ENOC members stand for children on the move

The 40 Independent Human and Children’s Rights Institutions, members of ENOC, adopted during the 19th ENOC General Assembly meeting held on 24 September in the Hague/The Netherlands, a statement calling upon European Governments and competent European and International authorities for an immediate action to urgently address the situation of children on the move and to guarantee access to the rights they are entitled to.

The ENOC General Assembly also decided to form a Task Force to operate throughout the year with the aim to monitor, and report on the ongoing situation of children on the move in the different countries within the ENOC membership. The Ombudspersons for Children from Belgium (French community and Flemish), Catalonia, Croatia, England, Greece, Italy,  Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden volunteered for membership at the Task Force.

ENOC 2015 Statement on “Children on the move”

Adopted at the 19^thENOC General Assembly, 24 September 2015, The Hague

We, as ENOC[1] members, are deeply concerned about the critical situation for children on the move in Europe. As we warned two years ago in a public statement[2], children on the move experience violence, trafficking, trauma and death. The current situation highlights the urgent need for immediate action by European governments to secure these children’s rights.

We urge European governments to fulfil their obligations under the Convention of the Rights of the Child. Governments must ensure that children on the move are not exposed to additional trauma by being met with violent behaviour as they seek protection in Europe. Children must enjoy all of their rights under the Convention such as education, shelter and health care.

We underline the importance of the common responsibility of European states to ensure the protection and wellbeing of all children.

We have today formed a taskforce to monitor the fulfilment of the rights of children on the move in Europe, which will act on behalf of the 40 European ombudspersons and commissioners in Europe.

 

 

[1]ENOC stands for the European Network of Ombudspersons for Children www.enoc.eu

[2] See ENOC’s 2013 statement on “Children on the move: Children first!”

 

Further information on the subject:

• ENOC 2015 Open Letter calling for action to stop repeated human tragedies in the Mediterranean (available in English and in Greek)
• ENOC 2013 position statement on “Children on the move: Children first!“. The statement is also available in French, Greek and in Serbian here
• ENOC 2013 statement on the need for an urgent help for Syrian children in refugee camps (available in English and French)