Project on the field TDHIF in Europe
Advocating Child Rights in a changing European Union
Up to these days of early 2011, recent important reforms at EU level, such as a renewed European Parliament, a new European Commission, the creation of the European External Action Service and the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, opening to what is called the* “Lisbon Europe”; represent major institutional changes at EU level*. Those open to new perspectives for EU policies impacting on children. The Lisbon Treaty, beyond introducing a series of crucial changes in the EU’s structure and functioning of the EU, place formally, and enhances the legal binding status of human rights, children’s rights and cooperation putting them at the core of the EU vision. The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union becomes a legally binding instrument equal in juridical values to others treaties of the UE. Moreover, the Lisbon Treaty is binding the EU to accede as such to the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. For the first time in EU’s institutional history, the promotion of the rights of the child are formally part of the EU’s core objectives, with clear references in the Lisbon Treaty itself, and the Charter and the European Convention on Human Rights.
Such a legal and institutional new framework will open renewed policy perspectives at EU level on fields of action of Terre des Hommes International Federation (TDHIF). This is why TDHIF will continue not only to keep a close eye to those multi-level reforms of the EU architecture, but also to influence as much as possible policies and programs set by the European Commission in the light of this renewed period in the EU construction.
Contributing to EU Policies on the Rights of the Child
On 15 February 2011, the European Commission adopted its Agenda for the Rights of the Child. The Agenda aims at “reinforcing the rights of the child by putting the principles of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights into practice” and lists 11 actions that the Commission will take over the next years to protect children’s rights, including promoting child-friendly justice, better informing children about their rights, and making the internet safer for kids, among others. Besides, the specific issue of unaccompanied minors has also drawn strong interests in EU policy, notably with the Action Plan on Unaccompanied Minors (2010-2014) launched in 2010.
Terre des Hommes International Federation has been taking part in enabling advocacy efforts towards these important policies through targeted advocacy work over the past 8 years, especially on issues such as child trafficking, international adoptions, child rights in asylum policies, and more recently on the issue of children mobility. Advocacy has also taken part in TDHIF participation in the NGO Action Group on the EU’s Child Rights Strategy (CRAG). The group is monitoring the EU child rights policy, contributing, for example, to the on-going mobilization of a Parliamentary Alliance for Children in the European Parliament, and following up the launch of the European Commission’s Agenda on the rights of the child.
In addition to child rights, TDHIF also monitors closely the policy of human rights and development cooperation at EU level. Actively participating in CONCORD, the European NGO Confederation for Relief and Development, TDHIF has taken a leading role in promoting Human Rights Based Approaches to Development, in particular through the CONCORD working group on Human rights based approach (HRBA). TDHIF is also actively contributing to the on-going “Structured Dialogue”, an initiative with which the European Commission aims at r*edefining the terms of partnership between the EC and civil society* organizations for policy formulation to aid delivery modalities. TDHIF takes also an active role in CONCORD Policy Forum and the Working Group “Funding for Development and Relief”.
Moreover, TDHIF actively contributes to monitoring human rights policy at EU level through the Human Rights Development Network (HRDN) where it contribute particularly to the working group monitoring the implementation of the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR). Having come into force on 1 January 2007, the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) is a financial instrument that can be seen as the concrete expression of the EU’s intention to integrate the promotion of democracy and human rights into all of its external policies.
Broadening partnership and continuous support to its member organizations.
As an NGO that fully integrates its field work to advocacy at international level, TDHIF will continue to channel analyses, expertise and recommendations to the EU institutions based on its field project work. Strategically, TDHIF is using networking to run its advocacy work, being a member of various NGO networks that represent both the development cooperation sector as the human rights and child rights sector at EU level as mentioned above, including Concord, HRDN and CRAG.
Last but not least, TDHIF is in service of its 11 member organizations, where it support TDH organization to organize and implement their advocacy work at EU level and provides information on targeted EU policy development. TDHIF EU office in Brussels is also mandated to enhance their capacity of TDH organisations to get EU funded projects through technical support and capacity building on EU funding system, application and EU project management procedures.
