WHAT IS ENOC

The European Network of Ombudspersons for Children (ENOC) is a not-for-profit association of independent children’s rights institutions (ICRIs). Its mandate is to facilitate the promotion and protection of the rights of children, as formulated in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

ENOC wants to establish links and share information and strategies with independent children’s rights institutions – children’s ombudspersons, commissioners for children, or focal points on children’s rights in national human rights institutions or general ombudsman offices.

ENOC holds an annual meeting each year.

HISTORY

ENOC was established at a meeting in Trondheim, Norway in 1997, when an initial group of 10 institutions met, together with UNICEF.

UNICEF’s office for Western Europe in Geneva agreed to provide a Secretariat for ENOC for the first 10 years.

ENOC has resolved to establish a permanent independent Secretariat in Strasbourg, where it has been offered office accommodation by the Council of Europe. The ENOC Secretariat is running on a permanent basis since 2008. Its operation is partially secured by EU funding.

It is now registered as an association in France.

By 2021 it had grown to include 43 institutions in 34 countries within the Council of Europe, 22 of which EU countries. Membership is limited to institutions in the 47 member states of the Council of Europe.

ENOC adopted Standards for Independent Children’s Rights Institutions at its 2001 annual meeting in Paris.

At a special members’ meeting held in Dublin in 2006, it adopted the founding Statutes (available in French) with strict criteria for membership. The Statutes were revised in 2011 in Warsaw and in 2012 in Nicosia.

In 2018, ENOC undertook an important process to discuss some critical provisions of the Statutes and improve the Network's structure, governance, and internal procedures and processes. The work was completed in 2020 followed by a light review in 2021. The consolidated revised ENOC Statutes were endorsed by the 25th General Assembly on 29 September 2021.

In 2021, ENOC members carried out a substantial work on setting up and formalising the core ENOC Values and a set of actions and behavior defining the ENOC Standards. The non-respect of ENOC Values & Standards by ENOC members can lead to appropriate Sanctions.