Opening Doors for Europe’s Children held a campaign roundtable on migrant children at the Committee of the Regions in Brussels on 1 March 2016. The conclusion from this event is that “migrant and refugee children have the same rights as other children, and their institutionalisation is incompatible with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).” 

Council of Europe Secretary General Jagland sent a letter to Heads of Government of all 47 states of the Council of Europe to urge them to better ensure the safety and proper treatment of asylum-seeking and refugee children entering Europe. He also outlined a list of priority measures. 

Eurochild will host the Opening Doors Phase II Kickoff Meeting in Brussels from 2-3 March 2016.

In this report, Lazarenko notes that adolescents between ages 16 to 18 who attend vocational educational institutions in conflict-affected areas are at a particularly high risk of involvement in armed forces/groups or sexual exploitation.

This article draws on Giorgio Agamben's (1995) theory of 'bare life' to examine the identity and the political positioning of child welfare-involved mothers in contemporary Western child protection systems to complement the primary focus on their children.

In this episode of “File on 4” from BBC Radio, Jane Deith investigates the practice of “Special Guardianship” orders in the UK, orders that grant legal guardianship of children to relatives or others who come forward to care for children when their parents can’t.

This country care review includes the care-related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

SOS Villages d’Enfants France et la CNAPE, en partenariat avec le CNFPT – INSET d’Angers et le Défenseur des droits, organisent 5 formations en mars et juin 2016 sur le thème : « Les droits de l’enfant accueilli en protection de l’enfance : de la théorie à la pratique! », dans le cadre de la mise en oeuvre du projet européen Former les professionnels de la prise en charge alternative

The UN Refugee Agency and UNICEF are setting up 20 centers to support and protect children and families fleeing war and persecution as they move across Europe’s well-worn migration routes. The centers, known as Blue Dot Hubs, are intended to provide a safe place for children and families facing risks once they arrive in Greece and move along the Balkan migratory route, which includes the former republic of Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. In these hubs, children can play and their families can receive services and counseling.

This brief is part of the Opening Doors for Europe’s Children campaign and is based on the proposal made to the Bulgarian Government by the Coalition ‘Childhood 2025’ to update the structure and content of the updated Action Plan.