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COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Council Conclusions on the promotion and protection of the
rights of the child in the European Union's external action -
the development and humanitarian dimensions
2870th EXTERNAL RELATIONS Council meeting
Brussels, 26 and 27 May 2008
The Council adopted the following conclusions:
"1. Promoting and protecting the rights of the child through the EU's external action is part of
the EU's commitment to promote human rights using all available instruments.
2. The Council has established a framework for a comprehensive EU approach towards the
protection and promotion of the rights of the child in third countries, that also takes into
account the full implementation of the Cairo Programme of Action and the Beijing Platform
for Action, both of which contain provisions regarding the rights of children and
adolescents: the EU Guidelines for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of the Child
and the EU Guidelines on Children and Armed Conflict. The EU Guidelines for the
Promotion and Protection of the Rights of the Child spell out the priorities and objectives of,
and operational tools for, EU action, and elaborate on implementation, monitoring, reporting
and assessment. They provide a holistic and universally applicable view of the rights of the
child, support the mainstreaming of the rights of the child in EU policy and action, and are
the basis for worldwide respect, promotion, protection and fulfilment of the rights of the
child. There are also commitments relating to children in the framework of EU relations
with geographical regions and international and regional organisations.
3. Consequently, the Council affirms the importance of a comprehensive and integrated human
rights-based approach towards the promotion and protection of the rights of the child, as
embodied in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and its two optional
protocols, encompassing all areas of EU external action. The EU is committed to actively
examine how it can best achieve this goal using available instruments in all different formats
of political dialogue between the EU and its Member States and third countries, trade
negotiations, development cooperation, humanitarian aid and action in multilateral fora. In
this context, the Council welcomes the Commission Communication: A Special Place for
Children in EU External Action and its attached staff working documents.
4. The Council underlines its commitment to supporting the fight against all forms of child
labour. The Council also emphasises the need for EC negotiations and EU agreements with
third countries to promote the ratification and compliance with the ILO Conventions on Child
Labour and contribute to the elimination of all forms of child labour. The Council underlines
the importance of dialogue with partners on child labour issues, and calls on the Commission
to analyse the impact of positive incentives on the sale of products that have been produced
without using child labour and to examine and report on the possibility of additional
measures, including trade related measures, on products that have been produced using the
worst forms of child labour, in compliance with WTO obligations. The Commission is also
asked to examine how Corporate Social Responsibility, codes of ethical conduct and other
actions can help ensuring transparency, including by informing consumers how products are
made.
5. The European Consensus on Development includes the rights of the child in the
development activities under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) agenda and the
economic, social and environmental dimensions of poverty eradication in the context of
sustainable development. The European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid highlights the
specific attention required to meet the needs of vulnerable children. The Council has decided
to provide further guidance on specific commitments in relation to the development and
humanitarian dimensions.
The Development dimension
6. The Council firmly believes that development cooperation makes an essential contribution
to the promotion and protection of the rights of the child within the overall framework set
out in the above mentioned EU Guidelines. The rights of the child in development
cooperation can be promoted and protected through:
• specific actions and particular focal areas;
• effective mainstreaming throughout all programmes and related dialogue.
7. With due regard to policy coherence for development and the EU Code of Conduct on
Complementarity and Division of Labour, the aim should be to ensure effective
complementarity between different EU policy tools and financial instruments.
8. The Council notes that the specificity of the situation of boys and girls in each country, subregion
or region demands that each circumstance be individually analysed to ascertain which
of a number of possible instruments will provide the EU with the most appropriate, tailormade
response to the children concerned with a special focus on girls. The Community
instruments that are of particular importance for improving the attention to children in the
country and thematic context are the thematic programme Investing in People and the
European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights.
9. EU actions on the rights of the child should also find synergies with the overall efforts
carried out by the United Nations, in particular UNICEF, UN human rights mechanisms,
including special procedures and treaty bodies, in particular the Committee on the Rights of
the Child.
10. The Council further recalls the importance of political dialogue with partner countries.
Dialogue with all relevant stakeholders, such as civil society (including youth
organisations), local authorities and the private sector is also important, particularly in
situations of fragility where central governments and relevant institutions lack the capacity
or willingness to protect and promote the rights of the child.
Poverty eradication and MDGs
11. The EU remains fully committed to poverty eradication in the context of sustainable
development, and to reaching the targets set by the MDGs. Most of the MDGs are closely
linked to the rights, well-being and successful development of children. Hence, promotion
and protection of the rights of the child, as well as fulfilment and satisfaction of their needs,
are fundamental to achieving the MDGs and sustainable development.
12. The EU recalls that more substantive progress is needed to attain the MDGs, most of which
are off-track in relation to children, especially but not solely in Sub-Saharan Africa. The
Council therefore underlines that the EU should make full use of development cooperation
and poverty eradication measures in order to tackle the root causes of poverty and thus
address children’s rights and needs.
