On 9-10 June 2022, the 5th meeting of the Network of Focal Points on Migration took place in a hybrid format, bringing together participants from relevant ministries dealing with migration issues from 40 member states. The meeting was chaired by the Special Representative on Migration and Refugees (SRSG), Leyla Kayacik, and discussed the developments with regard to the situation of people fleeing Ukraine since the Network's extraordinary meeting in March 2022.

For the first time, a thematic discussion on child-friendly approaches and procedures in migration was organised, as reflected in the Council of Europe Action Plan on Protecting Vulnerable Persons in the Context of Asylum and Migration in Europe. Setting the scene for the thematic discussion, Arezo Karimi, a refugee girl from Afghanistan, who now lives in Sweden, gave a testimony of her own experience.

The new Council of Europe Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2022-2027): “Children’s Rights in Action: from continuous implementation to joint innovation” was presented with a focus on migrant and refugee children. The meeting agenda also included the presentation of the ten compliance reports adopted by the Committee of the Parties to the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Committee) on the follow-up given to the recommendations of its Special Report on “Protecting children affected by the refugee crisis from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse”, the new Council of Europe Guidance on family-based care for unaccompanied and separated children, and an overview of the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights on the rights of refugee and migrant children.