Following the appointment of the new Prime Minister, Eurochild member Children’s Rights Alliance for England (part of Just for Kids Law), UNICEF UK and other 70 organisations have written a joint letter encouraging the new government to place children’s rights at the heart of its agenda, in particular by placing Child Rights Impact Assessments (CRIAs) on a statutory footing as an important first step towards full incorporation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

The most effective way to realise UNCRC rights is through full incorporation into domestic law. This would ensure that impacts to children are considered and their rights are prioritised when developing laws, policies and public services that affect their lives. It also supports a more preventative approach, helping to improve health, education and life chances for children before problems become costly and difficult to address. While we have seen greater recognition of children’s rights in law in Scotland, Wales and Jersey, children living in England – and across the UK on reserved matters – continue to experience unequal protection of their rights.

The letter specifically calls on the PM to:

• accept the COVID-19 Inquiry’s recommendation to make CRIAs mandatory, and
• to set out a clear roadmap towards incorporation as part of the Government’s 10-year plan for Britain.

The coalition looks forward to engaging with the Prime Minister and ministers to discuss how Government can build a more preventative state by taking a rights-based approach to policymaking and ensuring every child has a good childhood and the opportunity to thrive. 

Plataforma de Infancia urges public authorities to place the protection of children at the centre of every response and to fully guarantee the rights of the children who have arrived in Ceuta, in line with the principle of the best interests of the child.

All children have the right to protection, regardless of their nationality and migration status, or the way in which they arrived in Spain. This right is established by Spanish law and international treaties, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Any decision affecting a child must be taken with the child’s best interests as a primary consideration. This requires each child to be identified and heard, their individual circumstances to be assessed, and any specific protection needs to be identified. These may include the need to apply for international protection or other circumstances of particular vulnerability.

These assessments must be carried out by professionals with specialised training and must incorporate a  child rights-based and gender-sensitive approach. The mental health of the children concerned must also be appropriately protected, and they must receive the specialised care and psychosocial support they require.

Children and adolescents cannot be returned collectively or without the safeguards established under Spanish law.

Plataforma de Infancia recalls that, in its 2024 judgments concerning the repatriation of children and adolescents from Ceuta to Morocco, the Spanish Supreme Court confirmed that border-rejection and return procedures are not legally applicable to children and adolescents. The Constitutional Court has also required the identification and assessment of migrants’ specific needs within return procedures.

It is essential that an age-assessment procedure be initiated only when there are genuine doubts about whether a person is under the age of 18. The validity of children’s official documentation must also be recognised.

Any age-assessment procedure must comply with the safeguards established by Supreme Court case law, the decisions of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, and the recommendations of the Spanish Ombudsman. As the Supreme Court confirmed again in a judgment of 30 July 2026, an unaccompanied child cannot be subjected to medical age-assessment tests when they hold a valid passport.

We are also concerned about the increase in narratives that criminalise migrant children.

Behind every arrival are children and adolescents who are fleeing and crossing extremely dangerous and deadly borders – in this case, by swimming – in the hope of improving their lives and those of their families.

Protecting them is a legal and ethical obligation that must guide the actions of all public authorities.

The response to the situation must respect children’s rights and guarantee individualised procedures, specialised protection and durable solutions that serve the best interests of every child and adolescent.

In the program “Start2Act − Safer Spaces and Participation in the Arts– Creating and Promoting Child Safeguarding Policies”, BKJ was able to support more than 250 projects of institutions, associations, and cultural education organisations through funding, materials, and a training series in establishing protection concepts and prevention measures.

The new report features:

• Examples from their re-granting funded projects
• Interviews with professionals in cultural education and experts in the prevention of (sexual) violence
• Specialist articles providing the theoretical background
• Practical methods offering inspiration to try out new approaches or further develop existing safeguarding policies

In the context of child protection, it is clear why participation is a central principle of cultural education: where children and young people are allowed to participate, responsibility, trust and self-determination grow. This principle is also a cornerstone of the development and implementation of protective structures against sexualized violence. Cultural education provides various opportunities to discuss personal boundaries, experiences, and protection against violence in an age-appropriate manner, and to create safe and empowering environments. For this to succeed, adults need to feel well prepared and safe in dealing with the topics, the methods and their own framework of action.

Read the English version

Currently, an Italian judge must assess whether a child had the capacity to understand and control their actions at the time of an alleged offence. Under the proposed reform, that capacity would instead be presumed unless evidence demonstrated otherwise.

