On 31 May 2018, in Strasbourg, The Council of Europe published a new study on children’s views on information they receive about migration. The children highlighted that the professional’s behaviour, body language and tone of voice are crucial and that it is important to receive information about the future in order to alleviate feelings of stress and uncertainty. In addition to written information, the children underlined that interpreters and peer mediators can be used to reinforce the information given orally by the professionals. These views were gathered in the course of workshops held in Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece and Hungary in 2017. The study will contribute to the work of the Children´s Rights Division on a handbook for professionals and volunteers working with children in migration. The handbook will be a practical tool on child-friendly information and provide guidance on how to communicate with children about their access to rights upon arrival, including examples of promising practices in reception centres as well as during the age assessment and guardianship procedures.

The handbook is elaborated by a working group of experts under the Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2016-2021) and Council of Europe Action Plan on protecting refugee and migrant children (2017-2019) and it is expected to be published by the end of 2018.