NGO Action Group on the EU’s Child Rights Strategy

The NGO Action Group on the EU's Child Rights Strategy represents several hundred NGOs promoting children's rights inside and outside the EU. It is currently working on the follow-up and correct implementation of the European Commission Communication "Towards an EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child", published by the Commission on 4 July 2006. Its members are meeting regularly in Brussels and are in contact with relevant representatives of the European institutions, especially in the Commission and Parliament.

The Action Group currently consists of:

• Eurochild
• Euronet - The European Children's Network
• European Foundation for Street Children Worldwide (EFSCW)
• Girls Worldwide Say – World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
• IFM-SEI – International Falcon Movement . Socialist Educational International
• Plan International
• Save the Children
• SOS Kinderdorf International
• Terre des Hommes
• World Vision

At the moment the coordinators are (rotating positions):

• Mieke Schuurman - europeanchildrenetwork@skynet.be

  (internal aspects)
• Tanya Cox - tanya.cox @ savethechildren.be (external aspects)

Recent documents:

Proposal on child participation at the Forum (February 2008)

Report summarising the results of a consultation with children & young people regarding the Commission Communication (by Save the Children and Plan International)

European Forum on the Rights of the Child

Information on previous meetings can be found at the DG JLS page dedicated to children.

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the United Nations in November 1989, spells out the basic human rights to which children everywhere are entitled. It has since been ratified by all governments except the richest, the United States of America, and one of the poorest, Somalia.

The following sections of the Convention are of particular interest to anyone concerned about the relationship between children, young people and the media.

• Article 12 refers to children's rights to express their own opinions and to have them taken into account in any matter affecting them.
• Children's right to freedom of expression is defined in Article 13, which also says that they have a right to receive and disseminate information.
• Article 17 recognises "the important function performed by the mass media," and calls on those governments who have signed up to the Convention to "ensure that the child has access to information and material from a diversity of national and international sources." It also encourages the media "to disseminate information and material of social and cultural benefit to the child," and calls on governments to encourage the development of guidelines to protect children from harmful material.
• Articles 28 and 29 (the right to education), Article 31 (the right to participate in leisure, cultural and artistic activities), and Articles 34 and 36 (which require that children should be protected from sexual and other forms of exploitation, including pornography) are also relevant.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child, based in Switzerland, monitors the progress of the Convention - receiving reports from individual countries and recommending how each country could further improve the lives of children.

The full text of the Convention, plus frequently asked questions, commentary and sections on what teachers, parents, individuals, children and organizations can do, can be found on the UNICEF website. You can also download full english version here.

To find links to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in additional languages, including some child-friendly versions click here.