Europe urgently needs an EU mechanism to protect human rights
On 5 January a bomb attack targeted KISA, an anti-racism organisation in Cyprus.
Eurochild condemns the attack and gives its full support to KISA and ENAR, the European Network Against Racism of which the organisation is a member. According to ENAR, which demands comprehensive investigation, the bomb attack is "a direct consequence of targeted smear campaigns, alongside judicial and administrative harassment by the authorities in Cyprus".
In a recent statement, KISA states that the government did not investigate their complaints of harassment and death threats and explains how the current rhetoric on migration and refugee issues has created the conditions for this attack to happen.
This is just one of many cases. Human rights defenders, activists and child rights organisations are targeted across Europe for their activities and for speaking out. Anti-child rights movements are spreading their propaganda against women, children and young people, LGBTQI+ people, religious minorities, ethnic and racial minorities, migrants and refugees.
In response to this concerning rise in attacks against universal human rights, Eurochild has been calling for a European mechanism that protects human rights and civil society organisations, with a specific focus on children’s rights.
In 2022 Eurochild published a report collecting evidence of anti-child rights activity and explaining why cooperation is needed to counter this. A mechanism where the EU and the Council of Europe collaborate to monitor and counteract anti-child rights discourse and actions could support collaborations with relevant international bodies and institutions; document anti-child rights activities and their impacts and promote best practices in countering the misinformation, manipulation and undermining of children’s rights.
