Child-focused organizations meet with MEPs and call for European Parliament to become global child-rights champion

A pre-election meeting between the Child Rights Action Group (CRAG), an informal network of child-focused organizations and MEPs is to take place in the European Parliament on Tuesday, 11 February. At the event, child rights organisations will ask MEPs to support a Child Rights Manifesto, developed by CRAG in advance of the European Parliament Elections in May.

“How Europe treats its children will determine its future,” said World Vision’s EU representative Marius Wanders. “Children and families are among those worst affected by the economic crisis. A prosperous future for Europe cannot be achieved without respecting children’s rights and investing in their future.

“Children are also central to overseas development – they are disproportionately affected by poverty, natural disasters and conflict situations. In order to build stable, democratic and prosperous societies globally, we need to start with respecting the rights of children.”

The Child Rights Manifesto calls on the European Parliament elected in May to support the European Union in becoming a global champion of child rights, both within Europe and around the world. The manifesto contains specific proposals about the role the new Parliament can play in helping to achieve this important objective.

The manifesto calls on the European Parliament to support the development of EU wide standards with regards to the protection of all children and to promote the transition from institutional to community based care. It calls for children’s rights to be made an explicit priority in EU accession and neighbourhood policies and association agreements. The manifesto also calls for adequate funding to be secured for children in EU external financing instruments, and for the impact of EU aid on children’s lives to be closely monitored.

MEPs from different political groups in the European Parliament will speak at the pre-election meeting on behalf of their political groups and will respond to questions from child focused organisations. “We are very hopeful that this pre-election dialogue will push child rights up the new European Parliament’s political agenda,” added Wanders.

“Members of CRAG include Eurochild, the European Network for Children of Imprisoned Parents, the European Youth Forum, the European Federation for Street Children, IFM-SEI, International Juvenile Justice Observatory, Missing Children Europe, Platform for International Co-operation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), Plan EU Office, Save the Children, SOS Children’s Villages, Terre Des Hommes, UNICEF, World Vision. We will continue to lobby candidates for the European Parliament elections over the coming months to ensure that the new Parliament becomes a real global champion of child rights.”

For further information, please contact [email protected] or call (+32) 02 274 1868

Event Details:

Venue: 11th February, 15:00-17:00
Where: European Parliament, ASP 5E1

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