Local and regional authorities have a responsibility to safeguard and promote the safety and welfare of children and young people, working together with partners such as the third sector, public organisations and the private sector.  To meet this challenge, the Congress aims to raise Europe’s towns and regions awareness of the issue, to develop and implement community-based action plans and strategies, and to invest in better services.

The Congress has devised a Pact of Towns and Regions to Stop Sexual Violence against Children which proposes measures and strategies to prevent abuse, protect victims, prosecute perpetrators, and ensure the full participation of children in the entire process. 

The Pact of Towns and Regions to Stop Sexual Violence against Children is a tool, launched at the initiative of Council of Europe Congress, that brings together the towns, regions and associations of towns and regions of many countries of Europe. The Pact proposes measures to prevent abuse, protect victims, prosecute perpetrators and ensure the full participation of children in the process as a whole.

Pact of Town of Regions website

Council of Europe Convention
  • Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Convention)
Council of Europe Strategy
Congress pact to stop sexual violence against children
Congress texts

Назад Unaccompanied refugee children: a matter of urgency for local and regional authorities

Unaccompanied refugee children: a matter of urgency for local and regional authorities

Since 2015, more than a million children have arrived in Council of Europe member states seeking refuge from war, conflict and poverty. “Urgent action is needed to protect and integrate them as quickly as possible, in particular those children who are unaccompanied or have been separated from their families,” warned Nawel RAFIK ELMRINI (France, SOC), presenting the report on “Unaccompanied refugee children: the role and responsibilities of local and regional authorities”. The debate was held on 28 March 2018, in Strasbourg, France, at the 34th Session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, with the participation of Tomáš BOČEK, the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees, and Line OSTAD (Norway), a Congress youth delegate and member of Grimstad municipal council.

The resolution and recommendation adopted by the Congress stress the need for a child-rights-based approach and the specific role of towns and regions, especially in terms of schooling, health, housing, psychological and social support. That also means greater co-operation between the various levels of governance as well as with NGOs and civil society. The report underlines the need to remove restrictions on access to shelters and to introduce alternatives to the detention of families and children, in order to avoid any risk of violence or abuse.

The Congress calls on the national authorities to fast-track applications for asylum from unaccompanied and separated children. It recommends that care be taken to ensure they have full access to the justice system and are provided with proper legal representation at all stages of the process. In addition, an assessment of national migration and asylum processes is needed to determine where children are most at risk and where they are most in need of protection. As regards reception facilities, the national authorities are invited to map these, ensure that they receive regular financial support and check that they meet European standards.

** 34th Session of the Congress **

File 34th Session - Agenda – Videos and photos - Mediabox - Congress Mobile App - Twitter #COECongress

34th Session Strasbourg, France 28 March 2018
  • Diminuer la taille du texte
  • Augmenter la taille du texte
  • Imprimer la page

Lanzarote Convention

The Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse

Seminar on the pact of towns and regions to stop sexual violence against children (13 June 2017,  Belgrade, Serbia)
Conclusions 

Seminar on the pact of towns and regions to stop sexual violence against children (30 June 2015, 's Hertogenbosch, Netherlands)
Conclusions