EPP Group wants a clear Child Rights Strategy

Almost 25 years to the day since the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child was signed in New York, the European Parliament this afternoon discussed the abject poverty and sheer abuse that millions of children around the world continue to face day in day out.

"Twenty five years on, children’s rights continue to be violated in many parts of the world, including in EU Member States. Children remain victims of violence, abuse and exploitation, poverty and social exclusion. Children in conflict are still used as soldiers or human shields and they still face discrimination based on religion, disability, gender, sexual identity, age, ethnicity or legal status", said the EPP Group Spokeswoman Roberta Metsola MEP.

Although the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child has been ratified by 194 states, including all Member States of the European Union, many challenges remain.

Some 6.6 million children under the age of 5 died in 2012, mostly from preventable causes, and were thus deprived of their fundamental right to survive and develop. Some 168 million children aged 5 to 17 are engaged in child labour, which compromises their right to be protected from economic exploitation and infringes their right to learn and play. Some 11% of girls are married before they turn 15, which jeopardises their rights to health, education and protection. In sub-Saharan Africa, 1 in every 10 children dies before their 5th birthday.

"The EPP Group was the promoter of this Resolution. It is extremely important that the European Parliament marks the 25th anniversary of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child with concrete recommendations to improve the situation of children everywhere in the world. We call for a clear Child Rights Strategy, which would also integrate child rights in the external action of the EU through trade, humanitarian and development policies. This Resolution is very timely and gives a voice to many children who are particularly vulnerable in the current humanitarian and economic situation", added Anna Maria Corazza Bildt MEP.

A joint Motion for Resolution on the subject is expected to be approved by the European Parliament tomorrow at noon. The European Parliament will ask the European Commission to present a Child Rights Strategy, inclusive of a concrete Action Plan, for the next five years.