EU Parliament hearing on Rights of Children

The need to properly safeguard the rights of children was discussed at a hearing in the European Parliament on 17 April. MEPs, international organizations and NGO's came together to consider responses to a Communication from the Commission on a long term strategy on the rights of children. The hearing was told that poverty and violence are problems children face in the EU at present. Worldwide, 10 million children a year die from preventable diseases.

Although all EU member states have ratified a UN Convention on the rights of a child and explicitly recognise their rights they are not mentioned in the EU Treaties. UK Socialist Glenys Kinnock noted that "children are no additions, have their own rights but are often powerless, voiceless, seldom consulted". The point made by several speakers was that children have rights that need to be addressed now rather than always seeing them as "the future".

Worldwide, a staggering 126 million children under the age of 17 are believed to be engaged in hazardous work with 250,000 serving as child soldiers. However, the most depressing statistic was given by Marta Santos Pais from UNICEF who said that 40% of all births are not even registered. She said that "a child who isn't registered is a non person, not a member of society. That person cannot vote, not inherit, not get married, and not get a driving license". She also said that 40,000 child deaths a day could be prevented by low cost immunisation against disease. Violence and sexual exploitation are two other dangers that children world wide are exposed to.

In the EU children face, poverty, social exclusion violence and racism. Children currently account for a fifth of the population. The hearing was told that they have needs which are not identical to adults.

In 2006 the European Commission launched a Communication which aimed to look at the whole issue of children's rights in the EU. Franco Frattini, the Commissioner in charge of the dossier said that "children should no longer be addressees of policies but protagonists".

Some of the objectives it proposes are as follows:

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• EU Presidency Introductory Statement - United Nations 3rd Committee: Rights of the Child (1/11/2007)
• "Emerging issues of access to justice for vulnerable groups, in particular migrants, asylum seekers, and children" - Speech by EU Commission Vice President Franco Frattini (26/10/2007)
• EU Presidency Statement - United Nations 3rd Committee: Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Children (17/10/2007)
• EU Presidency Statement - United Nations: Working group on assistance and support to victims of sexual exploitation and abuse (12/9/2007)
• European Forum on the Rights of the Child created to look to the future  (4/6/2007)
• International Missing Children's Day: EU Commission steps up efforts to better protect children in EU (25/5/2007)
• EU Presidency Statement - Security Council: Open debate on Children and Armed Conflict (28/11/2006)
• EU Presidency Statement - Rights of the Child (22/11/2006)
• EU Presidency Statement - Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Children (11/10/2006)
• Speaking Points by Vice-President Franco Frattini "Towards an EU strategy on the Rights of the Child" (4/7/2006)
• Commission launches comprehensive EU strategy to promote and safeguard the rights of the child (4/7/2006)