As delivered

Excellencies,

Youth delegates,

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a pleasure to be here today; to share with you the work of the Council of Europe in Human Rights, Rule of Law and Democracy and its specific contribution to our agenda today. Thank you for all your inspirational contributions!

Let me begin by making clear the Council of Europe’s absolute support for the 2030 Agenda and meeting Target 16.2 in each and every one of our 47 member states.

Ending violence against children is at the heart of my Organisation’s ethos – and at the forefront of our work because we consider this violence as a major human rights issue.

With over 150 million children living in Europe today, preventing their abuse, neglect and exploitation will remain a priority for us.

Through our Convention system and other instruments we are able to work with our member states to develop common standards and then to implement them too.

So while Target 16.2 is now embedded in the Council of Europe strategy on the rights of the child, our approach to protecting children from violence is painted on a wider canvas.

We have an integrated approach to the elimination of all forms of violence: Prevention, Protection, Prosecution, Participation and Partnerships. But we also take measures to address its specific forms – including those experienced by children in their homes, in detention, at school, in the street, on line… wherever they are; whether they are alone or accompanied.

These include our Convention on Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence.

This protects girls under the age of 18 from early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation: a form of torture under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Our Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings is also of vital importance for protecting children.

As is our work through the implementation of the Convention on the Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse.

This aims to tackle the scandalous fact that around 20% of children in Europe are victimised in this way.

The Convention has also been key to the development of standards and tools for combating child sexual exploitation and abuse in the digital environment.

Together with our Cybercrime Convention, it has bolstered member states’ capacity to protect children against new methods for inflicting violence and pain.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In addition to our conventions, our member states also benefit from our unique monitoring system.

We use committees to oversee implementation of key conventions at the national level.

That way, we can offer practical help and support to national authorities that are having difficulties implementing the standards, and reaching the benchmarks, that they have committed to meet.

But we have always been clear at the Council of Europe that while our conventions are made in Europe, they are not meant for Europe alone.

The same is true for our monitoring system – we want to share our learning and maximise our capacity to support those who need help.

So while our member states will aim to reach Target 16.2 using our own mechanisms, we want to share insights into our progress with others from around the world.

Because, tragically, violence against children happens everywhere.

That’s why the Council of Europe is proud to support and co-operate with the Global Partnership and the WePROTECT global alliance.

We are a regional organisation, but we defend universal values, and our arms – our experience – are open to the world.