Recognising that progress has been achieved during the past
decade in fulfilling the rights of the child throughout Europe and Central
Asia, in particular with regard to commitments taken at the 1990 World Summit
for Children and the obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the
Child, universally ratified by countries of Europe and Central Asia,
Welcoming the important contribution of civil society, non-governmental
organisations, the private sector, and regional and international
organisations, especially the UN System, the Council of Europe, the OSCE, the
European Union and the Commonwealth of Independent States, to the
implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
Also welcoming that children throughout Europe and Central Asia are
increasingly acknowledged as subjects of human rights and that government
strategies and legal frameworks, administrative policies and practices
progressively respect the right of the child to participate in social life and
to partake in the decision-making processes which affect their lives,
Bearing in mind our responsibility towards future generations, which
implies, inter alia, that any action undertaken today, must not endanger
the enjoyment by our children of their human rights,
Recog rising that poverty and economic and social disparities,
including growing income inequalities especially in the countries in
transition, lack of opportunities for leisure and recreation and changes in
family structures limit the chances of children of fully developing their
personalities, mental and physical abilities, and of growing into a fulfilled
adulthood,
Concerned that a growing number of children, particularly in the countries in
transition are being deprived of their right to grow up in a healthy, safe and
supportive family and community environment which results in growing numbers of
children at risk of social exclusion, in significant increases in morbidity,
stunting of growth and child development delay as a consequence of poor quality
of care as well as in reduced numbers of children participating in basic
education programmes and increased rates of juvenile delinquency, accidents and
suicides,
Recognising that much still needs to be done to improve the
health and social environment for children as well as the quality and relevance
of educational programmes, and that low and/or declining public expenditure in
the countries in transition caused by overall financial constraints and other
factors, continues to affect the provision of social services for children and
their access to quality education and health care,
Stressing the need to ensure support, including through giving consideration to
restructuring national budgets, international aid flows, and appropriate
foreign investments, for the implementation of social reforms and programmes
aimed at promoting and protecting the rights of the child in the countries of
Europe and Central Asia, particularly in the countries in transition,
Concerned at the rise in tuberculosis, malaria, sexually transmitted diseases,
anaemia and iodine deficiency disorders in the countries in transition and
noting with concern that HIV/AIDS continues to spread in many countries of
Europe and Central Asia, greatly affecting those under 18 years of age and
increasingly girls,
Aware of the negative impact of an increasing level of substance abuse,
including alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs, on children's and young people's
physical and mental health,
Also aware of the increasing numbers of children of Europe and
Central Asia at risk of all forms of abuse and violence, such as corporal
punishment, sexual and economic exploitation, the worst forms of child labour,
trafficking and homelessness,
Concerned that armed conflicts and natural disasters continue to affect and
destroy the lives of of children in Europe and Central Asia and in this regard stressing
the need for a growing awareness of protecting children's rights in conflict
situations as well as the importance of protecting children from environmental
threats such as chemical contamination and nuclear pollution and of ensuring
that children grow up and live in an environment that is conducive to the
highest attainable level of health,
Aware of the fact that children belonging to minorities, internally
displaced, refugee and migrant children, stateless children, children with
disabilities and children infected with HIV and suffering from AIDS are at
special risk of being victims of discrimination, and are in need of, and have
the right to, special protection, inclusion and participation,
Taking note of the results of regional and sub-regional
preparatory conferences and consultations, including the proposals submitted by
young people and civil society organisations working for children's rights, and
welcoming the Political Message from the Committee of Ministers of the Council
of Europe for communication to the Special Session,
Aiming to contribute in collaboration with the UN System, civil society and
children themselves to the preparations for the United Nations General Assembly
Special Session on Children and to further the development and implementation
of actions for children in the next decade.
