Why the next 25 years will be the era of children’s rights!
25 years on and children’s rights are far from being a reality for a majority of children in Europe. More than one in four children in the EU lives in or at risk of poverty and social exclusion. As Nils Muižnieks Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner says in his recent comment: “States should acknowledge child poverty is a major human rights challenge”. Far from protecting children, as required by the UNCRC, States are dismantling safety nets and driving already vulnerable families deeper into poverty. We know that failure to prevent poverty and to support to families in the community places a heavy burden on costly and often flawed child protection systems. We also know that still in Europe too many resources are locked up in an institutional care system that violates the rights of children on a daily basis – the right to private and family life, the right to protection from violence and abuse, and sometimes even the right to life. What then is there to be positive about as we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the UNCRC? At risk of being naïve or utopic, we give 4 arguments about why we believe we are at a turning point for the rights of the child.
Change is not going to happen overnight, but the conditions are ripe for children’s rights to take center stage across the political spectrum in the coming years. Let’s hope on the 50th anniversary we really have something to celebrate! - end Contact:
Federico Lanzo - Eurochild |