The work of the Council of Europe and its HELP online courses on children's rights were presented during the 2021 World Congress on Justice with Children “Ensuring access to justice for all children: towards non-discriminatory and inclusive child justice systems”.

The 2021 World Congress on Justice with Children was organised on 15-20 November 2021 by Terres des Hommes, Global Initiative on Justice with Children and the Supreme Court of Mexico. Its Regional Session for Europe focused on the challenges facing equal access to justice for all children in Europe and was an opportunity to reflect on the European standards and instruments in child justice.

Council of Europe representatives highlighted the organisation’s work in the area of child-friendly justice focusing on the Committee of Ministers’ Guidelines on child-friendly justice, as the most extensive set of standards, and HELP (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals) free online courses for legal professionals on children’s rights.

The participants had the opportunity to learn about the objective and structure of the HELP free online Child-friendly Justice course currently available as a self-study course in 14 languages, with 29 HELP tutored courses carried out in 14 countries in cooperation with National Training Institutions for judges and prosecutors and Bar Associations.

Maria-Andriani Kostopoulou - Chair of the Council of Europe’s Steering Committee for the Rights of the Child - presented the HELP online course on Refugee and Migrant Children. Children on the move are one of the most vulnerable groups in Europe and the HELP course illustrates how critical issues, such as alternative to detention, family reunification, guardianship and age assessment, are addressed by International and European legal frameworks. Moreover, she presented the HELP modules on protection of children from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse and on the rights of children in the digital environment.