The starting point of our analysis and reflection
was the UNCRC, and the UN Guidelines for
the Alternative Care of Children which aim to
strengthen the implementation of the UNCRC
specifically for children without, or at risk of
losing, parental care. They were formally wel-
comed by the UN General Assembly in 2009 to
address the specific gaps in the implementation
of the Convention for this group of children.
The protection of the rights of the child is an
explicit policy objective of the EU: the Treaty
on the EU (Lisbon Treaty) in its article 3
mentions this principle as one of the objectives
of the Union, showing the explicit intention to
strengthen the Union’s commitment towards
children and the promotion and protection of
their rights. The Charter of Fundamental Rights
of the EU guarantees the protection of rights
of the child by the EU and its Member States.
Whilst the whole Charter applies to children,
article 24 specifically addresses the rights of the
child, recognising that children have the right
to “protection and care as is necessary for their
well-being”, and emphasizing that in all actions
relating to children, whether taken by public
authorities or private institutions, the child’s
best interest must be a primary consideration.
The EU and its Member States share compe-
tence in the areas of social policy and justice,
though competence in the areas of poverty and
social exclusion rests primarily with Member
States. Nonetheless, a series of important
instruments that address children’s rights, child
poverty and child well-being have been adopted
in recent years.
10
The 2013 EC Recommendation “Investing in
Children - Breaking the Cycle of Disadvantage’,
adopted as part of the Social Investment
Package, provides a useful framework to tackle
child poverty and promote the well-being of
children in a holistic way. It recognises the
need for adequate responses to child poverty,
looking at different elements that affect child
well-being such as access to adequate services,
housing, and health, equality in education and
inclusive early childhood education and care.
Importantly, it mentions specifically children
without parental care, calling on Member
States to improve the quality of alternative care
settings and to enhance family support.
In 2015, DG Justice approved a Reflection
Paper presenting 10 Principles for integrated
child protection systems, which takes a system
approach to the protection of children from all
forms of violence and emphasizing the system’s
capacity to prevent and respond to violence.
Three of the principles refer to children at
risk or without parental care, stressing the
importance of prevention measures as a key
component of protection systems (principle 3),
the need to empower families in their role of
primary caregivers (principle 4), and the need
to make quality alternative care available to
those children who need it in line with the UN
Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children
(principle 6). Principle 7 refers to transnational
and cross-border mechanisms, highlighting
the need to step up efforts for children in
cross-border situations who are in need of child
protection measures.