2021-2024) is a positive step to ensure the realization of children’s rights in society, because it puts children at the center of EU decision-making.However, in October 2021, Poland and Hungary did not support Adopt the conclusion of the board of directors Support the strategy. This is ironic because both countries have signed and ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.Moreover, it is Poland that defends children’s rights in the following ways Propose a draft United Nations convention inside 1979 International Year of Children Ready to work.
The EU Child Rights Strategy and European Child Protection require governments and society at all levels to carry out intensive activities to realize children’s rights. The core of this is children as active participants To ensure that their rights are respected. In addition to working with children, it also requires cooperation across ministries, agencies, local actors and civil society to achieve the overall treatment of children’s rights.
All children have the right to grow up in a spirit of peace, dignity, tolerance, freedom, equality and solidarity, and the state has the responsibility to provide these rights. When these rights are protected, children are more likely to grow up in a society that allows them to thrive.
EU institutions have created political momentum to support children’s rights. This momentum, “speed, quality and direction” now requires all EU countries to establish Promote the implementation of children’s rights at the national level. This is not something we can leave to the future, because children are a vibrant and fundamental part of today’s society.
Children are the main body of their own rights. The Convention on the Rights of the Child stipulates the rights that must be realized for children to develop and realize their full potential. Obviously, 32 years after the promulgation of the convention, we still have to remind those in power that children have human rights.
