In this interview, BCN’s Senior Technical Advisor, Rebecca Nhep, speaks with Phil Aspegren, Founder of Casa Viva, about transitioning residential care services with child sponsorship funding models.

The Human Rights Council this morning held an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, and concluded an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression.

This article reviews a study conducted about child development in residential care, foster/kafalah care, and adoptive families. The authors of the study demonstrated that institutions cannot provide safe, stable, and shared care for children, and lead to substantial delays in their development, not only for physical health but also for mental health and neurocognitive growth.

The 2024 European Social Services Conference will bring together leaders in social services to inspire ideas on co-creating the future of community-based social services. Register here to join the largest forum in Europe on social work policy and practice

Updated Checklist for the Integration of Protection of Children Affected by Armed Conflict into the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) Missions and Operations

This is the Council of the European Union's Conclusions on the update of the EU Guidelines on Children and Armed Conflict, as approved by the Council at its 4038th meeting, held on 24 June 2024.

Originally published in 2018 and updated in 2024 defines the EU’s global approach to protecting children affected by wars. These guidelines are intended to serve as a practical tool to direct and assist EU actors throughout the world in their work on children and armed conflict, including other situations of armed violence by state and non-state actors, such as terrorist organisations and organised criminal groups.

Around the globe, an estimated 27 million people are exploited for labor, services, and commercial sex. Through force, fraud, and coercion, they are made to toil in fields and factories, in restaurants and residences. Traffickers prey on some of the world’s most marginalized and vulnerable individuals – profiting from their plight. Among these individuals are children who are forced into criminality, sex trafficking, child soldiering, and in some countries the forced marriage of children has been defined as a form of exploitation.

Representatives from leading organizations working at the intersection of early childhood development (ECD) and humanitarian action will discuss how they are elevating early childhood development through a systems lens, as well as the lessons learned. They will also share the lessons they have learned to ensure coordinated and systemic delivery of services in volatile and dynamic contexts.