Children as a focus of EU external action

SUMMARY OF:

Communication (COM(2008) 55 final) — A special place for children in EU external action

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE COMMUNICATION?

It aims construct a comprehensive European Union (EU) approach towards the protection and promotion of children’s rights in non-EU countries.
The approach is based on a holistic and universally applicable view of children’s rights and is part of the EU’s broader development and poverty reduction strategies.

KEY POINTS

The overall approach for promoting children’s rights in non-EU countries consists of this communication along with the Action Plan on Children’s Rights in External Action and the Staff Working Paper on Children in Emergency and Crisis Situations.
Children’s rights are a part of universal human rights that the EU is committed to respecting under international and EU treaties, such as:
- the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC);
- the Millennium Development Goals, which in 2016 were replaced by the Sustainable Development Goals;
- the European Charter of Fundamental Rights;
- and the EU Guidelines on Children and Armed Conflict.
The EU is to use the following tools to promote children’s rights in non-EU countries:
- development cooperation in order to eradicate poverty at the source;
- trade policy that is consistent with the protection and promotion of children’s rights;
- political dialogue between the EU and partner countries that places emphasis on the commitments under the CRC;
- empowering children and adolescents to play a more active role in the matters that affect them;
- humanitarian aid to assist children affected by conflicts, complex emergencies and natural disasters.
On the 25th anniversary (2014) of the UN CRC, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling on the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to ‘prioritise children's rights in all EU external action’ and report annually to Parliament.

BACKGROUND

Children and youth are the key for their societies’ future progress and success. Investing in children is investing in the future. However, 47 % of all people living in extreme poverty are aged 18 years or under, and of those, many also suffer from social exclusion, violence and abuse, which restrict opportunities to live a fulfilling life and contribute to societal instability.
This communication follows the 2006 communication called Towards an EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child, which lays down the foundations for a long-term strategy for the EU in the field of children’s rights. This is tied in with the 2007 EU Guidelines for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of the Child, which is the basis for EU action in promoting children’s rights in external policy.

MAIN DOCUMENT

Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions — A special place for children in EU external action (COM(2008) 55 final, 5.2.2008)