The new strategy meant to guide the 46 member States of the Council of Europe in protecting and promoting the rights of the child in 2022-2027 will be officially launched on 7-8 April at a high-level conference in Rome.

Children’s rights in crisis and emergency situations as one of the priorities of the strategy will be in the focus at the event. A video statement addressed to the participants of the conference will be delivered in the name of the First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska. The Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine, Maryna Lazebna, will address the conference via video-link.

Ministers from Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Estonia, Iceland, Ireland, Lithuania, Republic of Moldova, Monaco, North Macedonia, as well as Deputy Ministers, State Secretaries and Undersecretaries of State from Armenia, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Greece, Holy See, Poland and Turkey are expected to take part in the high-level plenary session on the 7 April.

It will be followed by a number of thematic sessions and panels focusing on children’s mental health, environmental rights, access to justice, protecting children against sexual exploitation and abuse, comprehensive sexuality education as well as challenges faced by children who act as human rights defenders. On 8 April, during the panel on protecting children from online sexual exploitation and abuse, the new monitoring report by the Council of Europe Lanzarote Committee on how to “Address the challenges raised by child self-generated sexual images and/or videos” will be launched.

The new Strategy having been created with the input and participation of children themselves, young delegates from a number of European countries, including Belgium, Spain, Montenegro, Italy, Portugal and Bulgaria will take part in the event. Two further young activists will also be coming from Canada and from Greece.

The event will start at 9.15 a.m. on Thursday, 7 April at the Ergife Palace Hotel & Conference Center in Rome and will be virtually accessible via webcast.

Source: press release and platform.