Children will receive more education on their rights. Photo: Shutterstock

Children will receive more education on their rights. Photo: Shutterstock

Education minister Claude Meisch (DP) on 19 May revealed a national strategy to empower children in their rights. 

“Children are extremely resilient and adapt well,” the ministry said in a statement. To encourage these qualities, the plan aims to make children more aware of their own rights and to help them apply them. 

“Strong children are children who have their own opinions, who think critically and who want to participate in the discussion,” Meisch said. “That is why it is important to put children at the centre of educational policy: children must be able to be children, but they must also become strong adolescents and adults.”

To help them foster this strength, the ministry plans on putting into action 64 measures in eight sectors: identity and non-discrimination, placement measures, health and welfare, unaccompanied minors, child justice, violence, rights of children in crisis and right to participation.

One activity, for instance, is the creation of national panels where children will be consulted on subjects that impact their lives. These aim to improve children’s right to participation, This should improve their feeling of responsibility and belonging, according to the strategy. A magazine written by primary school children for children is also in the works. 

To improve children’s awareness of their own rights, the ministry also proposes to place posters illustrating them in strategic spaces where children can access them. Similarly, parents will receive education on the topic, through pamphlets and information sessions. 

Various actors will be implicated in the plan. The ministry of justice, for example, will look into establishing clear procedures around a draft law which would allow children born from a surrogate or unknown mother, adopted children, and children whose parents used a donor to receive information on their origins. Another project for the justice ministry will be to accelerate the adoption of a draft law ending the discrimination of children born outside of wedlock. 

The education ministry itself will also work on raising more awareness on living with a disability, and making education and accommodation more accessible. The health ministry, among others, will offer support in the diagnosis and accompaniment of children and teenagers with mental health issues.