The minimum age of criminal responsibility would remain 14, and the penalties applicable to children would not change. Nevertheless, the reform would alter the starting point: rather than beginning with an individual assessment of the child, the justice system would begin with a presumption of criminal capacity.

This development comes at a time when there is growing recognition of the profound impact that justice systems can have on children’s development, mental health and future.

Italy’s justice system already presents serious challenges for children. Eurochild‘s members have repeatedly reported that the duration of legal proceedings in Italy remains a concern for safeguarding children’s well-being.

In Italy, the number of minors in detention is already increasing. As a result of more and more punitive policies, between 2022 and 2025, the population of the country’s 17 Juvenile Detention Centres has grown by more than 50% from 2022 to 2025.

This legislative proposal does little more than criminalise young people and foster a climate of hostility towards them, leading to their further isolation and reinforcing the stigma that labels them as inherently violent. This is particularly concerning because, for many vulnerable minors without adequate support networks, such exclusion can increase the risk of radicalisation or make it even harder for them to find positive alternatives. It could also potentially weaken protections for minors within the juvenile justice system by criminalising them rather than protecting them from exploitation by criminal organizations.

There are also significant inequalities in who comes into contact with the justice system.

According to data from the Italian Ministry of Justice, 42.3% of people in juvenile penal institutions were foreign nationals. This is a clear overrepresentation.

Antigone’s Eighth Report on Italian Juvenile Justice, published in 2026 and based on Ministry of Justice data, also shows that the representation of foreign nationals increases as the measures imposed become more restrictive.

During 2025, foreign nationals accounted for:

• 23.14% of people taken into the care of juvenile social services;
• 41.69% of placements in penal communities;
• 41.98% of admissions to first-reception centres; and
• 46.03% of admissions to juvenile penal institutions.

These figures should lead us to ask not only how children are punished, but which children are most likely to be criminalised, and why.

In Eurochild’s contribution to the forthcoming EU Action Plan on the Protection of Minors against Crime, we emphasised that children affected by crime must be treated first and foremost as children and rights-holders.

Their contact with crime may be connected to poverty, discrimination, trauma, exploitation, migration, family violence, exclusion, or failures in protection and support.

Accountability and children’s rights are not opposites. However, accountability must be age-appropriate, individualised, and directed towards rehabilitation and reintegration.

Europe should resist a broader shift towards increasingly punitive responses to children. Detention must remain a genuine measure of last resort. Prevention, education, mental health support, strong social services, restorative justice, and community-based alternatives must come first.

The real test of a justice system is whether it protects society while recognising children’s capacity to develop, recover and reintegrate.

Rather than investing public resources in predominantly punitive measures, which over the past four years have failed to improve the situation, policies should be redirected towards prevention and support.

Europe should invest not in pushing children deeper into the criminal justice system, but in preventing harm, addressing its root causes, and giving every child a genuine path towards a different future.

For more information, please contact Francesca Pisanu, francesca.pisanu@eurochild.org

Further Information

• Discover our campaign Fighting Anti Rights movements
• Podcast | Shrinking Funds for Nonprofits
• Podcast | Anti-Rights Movements

This final GUIDE project event will explore how Europe can better protect unaccompanied children, particularly those more vulnerable, with disabilities, trauma, or being separated from their families.

Bringing together policymakers, EU institutions, practitioners, child rights organisations and experts, the discussion will examine current challenges, identify gaps in protection systems, and present recommendations for strengthening child-centred migration and guardianship policies across Europe. Through testimonies and expert contributions, the discussion will focus on practical solutions that can improve protection, inclusion, and access to support from arrival through to durable solutions.

• Read the updated agenda
• About 50 participants expected in Brussels, plus online attendees.
• Interpretation will be available in English, Bulgarian, Greek, Italian, Slovak, Polish, and Ukrainian.
• Venue: European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), rue Van Maerlant 2, 1040, Brussels, Belgium (how to get)

Register here until 26 August to attend in person (in Brussels)

Register here to attend online

Background info:
The GUIDE – Supporting Guardians of Unaccompanied Children project is an EU-funded initiative under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) aimed at strengthening the capacity of guardians and professionals working with unaccompanied and separated children arriving in Europe, especially those with disabilities. It brings together organisations from several EU Member States (Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy, Greece, Poland, Slovakia) to develop practical resources, training programmes, and tools that support guardians in providing quality care and protection. Through training of trainers, national manuals, service provider maps, and peer-support mechanisms, the project aims to improve guardianship systems and strengthen cooperation among professionals working with migrant children.

