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[09/09/08 12:30] "When decisions are taken about children, their ‘best interests' should be the guiding principle. This is now widely accepted but not always respected."

This was the key message that Commissioner Hammarberg delivered today during the second Janusz Korczak lecture held in Stockholm as part of a major conference on "Building a Europe for and with children – Towards a Strategy for 2009-2011" organised by the Council of Europe and the Swedish Government from 8 to 10 September.

Chairing the lecture, the Commissioner underlined that the child's best interest is a generally applicable principle and he praised the lecture given by Ms Emily Logan, Ombudsman for Children of Ireland and Chair person of the European Network of Ombudsmen for Children (ENOC). "In her speech, Emily Logan insisted on the fact that the principle of the best interest comprises a procedural rule, as it governs how we go about decision-making with regard to children. This should be the pillar of any child policy" said Commissioner Hammarberg.

The lecture also focused on concrete examples on how children's interests should be heard by society and put an emphasis on the need to consult children and let them participate in all decision making processes which are relevant to them.

Commissioner Hammarberg also stressed that the current Council of Europe programme ‘Building a Europe for and with children' "could be seen as an implementation of Korczak's ideas on justice, fight against violence and child participation."

Created by the Commissioner Hammarberg, the first Korczak lecture was held in November 2007 in Warsaw. The lectures aim at promoting the legacy of Janusz Korczak, the Polish paediatrician, educator and writer for and about children. Korczak designed and led two orphanages in Warsaw. He died in 1942 with two hundreds of "his" children in the extermination camp of Treblinka. For many, he is one of the "father" of children rights.

The Commissioner concluded saying that "Korczak was a pragmatic dreamer, ahead of his time and but also ahead of our time".


 

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Ms Logan's lecture

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* On 16 March 2022, the Committee of Ministers adopted a decision by which the Russian Federation ceased to be a member of the Council of Europe, after 26 years of membership.
** All reference to Kosovo, whether to the territory, institutions or population, shall be understood in full compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999) and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo.