Groundwork for National Child Strategy ready - founded on information on children’s rights
Groundwork for a National Child Strategy consisted of compiling national and international information on children’s rights. This an important part of the preparatory work on the Strategy which is to begin in a parliamentary committee in June. The aim is to draw up a Child Strategy based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Strategy will span government terms and bring together different branches of administration.
In line with Prime Minister Marin's Government Programme, Finland will draw up a National Child Strategy based on children’s rights. Preparations to that end started in the latter half of 2019. In March 2020, the Government appointed a parliamentary committee for the drawing up of the Child Strategy.
The Strategy will provide comprehensive, coherent and ambitious policies for safeguarding and promoting the wellbeing and rights of children and young people.
- The Child Strategy is a far-reaching project that will have concrete impact on the implementation of the rights of children and young people in Finland. The work must be based on a solid ground: fundamental rights and international human rights obligations as well as on Finland’s strong tradition of the rule of law, says Johanna Laisaari, Secretary General for the preparation of the National Child Strategy.
Preliminary work on the National Child Strategy was started towards the end of Prime Minister Sipilä’s government term with visions for a child-friendly and family-friendly Finland. In the now published report, the focus is on fundamental and human rights.
The publication, Legal basis for the National Child Strategy, was commissioned by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and drafted by Esa Iivonen (Mannerheim League for Child Welfare) and Kirsi Pollari (Central Union for Child Welfare). Iivonen and Pollari have prepared the report in collaboration with a number of other children’s rights specialists.
Inquiries:
Johanna Laisaari, Secretary General for the National Child Strategy, [email protected]
Esa Iivonen, Chief Specialist, Mannerheim League for Child Welfare, [email protected]
Kirsi Pollari, Senior Specialist, Central Union for Child Welfare, [email protected]