The conference was particularly meaningful not only due to its child-led agenda, but more importantly because children sat at the same tables as adults. In workshops and networking sessions alike, we all sat around the same tables and exchanged ideas on level ground. For some adults, this was in some ways destabilising, to discuss such pressing issues on an equal footing with the children affected by them. The children at the conference were opinionated, fired up, passionate, ready to exchange.

Notably, many conversations kept circling back to age as the limiting, dividing factor. Discussions ranged across topics from social media access to children living in war. Across several different conversations, I noticed adults reaching for comparisons to drinking age or driving age, the idea that if someone isn’t old enough to drink, they shouldn’t be old enough to vote, use social media, or have a say on certain legislation.

I reflect here on how often these conversations are reduced to age, when age is rarely the issue. After all, readiness to vote responsibly isn’t guaranteed by age alone, and plenty of adults are also vulnerable to social media dependency and the risks of the digital world, yet we don’t take these rights away from adults on those grounds. When the same facts hold true for children, though, they’re dismissed outright because of their age, with little interest in the nuance of individual cases, or in levelling the playing field so these spaces are safe and accessible for children from every background.

This tension sits at the heart of the wider issue of child participation. Children are routinely denied a voice, a seat at the table, simply because they are children, welcomed in only when it suits the adults in the room. At this year’s Eurochild conference, we saw the enormous value of inviting children to help build the table, not just sit at it. Children ask us to sit with our discomfort, to question our own norms and practices. They offer perspectives that are essential to how we understand children’s rights.

As Eurochild thanks the 2024-2026 ECC: Abigel, Amina, Arthur, Dario, Faidra, Georgios Efrem, Leon, Lucijan, Oleksandr, Rhythm, Tiana, Tuule for their work, their activism, and their endless motivation, we are inspired by their voices, their passion, and their frustration with the systems that do not listen to them. We continue to commit to bringing children into the spaces where they belong, to asking whether spaces that claim to include children are truly listening, and to staying inspired by the children we work with and for.

See here our recent report on Child Participation, based entirely on consultations with children:  Our voices matter – Children Define Meaningful Participation: Insights from Five European Countries.

From lifelong favourites to recent discoveries, each pick comes with a personal note on why it stayed with us.

• Poor – Katriona O’Sullivan
  Picked by Ally Dunhill, Director of Policy, Advocacy and Communications – “It gives a powerful, human account of how poverty shapes a child’s life, opportunities and self-worth. But also shows how education, trusted adults, practical support and belief can change a child’s life. It is especially relevant for anyone working on child poverty, education, early intervention or children’s rights because it moves the issue from statistics to lived experience.”
• Ghost Boy – Martin Pistorius
  Picked by Claire Boutry Özkan, Operations Coordinator – “A memoir about a boy, trapped in his own body for years, that shows how love, patience and human connection can give someone hope, while also exploring the challenges of caring for a severely disabled child and the failures of institutional care. Very moving story, but trigger warning for abuse.”
• My Brilliant Friend – Elena Ferrante
  Picked by Brisa Wiklund, Policy, Advocacy and Communications Intern – “This book (and the whole series) reignited a thirst for reading I hadn’t felt since I was 12. Following Elena and Lila from their childhood in a poor, violent neighbourhood of 1950s Naples, through friendship and rivalry, I was gripped so completely that I read until my eyes were red!”
• The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath
  Picked by Zuzana Konradova, EU Affairs Coordinator – “Although it was written in the 1960s, its storytelling feels remarkably contemporary. The themes of respect, friendship and love remain as relevant today as ever. It also offers a thought-provoking insight into mental health and the way it was understood and treated then, raising questions that, in some respects, are still relevant today. A powerful and surprisingly timeless read.”
• We Are Not Numbers: The Voices of Gaza’s Youth – edited by Ahmed Alnaouq & Pam Bailey
  Picked by Ciaran O’Donnell, Partnerships and Programmes Coordinator – “Written by a mix of young authors from Gaza over the past ten years. Some contributors started as children and are now adults, some are under 18, and others are young adults. Edited by Ahmed Alnaouq & Pam Bailey.”
• The Notebook Trilogy – Ágota Kristóf
  Picked by Davide Rambaldi, Communications Coordinator – “The story of twin brothers growing up during war, showing how violence and separation shape their lives and erase their sense of right and wrong. The more you read, the harder it gets to tell what is real and what is imagined. Harsh and bleak, but great.”
• When The World Sleeps – Francesca Albanese
  Picked by Federica Marra, Communications Officer – “A collection of ten stories. One of them tells the story of Hind, a child trapped in a car after her family was killed while fleeing. Alone, frightened, and waiting for help that never safely reached her, Hind remains on the phone with the emergency line, her voice becoming a heartbreaking testament to the suffering of children in war. Through her story, the author reflects on the lived reality of many Palestinian children.”
• Solito – Javier Zamora
  Picked by Mieke Schuurman, Director of Child Rights and Capacity Building – “A book about a 9-year old boy fleeing all by himself from El Salvador via Guatemala, Mexico to the USA to get reunited with his parents who fled several years earlier. I found it heartbreaking as it is a journey of hardship, but also about hope, love and compassion from his fellow refugees. It is based on a true story.”
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon
  Picked by Juliette Hudson, Event & Child Participation Intern – “One of my favourite books growing up – a fun, captivating read. Christopher takes you along on his adventures, and while the portrayal arguably leans on some stereotypes, it’s still a meaningful and comforting representation of an autistic voice and protagonist.”
• Aya – Marie-Virginie Dru
  Picked by Laure Pailleau, Child Participation and Policy Officer – “I loved how delicately it explores family, identity and resilience. It’s both heartwarming and thought-provoking.”

