Eradicating extreme child poverty in Europe: an international obligation and a moral duty
Reply to Recommendation
| Doc. 15734
| 03 April 2023
- Author(s):
- Committee of Ministers
- Origin
- Adopted at the 1461st meeting
of the Ministers’ Deputies (29 March 2023). 2023 - Second part-session
- Reply to Recommendation
- : Recommendation 2234
(2022)
1. The Committee of Ministers has carefully
examined Parliamentary Assembly
Recommendation 2234 (2022) “Eradicating
extreme child poverty in Europe: an international obligation and
a moral duty”. The recommendation has been brought to the attention
of the governments of the member States and forwarded to the relevant
committees for information and possible comments.
Note
2. Child poverty remains a major concern in Europe. Children
incur a higher risk of poverty and social exclusion than the adult
population and the elderly. Although the share of children living
in households with incomes below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold
or in severe material deprivation has decreased between 2015 and
2020 in most of the Council of Europe member States, the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDG) target of reducing the ratio of children
affected by poverty at least by half by 2030 seems difficult to
reach. Furthermore, the current energy crisis and growing inflation
have put at risk of poverty growing sections of the population,
with a knock-on effect on child poverty.
3. The Committee of Ministers is committed to supporting the
delivery of the SDG, both domestically and internationally. Eradicating
poverty requires understanding its root causes and addressing them,
ensuring full access to social rights as recognised in the European
Social Charter (cf. below), as well as in the European Code of Social
Security. Only developing coherent policies and reinforcing existing
actions will make it possible to tackle poverty at its core. It
is important that public policies are based on children’s best interests
and have a sustainable, long-term approach to tackling child poverty
and supporting people on lower incomes. This requires supporting
parents with access to employment, which substantially reduces the
risks of child poverty and improves long-term outcomes for families
and children. It further requires developing areas such as education,
health care, nutrition and housing.
4. The Committee of Ministers recalls that Article 27 of the
International Convention on the Rights of the Child (ICRC) recognises
the right of every child to an adequate standard of living for the
child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development.
Article 30 of the revised European Social Charter guarantees protection
against poverty and social exclusion. It requires that States Parties
develop an overall and coordinated approach towards combating poverty.
The Committee of Ministers considers that this co-ordinated approach
should consist of an analytical framework, a set of priorities and
corresponding measures to remove obstacles to access to social rights.
It should link and integrate public policies in a consistent way,
embedding the fight against poverty and social exclusion in all
strands of public policy. As regards child poverty in particular,
Article 17 of the Charter imposes a positive obligation on States
to adopt the necessary and appropriate measures to ensure that children
can effectively exercise their right to grow up in an environment favourable
to the development of their personality and their physical and mental
abilities.
Note Under Article
17, States commit to take all appropriate and necessary measures
directed towards the improvement and eradication of child poverty
and social exclusion. The Committee of Ministers encourages the
acceptance by member States of new commitments under the Charter,
where possible, in particular for the six States Parties that have
not yet accepted all the provisions relating to the right of children
and young people to social, legal and economic protection (Article
17).
6. The Committee of Ministers acknowledges the fact that the
Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated child poverty and social exclusion
as families started facing a new wave of unemployment and income
insecurity. In this context, the Committee of Ministers underlines
the need for governments to ensure that children’s well-being and
equal access to rights are prioritised, even during a public health
crisis. In this respect, it welcomes the objective 2.2.4 focused
on “Analysing new challenges that have emerged due to Covid-19 for
children in vulnerable situations ([…] increased poverty, etc.)”
in the current Council of Europe Strategy for the Rights of the
Child (2022-2027) and the other activities which have taken place
in this context.
7. The
Council
of Europe Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2022-2027) includes
an anti-discrimination approach throughout the Strategy to ensure
that children in situations of vulnerability, including children
living in poverty, are protected against all forms of discrimination.
More concretely, its second priority area is fully dedicated to
“Equal opportunities and social inclusion for all children”, highlighting
that social exclusion, child poverty and lack of equal access to
quality education are the main obstacles to ensuring children’s
access to equal opportunities. It also recognises that children
in difficult economic situations or living in poverty face the additional
barriers of having their rights respected. Accordingly, its innovating
objective 2.2.1 is focused on “Addressing the root causes of child
poverty, preventing situations of extreme child poverty, while trying
to mitigate the outcomes, as well as tackling poverty caused by
environmental degradation and conflict”, objective 2.2.2 is committed
to “Supporting member States in making existing institutions and
services attentive and reactive to situations of child poverty and
exclusion, including through systematic child impact assessments and
through supporting families, to avoid child-family separation”,
while objective 2.2.3 foresees “Encouraging States to improve disaggregated
data collection on poverty and monitor the impact of anti-poverty
measures”. Whilst such action will be supported from the European
level as possible, it is crucial that member States keep the issues
of child poverty and social exclusion high up on national agendas.
8. The Committee of Ministers takes note of the specific invitation
by the Assembly, in paragraph 2 of the recommendation, to “monitor
the development and implementation of national strategies for preventing
and combating child poverty” and indicates that its relevant Steering
Committee (CDENF) is instructed to contribute to the achievement
of, and review progress towards, the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development, including with regards to “Goal 1: No poverty and Goal
10: Reduce inequality” and to oversee the implementation of the
Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2022-2027), notably through
a mid-term evaluation conference in 2024/2025 and implementation
reports prepared every two years.
9. In response to paragraph 3 of the Assembly recommendation
on the European Child Guarantee, the Committee of Ministers also
expresses its support for this initiative
Note,
which contributes to the objective of eradicating extreme child
poverty by 2030. With regard to paragraph 3.3, it underlines that
the Strategy of the Council of Europe was designed to uphold the
best interests of the child in every setting. In particular, the second
priority area is designed to ensure that children’s best interests
are upheld and that all children have access to the same means and
services to achieve the best attainable standard of living, irrespective
of their economic situation, in order to leave no child behind and
to contribute to breaking cycles of disadvantage for children. These
challenges will be addressed through intergovernmental activities
on children in migration, child participation in health-related
decisions and children’s access to mental health services, as well
as, in the next biennium, on the rights of children living in residential
institutions. Regarding paragraph 3.4 of the Assembly recommendation,
the Committee of Ministers recalls that the Council of Europe has
historically demonstrated leadership in giving a voice to and involving
children and giving due respect to their views in its standard-setting,
monitoring and co-operation projects. Therefore, under the implementing
and innovating objectives noted in its fifth strategic objective,
the Strategy focuses on “giving a voice to every child”, including during
the development of national policies to combat poverty. Child participation
will continue to be promoted through the activities of the relevant
Steering Committee, including at the World Forum for Democracy,
and in other sectors of the Organisation engaging with children.
10. Finally, the Committee of Ministers notes that the Assembly
proposes to pursue efforts to promote the European Union’s accession
to the revised European Social Charter. Very preliminary discussions
on the feasibility and desirability to open discussions on such
an accession have recently taken place in the Committee of Ministers
and its Ad hoc Working Party on Improving the European Social Charter
System. While there is no fundamental objection to examining the
possibility of accession in the future, in light of the lengthy
and complex process of EU accession to the European Convention on
Human Rights, the Committee of Ministers considers it preferable
to wait for the outcome of the ongoing process concerning the Convention before
giving further consideration to this proposal. Nonetheless, the
Committee of Ministers supports strengthening co-operation with
the EU at all levels regarding the implementation of the European
Social Charter and the European Pillar of Social Rights. In particular,
the Committee of Ministers encourages the acceptance by member States
of new commitments under the Charter, where possible.
