----Original Message-----

From: ROCHEL Walter (ELARG)

Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2013 11:36 AM

To: ITURRITZA FERNANDEZ DE LANDA Maria Isabel (SJ)

Cc: DIETZEN Stephan (ELARG); EL FRAIHI MOUTTAKI Sana (ELARG)

Friday, 8 December 2000

By coincidence I had met a while ago a colleague, a human rights specialist, who had been responsible for the Romanian children file for a short while in 1999. I had asked her if she knew what the status of the UNCRC was. She thought it had a strong status, but found it wiser to ask this question to the Commission’s Legal Service.

Today she had indeed sent a note to the Commission’s Legal Service explaining why in her view the Convention should be considered acquis (the EUs legal basis) and requesting their opinion. When I had met her, she had also told me she had analysed law 3/1970. The law that according to De Combret was responsible for the high number of children in institutions. She had concluded it was a rather normal child protection law. It was not law 3/1970 that was the reason so many children were in institutions, but much more complex reasons related to poverty, discrimination of the Roma minority and the attitude towards single motherhood. Law 3/1970 regulated family placement of children without parental care, and as a last option placement in an institution. Her opinion at the time had been wilfully ignored and the Commission had preferred to follow the De Combret-line that because of Ceaucescu’s law so many children were in institutions.

Wednesday, 18 April 2001

Enrico had sent to the Romania Team, for information, the acquis list of DG Justice. And what did I see under Human Rights acquis, the UNCRC. I had forgotten about the note sent to the Legal Service end of last year, and to which no answer had been received. But this was clear: the UNCRC was acquis.

Despite political commitments, Ukraine remains one of the countries in Europe with the highest rate of child institutionalisation, with an estimated 100,000 children living in various forms of institutions including baby homes for children 0-4 years old.

In June 2021, the Ukrainian Government adopted amendments to the National Strategy for Reforming the System of Institutional Care and Upbringing of Children for 2017-2026.

Special boarding schools, education and rehabilitation centres and sanatorium boarding schools are excluded from the reform. This leaves behind more than 50.000 children and effectively legitimises discrimination based on disability and (their) needs for individualised support.

Eurochild co-signed a joint statement calling on the Ukrainian government to:

Demonstrate strong political will to reform child protection and care systems, to ensure the protection of children’s right to family life and work towards ending the institutionalisation of all children;

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Top comms agencies compete for Clifford Chance account

July 08, 2010 by Gemma O'Reilly , Be the first to comment

Top PR agencies are battling it out to land a big-money comms brief for the world's biggest law firm Clifford Chance.

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Malcolm Sweeting, Roger Leese

Leading international law firm Clifford Chance has named Hope and Homes for Children as this year's winner of its annual Access to Justice Award.

Hope and Homes for Children is an international charity that works to transform childcare systems in order to uphold and protect the rights of children. Specialising in the global eradication of children’s institutions, it supports governments in establishing modern family-based care systems. The charity’s ‘Opening Doors for Europe's Children’ campaign operates in 12 countries across Europe and calls on the EU and national governments to prioritise moving children out of institutions and into loving families – a process called deinstitutionalisation.

Hope and Homes for Children has won a donation of £50,000 from the Clifford Chance Foundation and 500 hours of pro bono volunteering. It plans to use the donation to fund a national audit of the childcare system in Ukraine to inform its Opening Doors campaign and the development of legislation, policy and best practice guides to drive change. The funds will also support the delivery of training to 30 professionals and government representatives in child rights and deinstitutionalisation. These professionals will train a further 370 who will be the 'engine' of the reform of the Ukrainian childcare system, leading the implementation of changes set out in legislation and policy.

Pro bono volunteering hours from the firm will be used to provide vital legal expertise to the Opening Doors campaign in Ukraine, including the delivery of the national audit. It will also support the training programme and will come from lawyers and business services staff from the firm's offices in Kyiv and around Europe.

An end to leaving children in orphanages

Together with major organizations we're launching a new Taskforce to strengthen care systems, promote family based care and end orphanages worldwide, echoing UK Government’s landmark commitment.

By Sally Faiz, Head Philanthropic Programs at UBS Optimus Foundation

Helping end orphanages worldwide

On the occasion of the Global Disability Summit, the UK Government became the first major donor of its kind to explicitly commit to promoting family and community-based care for all children.

Clifford Chance announces hire of Cecilio Madero, former Deputy Director-General of DG Competition

4 May 2021

Thomas Vinje, Guy Norman

Leading international law firm Clifford Chance today announced that Cecilio Madero will join the firm as Of Counsel based in Brussels this September. The appointment provides a significant boost to the firm's global Antitrust, Corporate, Litigation and Tech client offering.

Cecilio Madero comments: 'It has been a privilege to develop profound knowledge of the global antitrust environment from my enjoyable and fulfilling long career at DG competition, and I am now thoroughly looking forward to continuing my professional development by joining a hugely prestigious firm. Over my career, I have seen Clifford Chance operate with the highest level of integrity and I look forward to this exciting next step.'

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