The Eurochild team wishes you a lovely summer! And meanwhile you’re having fun, do you want to support our work? Donate now! Your donation will help Eurochild make sure that children can shape the world they live in.

On 13 July, the co-chairs of the Special Expert Panel of the European Commission’s President, Ursula Von der Leyen published their report Child safety online: Protecting and Empowering Minors in a Digital World on Monday. The independent report is intended to inform future action by the European Commission and EU Member States. The Commission has announced that it will consider the recommendations and present proposals after the summer.

Eurochild director Mieke Schuurman participated in the 2^nd Special Expert Panel on behalf of Eurochild together with our members Rasmus Kjeldahl from Borns Vilkar (DK), Leanda Barrington-Leach from the 5RightsFoundation (UK)/ Alex Cooney from CyberSafeKids (IE), who are all acknowledged for their contributions.

The report contains many recommendations that reflect what Eurochild and its members have called for, particularly its recognition that social media and other digital service providers retain primary responsibility for children’s safety. It calls for the burden of proof to be shifted to providers, who should be required to demonstrate that their services are safe and age-appropriate for children.

• A harmonised EU-wide access restriction to social media and other digital services, including AI companions, for children under 13. Eurochild recognises the importance of avoiding a fragmented approach across the EU. The report would also allow Member States to introduce additional precautionary restrictions for adolescents over 13. There is a need to ensure that this would not result in unequal access to their rights, protections and digital opportunities depending on where they live in the EU.
• The report also recommends that specific age restrictions apply until key safety design features protecting children and adolescents are introduced by social media and other digital services providers. According to the two co-chairs of the Special Expert Panel, until providers have demonstrated safe and age-appropriate features, therefore complying with EU and national measures, they should not have access to minors.
• Clear safety-by-design and age-appropriate safeguards. The report calls for protection to be embedded into the design of social media and other digital services, including measures addressing addictive features, infinite scrolling, autoplay, persistent notifications and potentially harmful recommender systems. This reflects Eurochild’s call to address the attention-maximising business models and design choices that drive risks for children, rather than placing the burden on children and families to manage them.
• Effective and privacy-preserving age-assurance systems. These should support age-appropriate services and safety-by-design measures. Eurochild underlines that age assurance must be necessary, proportionate, accurate and limited to confirming whether a user meets the relevant age threshold. It must not enable additional profiling or data collection and must always operate alongside wider safety measures, rather than becoming a standalone solution.Adopt measures to ensure social media and other digital services providers have clear obligations to prevent, detect, report and block child sexual abuse online, including in interpersonal communication  – it is recommended that the permanent Regulation to combat CSA) is adopted swiftly.
• Stronger accountability, enforcement and independent research. The report recommends improved cooperation between supervisory authorities, stronger enforcement capacities and better access to platform data for vetted researchers. This reflects Eurochild’s call for independent scrutiny, meaningful researcher access to platform data and more longitudinal, interdisciplinary and child-centred research.
• The report also includes specific recommendations to empower children and adolescents online, such as expanding safe opportunities for minors to actively participate in shaping the social media+ environment; mainstream digital education and literacy; strengthening complaint mechanisms, etc.
• Public investment in support and offline opportunities. The report recommends sufficient public funding and common standards for civil society organisations, Safer Internet Centres, helplines and peer counselling. It also calls for greater investment in safe, inclusive and age-appropriate offline spaces where children can connect, learn, play and build relationships. This is particularly welcome, as governments cannot outsource their obligations to protect and support children to digital platforms.

