Previous Strategies

Since launching the Programme "Building a Europe for and with children", in Monaco in 2006, the Council of Europe has implemented strategies over a series of policy cycles to guide its work on children’s rights.

Council of Europe Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2016-2021)

The current Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2016-2021) was adopted in Sofia in April 2016. This Strategy was developed by a committee of experts (DECS-ENF) and its implementation until December 2019 was guided by the Ad hoc Committee for the Rights of the Child (CAHENF). As of January 2020, it is guided by the Steering Committee for the Rights of the Child (CDENF).

The five priority areas are:

equal opportunities for all children;
participation of all children;
a life free from violence for all children;
child-friendly justice for all children;
rights of the child in the digital environment.

Learn more:

the Strategy in a nutshell.

Related reports:

Related events:

Mid-term review Conference (13-14 November 2019, Strasbourg, France)
High-Level Conference (5-6 April 2016, Sofia, Bulgaria)

Previous Council of Europe Strategies for the Rights of the Child

The origins and policy cycles of the Programme over the years are as follows:

Monaco (2006) Conference report and Programme
Stockholm (2008) Conference report and Programme

The first Stockholm Strategy (2009-2011) set out three priority areas:

promoting children's access to justice;
eradicating all forms of violence against children;
participation of children and their influence in society.

The four objectives of the Monaco Strategy (2012-2015) were:

promoting child-friendly services and systems (in the areas of justice, health and social services);
eliminating all forms of violence against children (including sexual violence, trafficking, corporal punishment and violence in schools);
guaranteeing the rights of children in vulnerable situations (such as those with disabilities, in detention, in alternative care, migrant children and minorities, including Roma children);
promoting child participation.

The Conference “Growing with Children’s Rights” (Dubrovnik, March 2014) took stock of the progress made in the implementation of the Monaco Strategy.

All Council of Europe activities in the field of children‘s rights are anchored in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and aim to further the protection of the rights contained therein.

Atrás “All on board – all online”: Council of Europe launches a new Handbook for policy makers on the rights of the child in the digital environment

On 10 December 2020 - on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day - the Council of Europe held a webinar to launch a new tool: the Handbook for policy makers on the rights of the child in the digital environment.

As 1 in 3 internet users worldwide are children, they represent a large group of digital citizens. While they explore the digital environment, children are presented with many opportunities, including access to education material and information, and platforms to express themselves and engage in play. However, children also face many risks online, and can suffer from human rights violations.

To protect children’s rights in the digital environment, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted the Guidelines to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of the child in the digital environment, which also exists in a child-friendly version. The new Handbook completes these guidelines, by supporting policy makers in dealing concretely with the online rights and protection of children. It will assist the formulation of national frameworks and policies, as well as provide interpretative and practical guidance to ensure the respect of children’s rights online.

The three prominent authors of the Handbook, together with an expert who prepared a closely related Council of Europe Report on children with disabilities in the digital environment, discussed the importance of policy making and presented how the Handbook can be used to safeguard and support children’s activities online:

Ms Sonia Livingstone, Professor of Social Psychology, Department of Media and Communications, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), United Kingdom
Ms Eva Lievens, Professor of Law & Technology, Ghent University, Belgium
Mr John Carr, International Advisor on children’s internet safety and security, United Kingdom
Ms Laura Lundy, Professor, School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, Queen’s University Belfast, United Kingdom.

Concept note and programme

Introduction by Ms Regina Jensdottir, Head of Children's Rights Division, Council of Europe

Presentation by Ms Sonia Livingstone, Professor of Social Psychology, Department of Media and Communications, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), United Kingdom

Presentation by Ms Eva Lievens, Professor of Law & Technology, Ghent University, Belgium

Presentation by Ms Laura Lundy, Professor, School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, Queen’s University Belfast, United Kingdom

Facebook livestream of the webinar