On 16-17 October 2018, more than 110 governmental and non-governmental representatives took part in the last meeting of the Joint Council on Youth (CMJ), the co-managed decision-making body of the Council of Europe’s youth sector. On this occasion, the CMJ approved a draft Committee of Ministers’ recommendation on supporting young refugees in transition to adulthood. After an intense and inclusive drafting process, in which each voice has been heard in order to foster an agreement, the CMJ was able to reach a compromise (with two dissenting opinions) on this draft text, which is part of the Council of Europe Action Plan on Protecting Refugee and Migrant Children in Europe. The draft recommendation will be forwarded to the Committee of Ministers for further examination and possible final adoption in 2019. If adopted, it would constitute an opportunity for governments to clarify further and to support existing standards in the important area of the integration of young refugees, while underlining the specificity and added value of the youth sector (with its unique non-formal and intercultural approach) in this field.

On 9 and 10 2018, the Youth Department of the Council of Europe organised a Consultative Meeting to provide guidance and support to the preparation of a Long Term Training Course (LTTC) on the social inclusion of young refugees. Representatives of the Council of Europe and non-governmental organisations shared their past and current initiatives on refugees and migrants. As an introduction to the meeting, Camille Thomas and Houssam Abdl Kader, both from Voice of Young Refugees in Europe (VYRE) presented the needs of young refugees, focusing on the capacity building that should be provided to young refugees. They also addressed the important mobility issue: young refugees often are prevented from attending Council of Europe youth because of the visa issues they face. The meeting issued proposals and conclusions that should be taken into account during the preparation of the LTTC, with a priority to building bridges and taking a multi-disciplinary approach should remain a priority in all the process. The project should focus on young refugees in transition to adulthood.