EU accused of ignoring children’s rights

Date: 18/11/1999

By Kate Holman

THE EU is coming under fire for failing to safeguard the interests of its 90 million children adequately on the eve of this weekend's tenth anniversary of the United Nations' convention on children's rights.

The accord is the most widely-ratified human rights convention in the UN's history, but critics claim it has made little difference at EU level.

"Although a lot has been done on the issue of sex abuse and trafficking, very little has been done on anything else," said Diana Sutton of the International Save the Children Alliance in Brussels. "That is a weakness of EU policy. Children are virtually invisible."

Critics point out that children are not recognised as a specific group in society within the Union treaties and there is no clear legal base for the European Commission to act on their behalf.

"Children have a very low priority at the European level," said Irish Fine Gael MEP Mary Banotti, founder of the Children's Alliance of MEPs and parliamentary mediator on abducted children since 1995.

The only Union programme specifically targeted at children is Daphne, which is designed to combat violence against children and women. Projects for the first year of the programme include initiatives on bullying, drug and alcohol abuse, child pornography and the Internet, telephone helplines, self-harm and the prevention of corporal punishment.

Agreement on the scheme was, however, held up for eight months this year because of arguments between governments over the legal basis for EU action. A special budget line for family policies was also blocked last June for lack of a legal base.

Non-governmental organisations claim that lumping children under family policy fails to address their distinct needs, arguing that measures designed to help parents do not always filter down to the rest of the family. "The Commission is even reluctant to address issues of discrimination towards children. It is seen merely as an adult-based issue," said Sutton.

She insists that whereas other specific groups such as women and the disabled are taken into consideration when EU policies are being decided, children are excluded. "There is a general lack of recognition that the EU can affect children at all, but it does," she added.

Banotti is, however, hopeful that the newly-elected MEPs will take a stronger line on children's rights. "I am encouraged by how many of my colleagues are concerned about these issues," she said. "It is a welcome change".

Banotti, who wrote to Romano Prodi calling for the EU to take a more pro-active stance on children's rights, said she had received a positive response from the Commission president. She now plans to raise the issue with Social Affairs Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou, calling for the creation of an office to focus on the "whole range" of child-related issues.

The EU is coming under fire for failing to safeguard the interests of its 90 million children adequately on the eve of the tenth anniversary of the United Nations' convention on children's rights, November 1999.