Commissioner for Fundamental Rights Attends Council of Europe Conference on the Rights of the Child

On 7 and 8 April 2022, Ombudsman Dr. Ákos Kozma attended the High-Level International Conference entitled “Beyond the Horizon: a New Era for the Rights of the Child” organised by the Council of Europe in Rome, Italy.

During the two-day event, the new Council of Europe Strategy for the Rights of the Child was presented: a milestone document which was developed for the protection and promotion of the rights of the child. The so-called “Rome Strategy” (2022–2027) was adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 23 February 2022.

Due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, one of the main topics of the meeting was the sixth key point of the Rome Strategy: “Children’s rights in crisis and emergency situations”. The conference was attended by the ministers and child rights’ representatives of the 46 Member States of the Council of Europe.

The Council of Europe set up the programme “Building a Europe for and with Children” in 2006 to enhance its commitment to children and their human rights. Since 2009, European and national activities carried out in this area have been guided by three consecutive Strategies for the Rights of the Child: the Stockholm Strategy (2009–2011), the Monaco Strategy (2012–2015) and the Sofia Strategy (2016–2021).