In the light of these considerations, the Assembly calls on
the member States to:
5.1 sign
and/or ratify, if they have not already done so, the European Convention
on the Exercise of Children’s Rights (ETS No. 160) and the Convention
on Contact concerning Children (ETS No. 192);
5.2 sign and/or ratify, if they have not already done so,
the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International
Child Abduction and to properly implement it, and in particular
to ensure that the authorities responsible for enforcing it co-operate
and respond promptly;
5.3 ensure that parents have equal rights with regard to their
children under their laws and administrative practice, guaranteeing
each parent the right to be informed and to have a say in important decisions
affecting their child’s life and development, in the best interests
of the child;
5.4 remove from their laws any difference based on marital
status between parents who have acknowledged their child;
5.5 introduce into their laws the principle of shared residence
following a separation, limiting any exceptions to cases of child
abuse or neglect, or domestic violence, with the amount of time
for which the child lives with each parent being adjusted according
to the child’s needs and interests;
5.6 respect the right of children to be heard in all matters
that affect them when they are deemed to have a sufficient understanding
of the matters in question;
5.7 take shared residence arrangements into account when awarding
social benefits;
5.8 take all necessary steps to ensure that decisions relating
to children’s residence and to access rights are fully enforced,
particularly by following up complaints with respect to failure
to hand over a child;
5.9 encourage and, where appropriate, develop mediation within
the framework of judicial proceedings in family cases involving
children, in particular by instituting a court-ordered mandatory information
session, in order to make the parents aware that shared residence
may be an appropriate option in the best interests of the child,
and to work towards such a solution, by ensuring that mediators receive
appropriate training and by encouraging multidisciplinary co-operation
based on the “Cochem model”;
5.10 ensure that the professionals who come into contact with
children during court proceedings in family cases receive the necessary
interdisciplinary training on the specific rights and needs of children of
different age groups, as well as on proceedings that are adapted
to them, in accordance with the Council of Europe Guidelines on
child-friendly justice;
5.11 encourage parenting plans which enable parents to determine
the principal aspects of their children’s lives themselves and introduce
the possibility for children to request a review of arrangements that
directly affect them, in particular their place of residence;
5.12 introduce paid parental leave available to fathers, with
preference being given to the model of non-transferable periods
of leave.
