7th Regional Meeting of NGOSChildren’s Rights Coalitions in Europe

Working Group 2 How can the EU support the implementation of the

concluding observations?

28 April 2014

Facilitator: Mieke Schuurman

Rapporteur: Daniela Gheorghe

Structure of the Working Group

• Presentation of Eurochild study on mainstreaming of children’s rights - Mieke Schuurman

• Presentation of Flemish example of child and youth impact report JoKER – Farah Laporte (Flemish Children’s Rights Coalition)

• Questions and Answers• Discussion and Debate

Eurochild Study Mainstreaming of Children’s Rights in EU Legislation,

Policy and Budget: Lessons from Practice

• Reasons for carrying out the Study• Involvement of group of CR experts (NGOs and

academics)• How was the study carried out? Interviews,

Literature Review and Case Studies (national and EU)

Mainstreaming of Children’s Rights in EU Legislation, Policy and Budget: Lessons from Practice

Objectives of the study:•Assess the current situation – processes in place to mainstream children’s rights and learn from national and international best practices•Give guidance on how effective mainstreaming of children’s rights can be undertaken in the EU’s internal policies

Defining MainstreamingArticle 3 Lisbon Treaty: reference to children in the objectives of the Treaty.

Mainstreaming is central plank to the EU’s children’s rights agenda.

Mainstreaming is an equality issue: integrate equality considerations in all aspects of policy formulation, implementation and evaluation (definition of Bell and similarly used by the Council of Europe)

Outcomes of international studiesIntegration of the Principles of the UNCRC would act as a ‘child-proofing tool’ –

UN Committee UNCRC: continuous process of child impact assessment and child impact evaluation is necessary.

‘ No policy is child neutral’ (De Vylder)

Outcomes of Studies:Inadequate attention paid to children’s

right in EU legislative processes Examples:•Asylum and Immigration law•Audio-Visual Media Directive•Unfair Commercial Practices Directive•EU’s work-family reconciliation frameworkGood practice EU Example: •Victim’s Rights Directive

7 STEPS to effective CR Mainstreaming

1) Political will & leadership2) Awareness, capacity and resources within the services responsible3) Commitment to use the UNCRC as the starting point4) Application of mainstreaming tools to legislation, policy and funding and throughout the policy cycle5) Systematic use of impact assessments in policy formulation and implementation6) Consultation and involvement of stakeholders in decision-making7) The views and experiences of children and young people themselves are sought and taken seriously

Recommendations to the European Commission

1. A robust successor to the Agenda on the Rights of the Child2. A high-level children’s rights co-ordinator3. An internal tool on child rights mainstreaming – integrating

the seven steps4. Training modules for European Commission staff5. Critically analyse the ‘EU acquis and policy documents on

the rights of the child’6. Peer reviews on child rights mainstreaming

Recommendations to the European Parliament

Strengthen institutional capacity of the European Parliament on children’s rights: A permanent mechanism needs to be created in the European Parliament to promote children’s rights across all policy sectorsTake leadership for championing children’s rights through inclusion in all EP documents and processes

Recommendations to the Council of Ministers

• Be a driver for implementing children’s rights• Bridge the gap between internal and external

dimensions.Overarching Recommendations to all EU

institutions:Strengthening capacity and involvement of

civil societyReinforce inter-institutional co-operation

• Presentation Good Practice Example from Belgium – Farah Laporte

• Questions and Answers

• Discussion and Debate

Discussion and Debate• How can the Concluding Observations and General Comments

of the UNCRC Committee be reflected in Member States reporting processes towards the EU institutions? What role can NGO coalitions play in this?

• How can EU legislation and policies contribute to implementation of the UN Committee’s Recommendations?

• How could the Concluding Observations and recommendations to EU member states feed into a new EU Framework for Children’s Rights?