The Child Protection Regional Project run by Terre des Hommes is including a full advocacy dimension towards the EU policy through TDHIF European Office in Brussels . The EU represents a key actor for advancing child rights both within and outside Europe.

The EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child

In 2006, the EU made an important step towards a more harmonized and strategic European policy on the rights of the child by adopting the Communication of the European Commission "Towards a EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child ". The objective of such a policy paper is to progressively build a long-term common and strategic EU policy to be implemented by the European Commission in subsidiary with the EU member states.

In response to the Commission’s communication, the European Parliament in January 2008 adopted a resolution based on a report, called "Angelilli report " with recommendations from the EP to promote and develop the Strategy. Terre des Hommes was invited by MEP Angelilli to provide recommendations to this report.

Children in EU Aid Policy

As a consequence of her communication in 2006, the Commission presented, in February 2008, a communication on "A special Place for Children in EU External Action " together with the Staff Working Documents Children’s Rights in External Action and Children in situations of Emergency and Crisis . The aim of this communication and working papers is to establish a comprehensive EU approach towards the protection and promotion of children's rights in third countries, through EU Development Aid and Humanitarian Aid Policy . The communication on Children in External Action was made in connection with the "EU guidelines for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of the Child ", adopted by the Council in December 2007. To allow for focused action, the EU chose as her first priority area all forms of violence against children.

Child Rights NGOs have organized an internal coalition to follow the development of the EU Child Rights Strategy . This is the NGO Action Group on the EU’s Child Rights Strategy (CRAG), in which TDH is participating. Among many other things, at the moment CRAG is focusing on drafting a proposal for the structure of the future EU Strategy on Child Rights. The final draft should be presented to the incoming Commission by November 2009 and should end up in a Communication of the Commission on the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child.

As an NGO that fully integrates its field work to advocacy at international level, Terre des Hommes will continue to channel analyses, expertise and recommendations to the EU institutions based on its field project work. Strategically, Terre des Hommes is using networking to run its advocacy work, being a member of various NGO networks that represent both the development cooperation sector as the human rights and child rights sector at EU level: Concord, the European NGO Confederation for Relief and Development ; HRDN, the Human Rights & Democracy Network, a coalition of Human Rights NGOs and CRAG. The overall objective of the advocacy work of Terre des Hommes is influencing the EU policy on child rights both internal and externally.

Terre Des Hommes International Federation intervenes also on:

• Human Rights Based Approaches to Development
• Counter Child Trafficking programs and policies
• EU Asylum Policy