Justice and Consumers

The year 2020 is almost finished. It has been a year of tremendous changes, challenges, adaptations, and feeling of unknown. Some of us revisited long forgotten hobbies, rediscovered walks, board games and baking. Others, experienced fear, solitude, depression. We are looking forward to 2021. For our team it means the adoption of the EU Strategy on the rights of the child and work on its implementation. Have a calm and relaxing end of the year. You will hear from us in 2021.

The open public consultations on the EU Strategy on the rights of the child closed on 8 December. We received nearly 500 replies! Thanks to all who contributed.

On 2 December 2020, the European Commission adopted its new Strategy to strengthen the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the EU. The strategy proposes specific actions to ensure the effective application of the Charter by the Member States; empower civil society organisations, rights defenders and justice practitioners; foster the use of the Charter as a compass for EU institutions; and strengthen people’s awareness of their rights under the Charter. The strategy complements the European Democracy Action Plan and the Rule of Law report, illustrating the Commission's comprehensive approach to promoting and protecting the fundamental rights and values of the EU. Upholding fundamental rights is a vital tool in protecting children's rights. The strategy addresses contemporary challenges, such as digitalisation and the impacts of COVID-19, including the adverse implications on children's rights and further widening the inequality gap.

The European Youth portal aims to concentrate youth-related information in a single place, with content from the former Youth pages on Europa being migrated to the portal. Through the new page, young people in Europe can easily find information about the EU’s youth policy and programmes, ask questions and get in touch with youth support services in the programme countries.

According to the judgement, Hungary has failed to fulfil its obligations under EU law in the area of procedures for granting international protection and returning illegally staying third-country nationals. In particular, restricting access to the international protection procedure, unlawfully detaining applicants (including families with children) for that protection in transit zones and moving illegally staying third-country nationals to a border area, without observing the guarantees surrounding a return procedure, constitute infringements of EU law.

According to the United Nations, all children taking any kind of action to promote and protect human rights, including children’s rights, are defenders. The Implementation Guide was produced in cooperation with the Queen’s University of Belfast (prof. Laura Lundy), the CRC Committee and the UN Special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Ms Mary Lawlor. The document aims to complement the existing commentary and advice on HRDs by clearly indicating the specific rights of children human rights defender (CHRDs) and identifying what is distinctive about children’s rights. It provides guidance as to what States, civil society organisations and others should do to ensure that children who exercise their right to defend human rights are not only allowed but empowered to do so and can do it without encountering breaches of their own rights and without unnecessary or disproportionate restrictions. A child-friendly version of this Guide is currently being developed by the Children’s Advisory Team of Child Rights.

CRIN launched a new research on access to justice for children for their environmental rights. The project examines how the law can better protect children’s environmental rights, how children can access the courts in environmental cases and what remedies courts can impose to protect these rights. Using the findings of the research, the project will aim to push for the change needed to make children’s environmental rights enforceable.

The campaign was launched on 15 December. It stands up for the rights of all children, with a particular focus on families and children who are at greater risk of discrimination and exclusion, such as children living in extreme poverty, children with disabilities, children at risk of entering, or in, alternative care, Roma and Traveller children, and migrant and refugee children. It aims to bring change for young children in Europe by: Building a community of ECD advocates at national and EU level; Raising awareness of ECD and collecting and disseminating a strong evidence base; Leveraging EU policies and funding to support reforms and public investment at national level.

In April 2020 Terre des Homme launched the initiative “Life Under Coronavirus”. Later, a global survey was launched to understand children’s experiences of the Covid-19 pandemic and their views on how they wish to get involved. The survey was designed with children, for children aged between 8 to 17 years available in 27 different languages alongside an easy to read version. It received an overwhelming response with more than 26,000 children participating worldwide.

The Gender ABC Project sets out to change children’s attitudes towards gender stereotypes & norms reinforcing gender-based violence and raising awareness of schools, families and communities to develop a supportive and safe environment for children to learn. In an online webinar, the Gender ABC partners presented the project, its results over 2 years and the learnings acquired through facing the multiple challenges of each country's context as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Together with his team, the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland published its annual report (April 2019 to March 2020). The report covers a year where progress was made on key issues for children’s human rights in Scotland, including UNCRC incorporation, equal protection of children from assault and raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility.

ICJ and its partners published their report on investigation, prosecution and trial of terrorism cases. the report provides a comprehensive overview of the relevant international and EU legal standards and criminal law principles based on the EU Directive. The publication addresses the appropriate interpretation and application of the EU Directive in practice throughout investigation, prosecution and trial, consistently with international and EU human rights law and standards. The guidance discusses the rights of suspects in the criminal process and the specific needs of vulnerable groups, such as children. It underlines the best interests of the child a primary consideration, including when children are indirectly affected by proceedings.

The objective of TOY to Share, Play to Care is to scale up and embed in policy the TOY for Inclusion approach - an effective means of creating community-based early education and care (ECEC) initiatives that improve access to ECEC for marginalised young children, their transition to formal education and the capacity of their parents and professionals.

Lumos Foundation, in collaboration with the UNHCR, UNICEF and IOM, published its report that maps and assesses the forms of care provided to unaccompanied migrant, asylum-seeking and refugee children in six European Union Member States. The aim of the research is to inform policy and decision making, as well as promote further funding investments, towards integrated, child rights centred, family- and community-based care for these children.