Children's rights in Europe

The election campaigns are in full swing again. Posters, flyers, advertisements – we are inundated with them. But one topic is often missing: children's rights. Unbelievable, right? Political decisions in Brussels affect children directly. Climate policy determines their future. Migration affects children fleeing war. And security of existence? Children in poverty start their lives at a disadvantage.

The biggest social problems also affect children. Why then are their rights ignored in debates? European policy has a major influence on our youngest inhabitants. That is why we must protect their rights and well-being. And politicians must pay attention to this. That is missing. The Children's Rights Collective therefore took matters into its own hands and organized the only debate on children's rights in the European election campaign in De Balie in Amsterdam.

Marc Dullaert, chairman of the Children's Rights Collective, opened the evening with a plea to put the interests of the child first. This does not happen enough and it has major consequences: despite prosperity, millions of children in Europe grow up in poverty, two images of child abuse are posted online every second, and the EU Migration Pact allows children to be locked up. “Unacceptable,” said Marc Dullaert.

Six candidate European Parliamentarians debated poverty, online security and migration: Gerrie Elfrink (SP), Ufuk Kâhya (GL-PvdA), Judith Koop (CU), Laura de Vries (D66), Sacha Muller (Volt) and Gerben Horst (CDA). ). The Children's Rights Collective would not be the Children's Rights Collective if the voice of the child itself was not central to the debate. That is why each theme was introduced by an expert who immediately asked the candidate parliamentarians a question.

Poverty

Mia grew up in poverty. She talked about the stigma she experienced and what it would have helped her with. She asked the candidates: “How will you ensure that member states such as the Netherlands do more to combat poverty among children?” The parties agreed that no child should grow up in poverty, but they all wanted to tackle this in different ways. For example, SP party leader Gerrie Elfrink proposed taxing large companies more heavily to combat child poverty. According to him, inequality is the greatest threat to children. Laura de Vries (D66) wants to put the interests of children first and therefore advocated a generation test: “You cannot have children's rights light.” There was also a debate about the European Social Fund and the European Child Guarantee, which, according to the Christian Union, should play a role in all policy areas. According to CDA candidate Gerben Horst, it is also up to MEPs to address their national parliamentarians if things are not going well with child poverty in that country.

Online Safety

14-year-old Sem told the spectators about his experiences with social media: scrolling endlessly through TikTok, the nasty reactions he receives online and how much it bothers him. He wanted to know from the candidate MEPs what they will do in the European Parliament to make the internet safer for children. According to Volt candidate Sacha Muller, it is a major problem that children are using the internet unregulated and there is a role for education: “We should not immediately put children in a car, but first teach them to cycle.” The candidates spoke about the influence and lobbying budget of companies such as Meta (a paltry 113 million euros) and how little regulation there is. Ufuk Kâhya (GL-PvdA) expressed his surprise: “You are not allowed to go into the Ikea ball pit without supervision, so why use the internet?” All parties agreed on one thing, regardless of political affiliation: there must be stricter rules in Europe for large tech companies to ensure the online safety of children.

Migration

Ruzanna fled to the Netherlands as a child. She has experienced firsthand how little account is taken of children who flee. “How are you going to guarantee that the interests of the child come first in European migration policy?” was therefore her question. While the parties often agreed with each other on the previous themes, the different views on migration were a lot clearer. Gerben Horst (CDA) argued for more shelter in his own region and help to prevent children from making the dangerous crossing: “Europe must stand alongside African countries”. Migration deals caused fireworks: the parties disagreed whether they were necessary, or whether Europe should not have to pay other countries to keep refugees out. According to Christian Union candidate Judith Koop, a humane asylum policy is essential: “If you put the children first, you put human rights first.”

After the debate, Lars Westra, vice-chairman of the Children's Rights Collective, asked the participants to sign the Child Rights Manifesto and become Children's Rights Champions. In doing so, they promise to work in the European Parliament for children's rights throughout Europe. Lars emphasized that politicians must listen to children, entirely in line with Voltaire: “Every voice must be heard, even if I disagree.”