


The Council of Europe and the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) celebrate today the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Convention has gone a long way to improving the protection of children, who are particularly vulnerable and therefore deserve special protection by all actors.
Twenty years on, there is still a need for continued and concerted governmental action, as well as action by International Organisations and civil society to ensure the respect, protection, and promotion of the rights of the child.

More than 4,500 young people are expected to come together to learn about fundamental rights and exchange views at FRA Diversity Days in the next three weeks. This series of awareness raising events is organised by the FRA and city partners in Berlin, Barcelona and Vienna.

9 November 2009, FRA releases a new report on "The situation of Roma EU citizens moving to and settling in other EU Member States". This report provides evidence that Roma are strongly discriminated against and experience social exclusion when exercising their EU citizens' right of freedom of movement. The FRA report highlights shortcomings but also points out good practices across the EU. It gives concrete recommendations on how the situation could be improved.
The Agency will present its Report and some positive initiatives at a Joint International Conference of the FRA, Council of Europe and the OSCE on Roma migration and freedom of movement, which takes place in Vienna on 09-10 November.

This new FRA report gives evidence that Roma and Travellers are strongly disadvantaged in private and social housing throughout the European Union. This includes discrimination in access to housing, poor housing conditions, segregation, and forced evictions. The report highlights shortcomings and good practices across the EU.

Trafficking in human beings is a major problem both in the EU and worldwide. Every year a substantial number of children fall victim to trafficking for sexual exploitation or other purposes. There are extremely low numbers of convictions in child trafficking cases. Overall, the report finds that the EU must do more to address the issue. The FRA calls for better legislation to combat child trafficking. The protection and care for victims, in particular, must be improved.
