Education against violence at school

Recommendation 1965 (2011)

Author(s):

Parliamentary Assembly

Origin

Assembly debate on 13 April 2011 (15th Sitting) (see Doc. 12513, report of the Committee on Culture, Science and Education, rapporteur: Mr Flego). Text adopted by the Assembly on 13 April 2011 (15th Sitting).

Thesaurus

1. Referring to its Resolution 1803 (2011) on education against violence at school, the Parliamentary Assembly considers that violence at school is a violation of children’s rights. There is a need to enhance policy design concerning education against violence at school and better support the implementation of national policies aimed at counteracting all forms of violence affecting children and young people.

2. The Assembly believes that, in order to create synergies which can strengthen the impact of national policies dealing with this complex issue, greater co-operation is needed at European level and that the Council of Europe should play a more active role in this respect.

3. Therefore, the Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers:

3.1 submit Resolution 1803 (2011) to the competent ministries of the member states, urging them to consider the guidelines therein and to pass them on to all their educational institutions;

3.2 invite, through the education ministers of the member states, the next Standing Conference of European Ministers of Education to devise, in close co-operation with the competent steering committee of the Council of Europe, holistic and proactive educational policies against violence at school and in society in general;

3.3 assist member states in conflict or post-conflict areas to develop practical school projects against violence at school, within the family, in society and between nations;

3.4 assist member states to promote a culture of democracy and human rights at school, in accordance with the Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education, adopted in the framework of Committee of Ministers Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)7;

3.5 establish closer co-operation with, and provide direct support to, the European Network of Ombudspersons for Children (ENOC) and its secretariat in Strasbourg;

3.6 establish direct co-operation with the European Commission regarding its work on a European Union strategy for the rights of the child and seek to extend this work to all Council of Europe member states;

3.7 co-operate with the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General on Violence against Children, and better co-ordinate regional European action in this field;

3.8 launch, through competent ministries, national action plans against violence in the new media, if possible in co-operation with child protection agencies and organisations as well as media and Internet companies.