The wellbeing of immigrant children and action that needs to be taken to alleviate related problems were the focus of a round table discussion at the House of Europe, in Nicosia, on Wednesday.

Addressing the event, Minister of Labour and Social Insurance Sotiroula Charalambous said the Cyprus EU Council Presidency, in the 2nd half of 2012, aims to fully integrate immigrants in their new environment to reduce in the greatest degree possible the phenomenon of social exclusion and child poverty.

Commenting on an earlier comment of Eurochild Policy Officer Agata D’ Addato on recent EU Council conclusions on children’s  wellbeing being “soft law”, Charalambous admitted that this is the case.

At the same time she highlighted the fact that it took a great deal of effort to adopt the conclusions.

The Cypriot Minister noted that discussion of such issues at EU Council and Commission level is new, underlining the significance of the fact that it is the first time that Council conclusions put down in writing what member states ought to be doing and what steps the EU Commission is expected to take next.

An outcome which Charalambous considers a success of the Cyprus Presidency is the use of the term “wellbeing” of children instead of “prosperity” of children. Experts and life show that ‘wellbeing’ is a term which means much more than material resources but rather a number of factors affecting a child’s life, she added.

Referring to steps taken within Cyprus, she said in recent years much has been done to improve the legal framework and tools for the protection of children’s rights.  She admitted there are problems in the full implementation of these instruments, adding however that her ministry is in the process of trying to resolve any such problems.

Charalambous further stressed the need for all actors involved – NGOs, professionals, national governments or European bodies – to work together in order to resolve issues concerning immigrant children.

EU co – funded programmes to combat early school leaving, school failure and delinquency, NGO’s funding for programmes fostering the protection of children and the creation of a comprehensive family policy are some of the actions undertaken by Cyprus in order to combat social exclusion of immigrant children, she noted.

On her part Eurochild Policy Officer Agata D’ Addato noted that that there needs to be  stronger investment in promoting social inclusion through EU structural funds, that EU finance ministers should be aware and supportive of children’s rights, adding that it is crucial to have statistical data on the most vulnerable groups of children if the status quo is to change.

She further referred to the recent EU Council Conclusions on preventing and combating child poverty and social exclusion and promoting the wellbeing of children, expressing at the same time her concern over the “soft law” status of the document and on whether the wording therein will in fact be implemented.

“Further work is needed to ensure that these policy documents are translated into perceptible improvement of the wellbeing and outcomes of every child in Europe”, she said.

Addressing the event Commissioner for the Protection of Children’s Rights in Cyprus Leda Koursoumba spoke of the problems faced in Cyprus by children immigrants such as the right to become residents if born in Cyprus and access to social rights.

Koursoumba pointed out that it is of particular importance that the state implements its obligation to provide legal representation to unaccompanied minors who are applying for asylum, something, which according to her is not being done.

In her address, European Parliament (EP) spokesperson Alexandra Attalides focused on a recently adopted EP report by Cypriot Rapporteur Kyriakos Triantafyllides which highlights the great importance of a sensitive approach towards people in need of international protection. It is not possible for a child to be dealt with as a problem or as a number, she said.

 

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