Policy advocacy and partnerships for children's rights

UNICEF and the European Union: Partners for children

Multimedia web portal highlights joint efforts

By Tanya Turkovich

NEW YORK, USA, 18 October 2010 – UNICEF has been working to protect the rights of children for over 60 years, but it can only achieve the best results by working in partnerships – such as the unparalleled relationship between UNICEF and the European Union (EU).

In recognition of that partnership, UNICEF has produced a new multimedia web portal featuring video reports and photo essays that highlight the joint programmatic successes of UNICEF and the EU. The portal is being launched with a focus on three areas of key import to child survival and development. These include:

• Changing harmful practices such as female genital cutting and child marriage, which blight the lives of millions of girls every year
• Providing sustainable water and sanitation services to prevent waterborne diseases and protect the lives of millions of children under the age of five
• Meeting needs in emergencies, even as s the challenges of providing humanitarian aid grow ever more complex.

© UNICEF/NYHQ2010-1191/Asselin

The European Union and UNICEF support the work of national governments in promoting human rights, with a special focus on children.

Beyond these themes, there are plans to add sections on education and social protection to the web portal in the near future.

Promoting child rights

The new portal celebrates the fact that UNICEF and the EU have been partners for more than two decades, working together to ensure the best interests of children around the globe. Both organizations share a mandate to work with national governments on advancing human rights, with special attention to the rights of all the world’s children.

“The EU-UNICEF partnership is critical because we are seeing real results for children on the ground,” says EU Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs. “I believe UNICEF is leading the world in promoting children’s rights. Investing in them provides the answers to global challenges that we face. Whether it’s climate change or poverty or war, it’s definitely the children who’ll make the difference.”

© UNICEF/NYHQ2009-1489/Holt

UNICEF and the European Union are committed to ending, within a generation, harmful practices that adversely affect girls and women.

The UN UN Millennium Development Goals on eradicating extreme poverty and expanding global partnerships for development are paramount to both UNICEF and the EU. Achieving greater and more equitable results for the most vulnerable children – including the poorest of the poor – will be the focus of the partnership in the years to come.

Results for children

For her part, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Hilde F. Johnson notes that numerous opportunities are growing out of the EU-UNICEF partnership.

“We would really like to strengthen our cooperation with the EU, to ensure that we move the agenda forward for children to make sure we reach the MDGs,” says Ms. Johnson. “To be able to do that, we not only need to work together to deliver better results for children, but also need to monitor how we’re doing and ensure that we’re keeping ourselves to account, ensuring that we reach the goals on time.”