However, the report places considerable emphasis on parents/carers to support younger children (below 13y). Although it recognises that providers retain primary responsibility and that parents have unequal capacities and resources, its age-specific recommendations continue to rely heavily on parental supervision and control. Eurochild is concerned that this could disadvantage children in vulnerable situations, including children without parental care or whose parents are unable or unwilling to provide this level of support.

Overall, the report represents an important step forward because it recognises that children’s online safety cannot be achieved through age restrictions alone. The EU response must prioritise platform accountability, reform harmful and attention-maximising design, protect children’s rights by design and by default, and ensure that strong legislation is rigorously enforced. Age restrictions must not become a substitute for making the digital environment safe for all children, including those who circumvent restrictions or access services without registering.

Now it is time for action and for the EU to ensure children’s protection and empowerment in the online environment with strong laws that are rigorously enforced.

Next: A more detailed analysis of how Eurochild’s contributions have been integrated into the report will be published in September.

Photo from the 2^nd Special Expert Panel meeting.

Every child deserves to be recognised not only for who they are today but also for how far they have come. This idea inspired “The Path of Good Decisions”, a new initiative by the Croatia for Children Foundation that celebrates children and young people who have made meaningful positive changes in their lives through perseverance, healthy choices and sport.

The initiative builds on the Foundation’s mental health campaign “My Strength, My Path”, which supported children and young people with behavioural difficulties across Croatia. After the campaign ended, the Foundation wanted to understand its long term impact and continue supporting those whose lives had changed for the better.

Working together with ten community based child support centres, professionals identified young people who had become involved in sport, adopted healthier lifestyles and demonstrated significant improvements in their behaviour after participating in the campaign. Instead of focusing on the difficulties these children had experienced, the initiative recognises their determination, resilience and personal growth.

As a reward for their commitment, participants attended the three day “Let’s Play” sports camp, held in Sveti Martin na Muri from 21 to 23 June 2026. Young people from community based child support centres in Osijek, Ivanec, Bedekovčina, Pula, Rijeka, Karlovac and Split participated in basketball, football, beach volleyball, martial arts, swimming and many other recreational activities guided by experienced coaches. The programme also included motivational workshops and team activities that encouraged responsibility, healthy lifestyles, cooperation and self confidence.

For the Foundation, the camp was much more than a sporting event. It was an opportunity to celebrate children’s achievements, strengthen their confidence and encourage them to continue making positive choices in their everyday lives. It also showed how sport can help children develop resilience, build friendships and discover their own strengths.

The project reflects a simple but powerful belief that children should never be defined by the challenges they face. They should be recognised for their progress, their courage and their potential. By celebrating positive stories and investing in children’s strengths, “The Path of Good Decisions” promotes mental well being, social inclusion and hope for the future.

The Croatia for Children Foundation hopes that this approach will inspire similar initiatives across Europe and contribute to a growing understanding that every child deserves encouragement, recognition and the opportunity to succeed.

Every child deserves the opportunity to grow up in a safe, loving and supportive family environment. With this belief at its core, the Croatia for Children Foundation has launched “Parenthood is a Plus”, a national campaign that encourages open conversations about parenthood and the challenges many young adults face when deciding to start a family.

The Croatia for Children Foundation is a Croatian public foundation operating under the Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy. Through national programmes and partnerships, the Foundation works to improve the quality of life of children and families across Croatia.

Many young people wish to become parents, yet concerns about financial security, housing, career development and uncertainty about the future often lead them to postpone that decision. The campaign seeks to create an environment in which future parents feel informed, understood and supported instead of pressured or judged.

Running from July to December 2026, the initiative brings together public institutions, professionals, employers, civil society organisations and parents to explore how communities can provide stronger support for families. Through public discussions, podcasts, media campaigns, practical guides and personal stories, the campaign promotes honest dialogue and encourages a more positive understanding of parenthood.

The campaign was officially launched with a public discussion entitled “Is a Baby Boom Possible in Croatia?”, opening an important conversation about the role that families, communities and institutions all play in creating better conditions for children to grow and thrive.

The Foundation believes that supporting parents also means protecting children’s rights. When families receive timely support, children are more likely to grow up in stable environments where they can develop their full potential. By strengthening support networks around families and promoting positive attitudes towards parenting, the campaign contributes to building communities in which every child has the opportunity to flourish.

The Croatia for Children Foundation hopes that this initiative will encourage dialogue beyond Croatia and welcomes the opportunity to exchange experiences and good practices with organisations across Europe working to strengthen families and improve children’s lives.