The Parliamentary Campaign to End Immigration Detention of Children

On 20 April 2015, PACE launched the Parliamentary Campaign to End Immigration Detention of Children.

It seeks to raise awareness of this issue in Europe and to encourage States to adopt alternatives to detention that fulfil the best interests of the child and allow children to remain with their family members and/or guardians in non-custodial, community-based contexts while their immigration status is being resolved.

Indeed, in recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of cases of children confined in detention facilities for migrants.

Therefore, on January 2015 the Council of Europe decided to join the Global Campaign to End Immigration Detention of Children – launched during the 19th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in 2012.

In March 2015, the Assembly’s Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons appointed Doris Fiala (Switzerland, ALDE) as General Rapporteur for the Parliamentary Campaign to End immigration detention of children, in order to raise awareness on the issue and to attract the attention of parliamentarians of member States of the Council of Europe to take measures in their national parliaments in order to discuss and actively support the Campaign.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is developing the parliamentary dimension of the Council of Europe ONE in FIVE Campaign to fight sexual violence against children.

Goals:

to associate national parliamentarians with the parliamentary dimension of the Council of Europe ONE in FIVE Campaign to stop sexual violence against children;

to promote the signature, ratification and implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (CETS 201 – Lanzarote Convention) which entered into force on 1 July 2010;

to increase the visibility of existing common standards under the Lanzarote Convention and contribute to the implementation of these standards through concrete proposals for legislative and political action;

to facilitate the exchange of best practices.

Methods:

The Parliamentary Assembly co-operates closely with the governmental sector of the Council of Europe;

The Assembly continues to prepare reports on the theme of sexual violence in regard to children and will develop communication tools intended for parliamentarians.

One in four women in Europe has experienced physical violence at least once during her adult life. Violence often happens behind closed doors. The majority of cases are not reported. Victims are not assisted and perpetrators are not punished.

Freedom from violence should be the first human right. 51 parlementarians have made a commitment to make it become not only a right but also a reality.

The Parliamentary Network “Women Free from Violence” is composed of 51 parliamentarians, coming from delegations of member and observer states of the Parliamentary Assembly, as well as delegations from partners for democracy. It has been active since 2006, when it contributed to the Council of Europe campaign “Stop domestic violence against women” (2006-2008).

The Network has tirelessly campaigned to improve legal and political standards in the area of prevention of violence against women, the protection of victims and the effective repression of perpetrators of violence. Since 2011, it has set itself the main objective of promoting the Istanbul Convention.