13. In line with the principles of ownership and partnership contained in the Paris Declaration
on Aid Effectiveness, EU development efforts should be directed towards further
strengthening partner countries' own systems and capacities for delivering basic services
without discrimination, including:
• universal birth registration;
• access to safe drinking water, sanitation, adequate nutrition and shelter;
• universal and free access to basic health services;
• protection from violence and exploitation, including child labour;
• free, compulsory and universal primary education;
• access to sexual and reproductive health care and education;
• adequate vocational training and skills-development schemes;
• opportunities for productive employment and decent work after the minimum age of
labour.
Capacity building can be channelled and sustained through strengthened child protection
systems and community-based networks.
The Humanitarian Dimension
14. The Council underlines that, due to their particular vulnerability, children are
disproportionately affected by humanitarian crises, whether man-made or arising from
natural causes, including climate change. In times of crisis, there is also an increased risk of
children becoming the victims of different forms of human rights violations like recruitment
by armed forces or groups, sexual exploitation, domestic violence, forced labour, human
trafficking and physical (including malnutrition) and psychological trauma. Children may be
separated from their family. Girls living in conflict areas or in camps for displaced persons
or refugees are particularly exposed to rape, different forms of other sexual violence,
HIV/AIDS, other abuse, and to the consequences.
15. The response to these situations requires effective and quick interventions addressing vital
needs, while establishing conditions and links for longer-term development policies and
access to basic services. It further requires mainstreaming on the basis of children’s needs
differentiated according to gender, age and situation in all phases of humanitarian
interventions, including preparedness and contingency planning.
16. In this context, the EU will pay special attention to the needs of children, in accordance with
the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid. The Council highlights the need to address in
particular three specific issues related to children during crises and emergencies and
welcomes the approach of the Commission on these issues:
• separated and unaccompanied children, including measures to prevent separation, to
re-establish family links and to support orphans and vulnerable children affected by
HIV/AIDS;
• children associated with armed forces or armed groups, in line with the 2007 Paris
Commitments and Principles, in particular in the areas of preventing their
recruitment and ensuring their unconditional release and reintegration, with special
attention being paid to girls;
• children's education in emergencies, in particular by: i) promoting education
activities as a child protection tool and using school as a place of awareness raising
and prevention; ii) addressing specific challenges related to education in refugee
camps and to the return to origin countries and communities.
Improve mainstreaming
17. The Council believes that the rights of the child should not only be promoted through
specific actions, as set out above, but also through effective mainstreaming across EU
development cooperation tools, particularly within all country and regional programmes and
strategies. Mainstreaming is especially important for general budget support and for key
sectors, such as social sectors (especially health, education and social protection for all
children), rural development (with emphasis on food security and access to safe water) and
governance.
18. The Council recalls that according to the CRC children are primarily considered as rights
holders and constructive actors. This should be reflected in development, democratization
and peace-building processes and children should receive special support to develop their
full potential as agents of change, including their ability to participate and express their
views. Empowerment and participation of children throughout the programme cycle at local
and national level, as well as the role of families in this context, should be strengthened. The
fact that the rights of children are closely linked to the rights of their mothers should also be
taken into account. Ultimately progress in the condition of children is essential if we are to
prevent state fragility and ensure long-term sustainable development, social cohesion,
stability and human security at national, regional and global levels.
19. The EU should therefore pay specific attention to the rights and needs of the child in
programming, based on disaggregated data generation and analysis according to age and sex
in order to account for children in policy, legislative and budgetary provisions.
20. The Council welcomes the development of a Children's Rights Toolkit that aims at
strengthening capacities with partner countries, donors and other stakeholders to build a
child rights approach into the full range of their work – legislation, policy, programming,
budgeting effective mainstreaming and child participation – through assessments,
guidelines, seminars, guidance on indicators and on child participation.
Vulnerable groups of children
21. While all children should first and foremost be considered as rights-holders and actors, the
Council recognizes that different groups of girls and boys are particularly vulnerable to all
forms of violence and exploitation (including sexual violence and exploitation, trafficking,
alleged conflict with the law, child labour) or may face specific crisis situations that increase
their vulnerability.
22. The Council believes that special attention should be given to the specific rights and needs
of boys and girls, and to particularly vulnerable groups of children, which include children
belonging to ethnic minorities, migrants, displaced children or refugees, children affected by
armed conflicts, orphans, separated or unaccompanied children, children living in extreme
poverty, street children, children affected by HIV/AIDS, children with disabilities and
indigenous children. The Council underlines that as far as possible the participation of these
groups should be ensured so that their rights and needs can be adequately addressed and
supported and so that they can be empowered in ways which are tailored to their specific
circumstances and capabilities. Preventive measures, such as life skills education, should be
combined with assistance to child victims so as to ensure their rehabilitation, recovery and
long-term social inclusion, for which a gender-sensitive approach is imperative.
