An increasing number of children are nowadays confronted with the judicial system, because of their parents’ separation or because their placement in alternative care is considered necessary.

For this reason, this international conference to be held on 3 October 2022 in Dublin, organised as part of the Irish Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, will have a particular focus on the voice of the child and young persons in the determination of their best interests in family courts.

These aspects are acknowledged as a priority action of the Council of Europe’s Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2022-2027), and its strategic objectives of:

  • Child-friendly justice for all children and
  • Giving a voice to every child.

The conference objective is to examine how to determine and promote the rights, voice and best interests of the child in the context of parental separation and care proceedings.

This is a special opportunity to bring together policy-makers and national authorities, high-level representatives from international organisations, child participation experts, professionals working for and with children, members of the academia and civil society organisations, and most importantly children and young people to exchange views and:

  • Promote the rights and best interests of the child in parental separation and care proceedings;
  • Raise the voice for those children who have been, are or will be in this situation;
  • Share good practices and learn in particular from the positive reforms and initiative undertaken in Ireland and other Council of Europe members states;
  • Contribute to the work of the Committee of Experts of the Council of Europe on the best interest of the child in parental separation and in care proceedings (CJ/ENF-ISE).

The conference is organised by the Irish Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth in collaboration with the Irish Department of Justice and the Council of Europe.

 

Link to the Irish Conference webpage for online registration (open until 03/10/2022)