UNICEF says EU ‘must invest in children’ to tackle global challenges

The European Union (EU) must invest in children and champion their rights if it hopes to effectively address global and domestic challenges.

That’s the call from children’s charity UNICEF as it launches important new guidance for those tasked with making decisions across the union.

Bertrand Bainvel, UNICEF Representative to EU Institutions, said that war, climate changes and digitalisation were contributing to crises and challenges which were having a ‘huge impact’ on children and young people.

“As the EU enters a new phase, protecting children’s rights and investing in children in Europe and through its global outreach is very much in the EU’s interest – to cement its unique social model, improve its competitiveness, and strengthen its security,” said Bainvel.

Although progress on children’s rights has remained steady since the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989, says the charity, it believes there have been ‘worrying signs of progress stalling in recent years’.

It adds that a multitude of competing crises are threatening the wellbeing and safety of children and young people in the EU and globally, bringing with it ‘major consequences’ for the development of nations and the world’s stability.

‘Huge impact on children and young people’

UNICEF points to statistics showing that some 20 million children in the EU at risk of poverty, while around 11.2 million children and young people in Europe are suffering from a mental health condition. The global picture is no less alarming – one billion children are living in countries at risk of climate and environmental shocks, while around two-thirds of 10-year-olds globally are unable to read and understand a simple text.

A new paper by UNICEF, Children and Young People at the Heart of EU Actions, calls for the EU to champion children’s rights, make the EU budget work for children, and to strengthen governance for children by building on progress made through the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child

“The new EU political cycle is an opportunity to place the youngest generations at the centre of the European project,” added Bainvel.

UNICEF also wants the EU to prioritise the voices of children when deciding on policies which can affect their futures. Children and young people, it adds, must be able to have the freedom to not only express themselves but to decide on a future fit for themselves.

The final word goes to UNICEF youth advocate Pavlina, a 17-year-old from Greece, who joined UNICEF to enage with Members of the European Parliament in the run-up to the European elections, and says: “Young people shouldn’t let others take decisions about them without them.”

Click here for the guidance in full: