The European Commission marked Universal Children’s Day with a panel discussion on Children’s Rights on Friday, 27 November at Naci Talat Foundation in Nicosia. The EU is committed to the protection of children’s rights and the panel brought together experts from the Social Services Department, academics, children’s rights advocates and practitioners from SOS Children’s Village, to emphasise the importance of protecting children’s rights.

The aim of the event was to improve knowledge about the EU’s policy on child protection, to discuss social services for children and to share real life examples from EU countries, and the Turkish Cypriot community on how child protection is approached and how children’s rights are advocated.  The EU Guidelines for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of the Child as well as regulations in the Turkish Cypriot community related to children’s rights were also discussed.

An EU funded mapping report prepared by the Turkish Cypriot Human Rights Foundation in 2012 highlights the fact that the violation of children's rights including child labour and lack of protection for children accused of offences. Mentally and physically disabled children, migrant children, orphans, and refugee children are in the high risk group in terms of children's rights violations.