Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on children’s rights
Reply to Recommendation
| Doc. 15465
| 02 March 2022
- Author(s):
- Committee of Ministers
- Origin
- Adopted at the 1426th meeting
of the Ministers’ Deputies (23 February 2022). 2022 - Second part-session
- Reply to Recommendation
- : Recommendation 2206
(2021)
1. The Committee of
Ministers noted with interest Parliamentary Assembly
Recommendation 2206 (2021) “Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on children’s rights”
and forwarded the text to the European Committee on Social Rights
(ECSR), the Steering Committee on Anti-Discrimination, Diversity
and Inclusion (CDADI) and the Steering Committee for the Rights
of the Child (CDENF) for information and possible comments.
2. The Committee fully recognises that children have been greatly
affected by the pandemic. Generally, children have suffered from
social isolation, from the lack of access to education, health services,
and equal opportunities, from increased economic and social pressure
on their families, and from increased levels of domestic violence.
Children have also suffered more from online and offline sexual
abuse and exploitation. Children in particularly vulnerable situations
have paid an especially high toll. Furthermore, children’s participation
in decisions on issues concerning them has also decreased according
to the CDENF.
3. The Committee notes that the CDENF dedicated an exchange of
views to this subject in July 2020. It has also compiled a collection
of good practices in response to the pandemic via a dedicated
Covid-19
webpage and has launched, in early 2021, a series of webinars
on “Covid-19 and children’s rights”. The Lanzarote Committee’s Chairperson
and Vice-Chairperson made a statement on stepping up protection
of children against sexual exploitation and abuse in times of the
Covid-19 pandemic,
Note which called to share relevant initiatives
taken following the lockdown to ensure protection of children against
sexual violence which was later published on the dedicated
Covid-19
webpage.
4. With regard to the Assembly’s specific recommendation in paragraph
4.1, the Committee is of the opinion that the Council of Europe
would be unable to dedicate the resources needed for such a complex
task. This would require that the recovery programmes of all Council
of Europe member States be submitted to a review under not only
one, but several international and European instruments. Instead,
the Committee notes that the work of multiple intergovernmental
committees can contribute to the national reviews of member States’
post-Covid recovery programmes from a children’s rights perspective.
In addition, monitoring through the European Social Charter System,
the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), the Advisory
Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National
Minorities, and other monitoring bodies could also usefully contribute.
Finally, the Committee would mention the Guidelines
on upholding
equality during the Covid-19 pandemic and similar crises in the
future, adopted on 5 May 2021.
5. As for the recommendation in paragraph 4.2, the Committee
of Ministers has established a Working Party on Improving the European
Social Charter System (GT-CHARTE). It has been tasked task with
looking into practical ways of improving the Charter system in light
of the proposals made by the Secretary General in document
SG/Inf(2021)13, the report submitted by the Steering Committee for
Human Rights (CDDH) and the position papers adopted by the European
Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) and the Governmental Committee
of the European Social Charter and the European Code of Social Security
(GC). The first findings of GT-CHARTE are due to be submitted in
time for the Ministerial Session in May 2022.
6. On assessing whether the European Social Charter can be applied
to protect children and families during and after pandemics, the
Committee recalls the ECSR “Statement on Covid-19 and social rights”.3 This statement
clarified that the Charter provides a necessary reference framework
for assessing the measures taken to cope with the pandemic and any
post-pandemic recovery measures, as well as for preparation for,
and responses to, possible future crises of this nature. While children’s
rights are a recurrent theme throughout the ECSR’s statement, a
separate section assesses the impact of the pandemic on children and
families specifically. Furthermore, in 2020, the ECSR provided general
observations and a targeted questionnaire within the Charter’s national
reporting framework.
Note Questions concerned notably the
responses of States to the health crisis and its effects, while
also raising specific questions on children’s rights. The relevant
conclusions are scheduled to be published in March 2022.
7. The Committee of Ministers encourages CDENF to examine possibilities
of further extending participation of the non-member States of the
Council of Europe in its co-operation programmes on the rights of
the child, with a special focus on low-income countries, as recommended
in paragraph 4.4.
8. Concerning the recommendation in paragraph 4.5, the Committee
recalls that child rights budgeting and child rights impact assessments
have been punctually addressed by the CDENF under its 2020-2021
mandate. They will be further promoted under its current mandate
(2022-2025) through more specific activities in collaboration with
internal and external partners, and a collaboration with the Parliamentary
Assembly will be welcome in this respect.
9. Finally, with respect to paragraph 4.6, the Committee notes
that the relevant Secretariats of the Council of Europe, European
Parliament, and European Commission enjoy close co-operation and
regularly update each other on opportunities for collaboration within
their respective Strategies.
