De EU en China ondertekenen het Verdrag in zake de rechten van het kind (en)

Although both the EU and China have adopted the basic documents on the Rights of the Child, much remains to be done to eradicate child poverty, ensure proper education and involve civil society organisations in these tasks. These were the main conclusions of the 7th meeting of the China-EU Civil Society Round Table in Chongqing, China, on 19-20 July 2010. In addition to a discussion on the Rights of the Child, the agenda also included a debate on water scarcity, sustainable development and migration.

Both China and the EU have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopting numerous laws, policies and action plans to protect and strengthen children's rights. But the root causes - poverty, lack of education and the absence of a decent income for parents - still need to be addressed. Furthermore, countries must fully enforce their respective laws and policies to protect the best interests of children.

Ms Jillian Van Turnhout, Member of the EESC i, Chief Executive of Ireland Children’s Rights Alliance, set out clear proposals which the EU should adopt in order to tackle child poverty, trafficking and sexual abuse of children and the protection of children with disabilities as well as migrant and refugee children.

Ms Lu Shizhen, local Member of the Economic and Social Council and Vice Chair of the China Youth and Children Research Association, detailed the structure of child protection in China and called for an increased role for Chinese civil society organisations in the process. While laws to implement the UN Convention are already in place and have been partly implemented, detailed policies have yet to be drawn up, especially as regards children with disabilities, homeless and stay-at-home children, and the children of migrants left behind in their home villages.

The two rapporteurs decided to focus their next report on the important role civil society can play in upholding and monitoring children’s rights.

On the topic of sustainable development and water, the traditional response has been to develop infrastructure. This emphasis on supply provides no incentive for limiting water use, thus leaving the major driving forces of use unchanged. As a result, it has encouraged excessive consumption. We have the technologies and the political will to rationalise water consumption. More education is now needed, stressed EESC President Mario Sepi.

Migration issues were discussed with local authorities from Chongqing, the region where the Three Gorges dam was built and, as a result, more than one million people were forced to leave their homes.

An EESC delegation will be in the European/Belgian Pavilion of the International Expo in Shanghai on 23-24 July to participate in a joint seminar on trade and development organised with the Economic and Social Council of China.