23. Due to the different needs of girls and boys, and the particular vulnerability of the girl child,
gender equality should be mainstreamed throughout EU external actions on children.
Actions should focus on sexual and reproductive health and rights, within the context of
established EU positions, including to combat harmful traditional and customary practices,
such as preventing early and/or forced marriages and female genital mutilation and cutting.
24. The Council especially emphasises the particular situation of children affected by armed
conflict. A solid normative and policy framework for joint EU action is in place to address
the violation of the rights of the child in the context of armed conflict and post-conflict
situations. In this context, the Council recalls the EU Guidelines on Children and Armed
Conflict (2003) and its Implementation Strategy and the EU Checklist for the Integration of
the Protection of Children Affected by Armed Conflict into ESDP Operations (2006). This
comprises further mainstreaming in CFSP and ESDP, including operations, i.a. those related
to Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration and Security Sector Reform.
25. The EU is actively committed to further enhancing its engagement in the issue of children
affected by armed conflict. The most significant challenge for the EU lies in the strategic
and comprehensive implementation of commitments at the country and regional level. To
this end the Council underlines the urgent need (i) to address the commitmentimplementation
gap in development and humanitarian aid programmes and projects; (ii) to
maintain the support during the transition from humanitarian aid operations to development
cooperation activities; (iii) to avoid overlap of intervention areas at country level and (iv) to
adopt community-based approaches to the greatest extent possible.
26. The Council emphasizes the importance of the existing tools, such as early warning
mechanisms and the use of conflict-sensitive approaches. The Council also stresses the need
to pay special attention to the recruitment of children, to the situation of their families and
communities and to the establishment of protection systems. The contribution from civil
society in this respect is crucial.
27. Furthermore, it will be important to ensure that the rights and needs of girls and boys in
armed conflict are properly met, including by making financial tools and procedures more
flexible to provide quick responses for programmes addressing their situation.
28. The Council further underlines the importance of raising awareness on the nature and extent
of issues related to children affected by armed conflict, including the particular needs of
girls, in order to improve knowledge and expertise on these issues at EU and country level
and to share and/or jointly gather information, in particular data collection.
29. The Council also stresses the importance of investigating, prosecuting and punishing all
those who have unlawfully recruited children into armed forces or groups or used them for
active participation in conflict situations, in order to ensure that every effort is made to end a
culture of impunity.
Linking Relief, Rehabilitation and Development (LRRD)
30. The Council recalls that national authorities in countries affected by humanitarian crisis
retain the primary responsibility for protecting their populations, including children.
31. The Council recalls the importance of systematically linking relief, rehabilitation and
development (LRRD) in all intervention areas. In this continuum, provision for education in
emergencies should be integrated as early as possible into comprehensive longer-term
policies. Similarly, provision of adequate health and nutrition services for children should be
ensured both in emergency situations and on a long-term basis. Ensuring the unconditional
release and reintegration of children formerly associated with armed forces or armed groups
also has an important LRRD dimension, where the different needs of girls and boys should
be taken into account.
Ensuring the way forward and follow up
32. The EU as a whole needs to ensure that its actions for addressing the rights and needs of the
child, whether in relations to specific actions and particular focal areas or to effective
mainstreaming in programmes and projects, are comprehensive and well articulated, in
accordance with the above mentioned EU Guidelines and these Conclusions. The Council
underlines the need to build strong partnerships with the UN bodies, in particular UNICEF,
and other partnerships such as the Education for All-Fast Track Initiative and international
NGOs.
33. Council calls on the Commission and the Member States to apply strengthened coordination
and enhanced complementarity and division of labour across the different instruments and
throughout the various steps of a programme cycle in relation to the rights of the child at
country level to reduce fragmentation. As a first step the Commission with the support of the
Member States should consider undertaking a mapping exercise with a view to taking stock
of existing relevant policies, programmes, guidelines, actions and expertise in order to
explore ways and means to increase the coherence and effectiveness of EU external action
on children's rights and needs.
34. In order to achieve an integrated and comprehensive EU approach, the Council strongly
encourages the Commission and the Member States to apply such an approach in a number
of pilot cases, which will inform future policy. The choice of these pilot countries should
take due account of the work undertaken in the framework of other child-related EU actions
and as far as possible geographical balance. This process should be based on consultations
with Member States.
35. To support the implementation of these Conclusions EU institutions and Member States are
encouraged to enhance training of their officials on children’s rights policy, drawing on the
expertise of international partners. Efforts should be made to increase awareness and
understanding of the rights of the child among policy makers, media and civil society.
36. The Council requests the Commission to present a report by the beginning of 2011 that will
measure progress in implementation of these Conclusions in terms of results, on the basis of
specific indicators to be determined in cooperation with Member States, in particular with
respect to EU actions in selected pilot countries."
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