Building a Europe for and with Children: Council of Europe three-year action programme - Launching conference, Monaco, 4 - 5 April 2006

(To be Checked against delivered Speech)

Speech by Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, Deputy Secretary General

Your Royal Highness, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

May I begin with a story?

Once upon a time there was a continent ravaged by the most damaging war of all time. Human madness had destroyed everything. Houses, factories, libraries, districts and entire towns were razed to the ground. What was worse, some human beings denied others their dignity and, for a moment, in the silence that followed the explosion of the bomb, humanity seemed to be lost for ever, carrying along with it the millions of victims of the Second World War.

Then, faced with the rubble, people decided to rebuild the schools, the factories, the cathedrals, the museums and the towns. It was no easy job, but it was done. However, how can broken lives be rebuilt? What material can replace lost dignity? What paint can cover up the traces of the horror imprinted on our souls?
Is there a crane capable of lifting the weight of guilt? Will these new walls protect us from our nightmares, from fear of the other?

Among the finest and most ambitious projects that came into being in the wake of the war, I definitely prefer the building of Europe, since, despite all the difficulties, we succeeded in finding the materials we needed - the strength and the willpower - to meet the greatest challenge of all - that of building a union of nations, a union which grows closer and stronger every day.

Since 1949 the Council of Europe has been striving to build a Europe founded on three pillars: human rights, democracy and the rule of law. To succeed in our task, we have developed a very varied range of highly sophisticated tools - legal instruments, monitoring mechanisms, assistance programmes, awareness-raising tools, forums for debate and innovation.

The Council of Europe has become the home of democracy and of human rights, but a home is well-designed only when the architect succeeds in harnessing intangible elements (space and light) for the well-being of all who live there. Today, I wonder whether, in striving to go far and fast with our projects, we have not overlooked children.

Is the home we are building safe, comfortable, fun, accessible, comforting, beautiful and ... liveable for the 155 million children in Europe?

I ask this question even though the Council of Europe is doubtless the organisation with the greatest experience of developing standards and promoting sector-based strategies for child protection in Europe.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Children are vital, and so are their rights.

Since its formation the Council of Europe has drawn up many legal instruments of prime importance to the protection of children's rights, such as the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Social Charter and the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, to cite but three. Thanks to these instruments, States have been obliged to adopt measures - including legislation - constituting significant progress in the protection of children's rights. Their interpretation is increasingly based on the most frequently ratified convention world-wide: the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This is a fantastic example of complementarity between two kinds of instrument (one global and the others regional).

I nonetheless remain convinced that these conventions should have a far greater impact. To achieve that, adults must cease to regard children as "mini-persons" with "mini-rights". Children must also be aware that these conventions and rights exist and be more easily able to rely on them.

In addition to our conventions, there are the recommendations and resolutions adopted by the Committee of Ministers, the Parliamentary Assembly and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities. The list is very long, and the subjects dealt with extremely varied, albeit always of crucial importance. Although it is difficult to asses the impact of all these legal instruments, they undoubtedly serve as guidance for the legislation and policies of all our member states.
However, the role played by the Council of Europe does not end there. In our building work, law is a very important raw material, but it alone cannot bear the full weight of our home, since law is not an end in itself but a tool for achieving our objectives. We must establish institutions, devise policies, invest in research, education, training and awareness-raising, and develop new tools with which to meet new challenges - and that is also the role of the Council of Europe!

Yet, despite almost sixty years' building and reconstruction efforts, Europe is still not our children's home. As the results of the consultation we held in Ljubljana last summer show, violence against children continues to exist, is growing and is assuming new forms. No country is free of it and no country has done everything possible to solve the problem. We have accordingly decided to devote all our energies, resources and expertise to promoting respect for children's rights and to combating violence against children.

This determination and this espousal of children's cause by the Council of Europe were recently confirmed at the highest level on the occasion of the organisation's Summit of Heads of State and Government, held in Warsaw last year.

The programme we are launching today is our organisation's response to this immense challenge, to the mandate we were given by the summit to build a Europe for and with children.

Building a Europe FOR children is a huge undertaking. The shelves in your offices are doubtless crammed with legal instruments, declarations, recommendations, reports and proposals. At the same time, I suspect that your budgets are still very meagre ….

With this new programme, the Council of Europe wishes to move on to the operational stage, to begin the real site work. In Europe we already have most of the raw materials; we have the best architects and some excellent craftsmen. We have a quite clear idea of what must be achieved. We must therefore begin to build and we have accordingly set ourselves two main objectives: promoting children's rights and eradicating violence against children.

Firstly, we intend to launch a major campaign for the promotion of children's rights:

Our aim is to:

- help States honour their commitments under the main international legal instruments;

- promote inclusion of the "child" dimension in all areas of policy-making and help establish integrated national child protection strategies;

- enhance knowledge of children's rights among children themselves and all those in day-to-day contact with them or who decide their future (authorities, parents, teachers, doctors, welfare workers, law professionals, the media, etc.);

- make it easier for children to assert their rights: develop information resources and judicial and other procedures suited to children of different ages and in different situations;

- promote ratification and application of existing instruments and develop new standards where necessary. In particular, I believe we must devise standards to guarantee that children's rights are fully respected in judicial procedure in general and in the juvenile courts system in particular.

Our second objective is the eradication of violence against children.

We intend to monitor implementation of the recommendations made in the United Nations' study on the subject, focusing on six priority areas - school, resident institutions, the family, the community, the media and cyberspace.