We, the participants of the Berlin Conference on
Children in Europe and Central Asia (16-18 May 2001), affirm our commitment to
the following:
1. Take all measures in order to ensure the
implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratify as soon as
possible the two Optional Protocols to this Convention; develop comprehensive
national strategies and provide the necessary resources for the implementation
of the rights of the child; strengthen and make more effective the existing
monitoring mechanisms;
reinforce the essential monitoring role of the UN
Committee on the Rights of the Child by submitting detailed, reliable and timely
reports;
2. Enable ratification and full implementation of ILO
Convention No. 182 on the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination
of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, ILO Convention No. 138 on the Minimum Age
for Admission to Employment, the 1993 Hague Convention on Child Protection and
Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the
Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Convention against
Transnational Organised Crime and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish
Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children;
3. Adjust
legislation, where appropriate, to ensure its conformity with the norms of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child and with the principle of the best
interests of the child, strengthen governmental structures for children and
independent children's rights commissioners, focal points for children and
other mechanisms, while recognising and facilitating the important voluntary
initiatives of civil society and the private sector for the benefit of
children;
4. Encourage social and economic policies which meet
the needs of families and their individual members, with particular attention
to the care of children; ensure opportunities for family members to meet their
social responsibilities and promote equal partnership between women and men in
families, recognising the role of fathers; promote mutual respect, tolerance
and co-operation within families and within society; fight against parental
abductions and defend the right to personal contacts between parents and
children across national boundaries; ensure that wherever possible children
have the opportunity to be brought up in family settings in their own countries
as opposed to institutions, and that national strategies for alternative care,
including reform or closure of institutions that are not child-friendly be
devised, where necessary;
5. Mainstream a gender perspective into all programmes
and policies, promote equality between girls and boys, eliminate discrimination
against girls in education, consider introducing study programmes on gender
education;
6. Make every effort to support and facilitate the
rights of children to participate in all relevant decision-making processes, in
accordance with their age and maturity, ensure that their views are taken into
consideration on all matters that affect them;
7. Make all possible efforts to eradicate poverty and
address its negative impact on children, inter alia by reducing economic
disparities;
8. Implement programmes to protect children from
growing health risks, including tuberculosis, malaria, hepatitis and sexually
transmitted diseases, in line with the targets set out in WHO Health 21; combat
iodine deficiency conditions and anaemia; promote breastfeeding; undertake
effective policies to promote mental health and to protect children from
alcohol and drug abuse;
9. Pursue effective national and international
information and risk-awareness programmes to fight against the HIV/AIDS
pandemic; adopt effective measures to prevent the direct transmission of
HIV/AIDS from mother to child; provide special assistance to children orphaned
by HIV/AIDS, and support the psycho-social care of children infected with HIV
and suffering from AIDS;
10. Sustain and further increase access to free and
compulsory good quality education for all children up to the minimum age for
entering into employment while ensuring equal access, opportunities and
inclusion for children from both urban and rural areas, children belonging to
minorities, indigenous children, refugee and displaced children as well as
children with disabilities and other children in need of special protection;
empower children to use media and new technologies with competence;
11. Promote life skills education, health and hygiene
education, as well as education and participation programmes that highlight
peace, justice and tolerance;
12. Protect
and remove children from all forms of work which can harm their health, safety
and morals; elaborate and implement strategies for the effective elimination of
child labour contrary to accepted international standards, bearing in mind that
education is a key strategy for combating child labour;
13. Take all necessary measures to eliminate all forms
of discrimination and exclusion on the basis of race, language, religion , sex
or any other reason; ensure re-integration of marginalised children, such as
children living or working in the streets and children living in state
institutions, especially those with poor quality of care; focus special
attention on protection of and support for children with disabilities, ensure
early detection of a child's disability and early intervention, and ensure that
children with disabilities are accepted and integrated as equal members of
society, with the same entitlements and with unimpeded access to basic health,
education and other social services;
14. Take all necessary measures in order to end all
forms of violence against children, such as sexual abuse and exploitation and
corporal punishment; combat all violence in schools; protect children from
violence and pornography in the media and on the Internet; end trafficking of
children without criminalising child victims and ensure comprehensive
rehabilitation and social re-integration of affected children; implement
policies and rehabilitation programmes that take fully into account the rights
and special needs of children affected by armed conflict, including refugee
children, asylum-seeking and displaced children as well as those deprived of
parental care;
15. Ensure that distinct juvenile justice systems are
established and/or further developed which focus on rehabilitation and re-integration,
using deprivation of liberty only as last resort and for the minimum possible
period;
16. Recognise the importance of intergenerational
justice, especially with regard to economic—and social welfare policy, and
environmental sustainability;
17. Protect all children, irrespective of the social
and economic conditions they live in from environmental threats; create
child-respecting urban and rural environments which enable all children to have
access to a range of play and informal learning opportunities both at home and
within their local communities;
18. In the overall framework of national development
plans and the 20/20 Initiative, ensure substantive budgetary allocation to the
maximum extent of available resources, for the benefit of children and their
parents and caretakers, to the health and education sectors and other social
services, thereby giving priority to the eradication of poverty and social
exclusion affecting children;
and provide greater transparency in budget allocations
and spending on children as a proportion of national budgets;
19. Call for the reaffirmation to strive to fulfil the
yet to be attained, internationally agreed target of 0.7 percent of the gross
national product of developed countries for overall official development
assistance as soon as possible with the aim of increasing the flow of resources
for the benefit of children;
20. Take all necessary measures to continue and expand
international co-operation for children among countries of Europe and Central
Asia and ensure support, including through giving consideration to
restructuring national budgets, international aid flows, and appropriate
foreign investments, for the implementation of social reforms and programmes
aimed at promoting and protecting the rights of the child in the countries of
Europe and Central Asia, particularly in the countries in transition,.
We have set a challenging and forward-looking agenda
for ourselves, recognising that children are citizens in their own rights and
that investing in their development is the key to building a peaceful and
prosperous Europe and Central Asia. We must now take the legislative,
administrative and other actions necessary to realise these aims, and to
monitor progress and difficulties.
This will require commitments of time, energy and
resources. We commit ourselves to meeting our obligations under the Convention
on the Rights of the Child and thus to ensuring that all children in Europe and
Central Asia enjoy their rights. We will seek to engage all components of civil
society in the challenges this task presents. We pledge ourselves to this task
and will work to create a Europe and Central Asia fit for children.