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Reply to Recommendation | Doc. 12733 | 01 October 2011
Children without parental care: urgent need for action
1. The Committee of Ministers welcomes Parliamentary
Assembly Recommendation
1939 (2010) on “Children without parental care: urgent need for
action” which it has brought to the attention of the member states’
governments. It has also transmitted it to the Commissioner for
Human Rights for information and to the relevant Council of Europe
bodies for information and possible comments. 
2. Like the Parliamentary Assembly, the Committee of Ministers
welcomes the adoption of the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care
of Children and the good practice guide on “De-institutionalising
and Transforming Children’s Services” published in February 2010
by the European Commission’s Daphne Programme. The Committee also
recalls its Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)2 to member states on deinstitutionalisation
and community living of children with disabilities in which it stated, inter alia, that it was “aware of
the fact that placing children in institutionalised forms of care
raises serious concerns as to its compatibility with the exercise
of children’s rights”.
3. The Committee further recalls its Recommendation Rec(2005)5
to member states on the rights of children living in residential
institutions, in which it held that the “placement of a child should
remain the exception and have as the primary objective the best
interests of the child and his or her successful social integration
or re-integration as soon as possible; the placement must guarantee
full enjoyment of the child’s fundamental rights”. It also underlined
that “when the return of the child to his or her own family is not
possible, other means of care or the continuation of the placement
should be envisaged, taking into account the child’s wishes and
the continuity in his or her life path and his or her fulfilment
and own needs”.
4. The Parliamentary Assembly underlines the need for urgent
action as regards the de-institutionalisation of child care and
calls on the Committee of Ministers to focus on this issue in the
context of the Council of Europe Programme “Building a Europe for
and with children”. This spring, the Committee of Ministers reviewed a
progress report relating to the programme and preparations have
now started on a strategy covering the years 2012-2015. Another
important issue is to support member states in preventing the placement
of children outside their family, notably through the implementation
of the Recommendation on child-friendly social services, which is
currently at its final stage of preparation.
5. During the last few years, the Council of Europe made a considerable
effort to strengthen child protection generally, and in particular
to consolidate the situation of children without parental care.
In November 2009, the Committee of Ministers adopted Council of
Europe Guidelines on integrated national strategies for the protection
of children from violence (Recommendation CM/Rec(2009)10), and in
2010, Guidelines on child-friendly justice. As regards child friendly
social services, the drafting process of a recommendation on this
issue (see paragraph 4 above) is currently at a final stage and
adoption by the Committee of Ministers is foreseen for early 2012.
Guidelines on child-friendly health care were adopted in September
2011.
6. The Committee of Ministers notes that the European Committee
on Legal Co-operation (CDCJ), on the basis of a study on the rights
and legal status of children being brought up in various forms of
marital or non-marital partnerships and cohabitation, is elaborating
a draft recommendation on this subject for adoption by the Committee
of Ministers. The Parliamentary Assembly’s recommendation has been
taken into account in this work.
7. The Council of Europe “One in Five” Campaign to stop sexual
violence against children was launched in November 2010. The Committee
has already had occasion to welcome the Parliamentary Assembly’s commitment
to develop a parliamentary dimension to this campaign.
8. The Committee of Ministers agrees with the Parliamentary Assembly
about the usefulness of pragmatic approaches to the issue of de-institutionalisation
of child care aimed at supporting the implementation of European
and international standards at national level. It notes the importance
of the Joint Council of Europe/European Union programme: “Enforcing
the Rights of the Child and Re-integrating Children at Risk into Society,
Russia 2007-2008”, which could serve as a model for further work
in the field. It notes the need, however, for appropriate financial
resources for such programmes.
9. Finally, the Committee of Ministers agrees with the Parliamentary
Assembly about the usefulness of close co-operation as regards any
future Council of Europe reporting or standard-setting activities,
with other European and international organisations undertaking
substantial work regarding children without parental care or regarding
adequate alternative childcare arrangements.