European Union

Children’s rights are part of the human rights spectrum and play a special role in the EU’s external policy. The EU Guidelines for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of the Child set a framework which encourages all countries to adhere to relevant international instruments and standards. Progress has been made by the Russian Government in developing a system for protection and promotion of the rights of the child. The most recent important step was the signature of the National Strategy 2012-2017 for Russian children by President Putin on 01 June 2012.

However, more challenges remain: lack of a child-friendly juvenile justice and lack of signature and ratification of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

The conference will focus on the right of a child to live in the family, combating any form of violence against children and international legal framework for protection of children.

Key-note speakers of the conference will include:
• Michael Webb, Deputy Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the  Russian Federation;
• Mikhail Fedotov, Head of the Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation;
• Kristian Schmidt, Director for Human and Society Development, EuropeAid, European Commission;
• Marina Korunova, Deputy Director of Department for Humanitarian Cooperation and Human Rights, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation;
• Zinaida Dragunkina, Chair of the Committee for science, education and information policy, Federation Council;
• Valentina Petrenko, Member of the Committee for Social Policy, Federation Council;
• Salia Murzabaeva, Health Committee, State Duma of the Russian Federation;
• Bertrand Bainvel, Head of UNICEF Office in Russia.
Other participants of the conference are child rights NGOs from Russia, the European Union, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Russian federal, regional and municipal authorities, regional ombudsmen for children’s rights, embassies of the EU Member States, and international organisations.

Date and time of the conference: Thursday, 28 June at 10h00
Venue: Delegation of the European Union to Russia (14/1 Kadashevskaya nab., Moscow)

For media accreditation, please, contact Press and Information Section:
Tel.: +7 (495) 721-20-41/09, Fax: +7 (495) 721-20-20, e-mail: delrus-pressoffice@eeas.europa.eu

Background information:

The EU Guidelines for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of the Child represent practical tools which help the EU to better promote the EU Human Rights policy. The Guidelines have a provision for considerable financial and technical support to promote the respect for human rights and the rule of law around the world. In Russia the annual budget for local calls for proposals under EIDHR (European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights) Programme is 3 million EUR, for civil society in general – 2 million EUR.

More information:

The EU Guidelines for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of the Child http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/human_rights/human_rights_in_third_countries/l33604_en.htm

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm

The EU strategy on the rights of the child
http://ec.europa.eu/justice/policies/children/policies_children_intro_en.htm

The EU-Russian joint projects related to children
http://ec.europa.eu/delegations/russia/eu_russia/tech_financial_cooperation/ibpp_civil_society/index_en.htm

Link to funding opportunities by the EU
http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/work/funding/index_en.htm