Our action will be founded on four pillars (the "four Ps"): protection of children, prevention of violence, prosecution of criminals and participation by children.

- The first principle: protection of children

Protecting children who are in extreme distress or in danger requires both emergency measures and long-term policies capable of tackling the roots of the problem. Social exclusion, poverty, illness, disability and war are real-life situations which make children even more vulnerable and require reinforced protection measures. The Council of Europe is not a humanitarian aid or emergency relief organisation. Our strongpoint remains the background work of creating conditions conducive to equitable, sustainable economic and social development. Through our policies in the fields of social cohesion, education, youth and culture, we hope to help enhance the protection of children at risk due to difficult economic, political or social situations.

- The second principle: prevention of violence

In the context of our programme "Responses to violence in everyday life in a democratic society" (2002-2004) we identified twelve principles that should serve as guidelines for national and local policies aimed at preventing and reducing violence. Over the coming three years we will be testing the application of these principles and assessing the outcome. Our aim is to propose model violence prevention strategies to the national authorities.

The tools developed will be aimed, above all, at overcoming the divide between the law and reality.

Take the example of corporal punishment.

We have standards - legal instruments and decisions by competent bodies - condemning this unacceptable form of violence, which is tolerated (and sometimes even welcomed) within families, schools and detention centres. We will run a campaign to outlaw corporal punishment in all member states. However, apart from the purely legal aspects, we must bring about a change of attitudes and help parents raise their children without violence. Our positive parenting project will be one of the three themes addressed by the Conference of European Ministers of Family Affairs being held in Lisbon in May. This subject is particularly close to our hearts, which is why we have proposed discussing it at this conference.

- The third principle: prosecution of the perpetrators of violence

The impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators of violence against children is unacceptable. A society which allows criminals (such as child traffickers or paedophiles) to go unpunished is quite simply an accomplice to the offence.

Unfortunately, taboos, tolerance, society's indifference and the victims' silence help to increase the number of offences that go unprosecuted. In addition, account must be taken of the fact that criminal procedure is far from suited to the needs of child victims. Application of certain principles of criminal law (such as the limitation period) should take into consideration a child victim's circumstances and the seriousness of the offence.

It is also essential to ensure reparation of the damage suffered by victims, and the State should guarantee compensation where the perpetrator of violence is insolvent.

Prosecution of criminals and reparation of damage suffered by victims are therefore part of the foundations of the home we are building. We cannot economise on them without risking its collapse. The Council of Europe has the expertise and the tools needed to devise standards in this field, and I intend to spur it to act.

The debate taking place on the possible preparation of an international legal instrument to combat sexual exploitation and abuse of children is already a major step forward.

- The fourth principle: participation by children

Ladies and Gentlemen, and here I address myself in particular to the young participants in this conference,

I wish to conclude my speech today by referring to the noblest of our four principles: participation by children.

This is a subject on which I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that we genuinely want to build a Europe WITH children. The bad news is that we don't know how to go about it.

That is why we have proposed holding a round-table discussion on participation by children. We want to know your opinions, learn about your experience, hear your wishes, understand your fears and share your ideas. We are aware that this is a huge challenge, but we have three years in which to tackle it. By 2008 we hope to have developed methodologies, tools and networks capable of guaranteeing effective participation by children, including those who do not attend school or who are socially excluded. Our primary aim is to involve children in the running of our programme.

We are delighted that young people are taking an active role in this conference. Whereas we are only just starting our proceedings, they have already completed the first part of their programme, as they have been working on their contribution to the conference since Sunday. They have also had to take time out from school right in the middle of the year. Thank you very much for your efforts.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

There is a hill in Stuttgart known as the "Monte scherbelino", where over 1.5 million cubic metres of debris from the town were dumped after the Second World War. This raised the height of the hill by 40 metres, and it now offers the best panoramic view of the reconstructed city. The hill has become a symbol of human beings' destructive and creative capacities.

The Council of Europe is also a symbol of reconciliation and European unification. But we are not alone.

The European Union is also an outstanding result of Europe's will to lay sound foundations for the economic and social progress to which our citizens aspire. If the European Union and the Council of Europe have the same symbols (the European flag and anthem), that is because we are destined to share the same values.

With the forthcoming publication of its Communication on the Rights of the Child, the European Commission is about to take an important step forward in this field. It is not by chance that we are travelling the same road at the same time. Let us set the best course together, so as to arrive more quickly at our destination!

I also hope for fruitful future co-operation between the Council and the large family of United Nations agencies. The Council of Europe's standpoint is the same as that of the other major guardians of children's rights - Unicef and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. I am delighted by the presence here today of two Regional Directors of Unicef, Maria Calivis and Philip O'Brien, and I know we can count on their friendship. Louise Arbour, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, is sorry not to be able to attend, but she has sent us a message of support, which you can consult.

It is true that the programme we are launching today can succeed only with the support and co-operation of the organisations whose very role is to protect human and children's rights. I am convinced that the process we are initiating today will enable us to strengthen our ties, and above all to be more effective in performing our respective roles.

Mr Minister of State,

You have chosen children's rights as the theme of the first major event you have hosted since your accession to the Council of Europe. I am moved by the symbolic value of this conference and extremely grateful for the efforts made to organise it. On behalf of the Council of Europe and all the participants, representing 45 countries, thank you for your hospitality and welcome.

Your Royal Highness, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I wish to conclude with a simple saying, which perfectly enshrines the spirit of the task before us:

"A man never stands as tall as when he kneels to help a child."

Thank you for your attention.