The rights of minors

Protection of minors, social issues and consumer interests: these are the major areas on which the European Parliament focused its activity during the plenary meeting held January 14-17 in Strasbourg. Minors: the right “to be loved”. Different issues are scheduled on the agenda of the Euro-parliament. Among them figure the proposal for a directive on consumer credit single market promotion and the report requesting car destruction bonuses and the binding obligation to Co2 reduction aimed at countering air pollution in the 27 Member States. MEPs are also required to cast their vote on two social reports: the first on the protection of minors and the second on the introduction of measures to prevent industrial accidents. The report on minors, drawn-up by the Italian MEP Roberta Angelilli , refers to the Commission’s document “Towards a European Strategy on the Rights of Minors”. The Executive had insisted on “the right to one’s own identity, the right to grow in a safe environment which will protect the minor, his right to be part of family, to be loved and to play, the right to protection of health, to education, to social inclusion, equal opportunities, to sport and to a protective and sound environment along with the right to gain information on these subjects”. Stop to all forms of violence. The Parliamen’t report is divided into several chapters. For example, to counter violence against minors, MEPs demand “community legislation prohibiting all forms of violence, sexual abuse, humiliating punishment and prejudicial practices”. In this case, policies aimed at prevention and for the development of social services and conscience-awareness campaigns are needed. Special emphasis is given to the fight against female genital mutilation and to “the protection and assistance to victims of human exploitation”. These actions envisage “the fight against child trafficking”, against al forms of exploitation, such as work, forced marriage and adoption”. Countering poverty and “media violence”. New strategies are required to fight pornography and “media violence”, which carry “devastating psycho-social consequences”. The report encourages Member States “to develop measures to control television programs in hours when children are the majority of viewers” along with “parent control through appropriate information on television programs”. Equal vigilance should be devoted to child pornography websites. Another fundamental chapter addresses the situation of poverty involving some 20% of European children. It is expected that adhering States and joint projects will implement “interventions for the uprooting of poverty” and to “assist and protect all children from the risks deriving from malnutrition, disease, and abuses, regardless of their and their parents social and legal situation”. Education and role of the family. The Parliament focused also on the question of education, reaffirming that “the right to education and training is a basic social right which ought to be guaranteed regardless of the ethnic and social background of the child and of his and his parents physical and legal situation”. The report issued another recommendation which sparked off a parliamentary debate : “the prohibition to wear the veil and the hijab”, “at least in primary school”, to “reinforce the right to childhood and ensure a freedom of choice without impositions”. Last but not least, the document highlights “the important role of the family as society’s fundamental institution for the survival, protection and development of minors”. There are still too many industrial accidents. English MEP Glenis Willmott is the author of the report on industrial accidents . A European strategy on the subject is vouched for “ensuring the health and safety in the working environment with greater attention to those sector mostly at risk such as the iron and steel and the construction industries”. According to OIL, the International Employment Bureau, in the year 2006 some 167 thousand people died as a result of industrial accidents or of work-related diseases. “The Commission believes that each year 300 thousand workers are hit by different forms of permanent invalidity”. Willmot thus demands “a better application of the EU right to stricter sanctions, more frequent inspections and prevention measures”, to be extended also to temporary workers.