President of Malta Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca held a meeting with representatives from the European Parliament Intergroup on Children’s Rights, led by Co-Chair of the Intergroup MEP Caterina Chinnici.
President Coleiro Preca said that she looks forward to collaborating further with the Parliamentary Intergroup, through the President’s Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society, to strengthen the commitment towards a rights-based approach, especially when children are involved, such as a child’s fundamental right to access justice, which “must be a credible response to the diverse challenges faced by children across our communities and societies.”
“There is much to be done, to encourage strong synergies among national and international stakeholders, to ensure that each and every child can understand, access, and enjoy the fullness of their universal human rights and fundamental freedoms. The stronger we are in our commitment to a rights-based approach, the more effectively we shall create a culture of solidarity, of peace, and of wellbeing, for the benefit of both present and future generations,” the President said.
In February 2017, The President’s Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society was invited to join the network of the European Parliament Intergroup on Children’s Rights. European Parliament Intergroups can be formed by Members from any political group, and any committee with a view to holding informal exchanges of views on particular subjects and promoting contact between Members and civil society.
The Intergroup on Children’s Rights represents the first formal body in the EP that mainstreams children’s rights, and assesses the impact of legislative and non-legislative work on children. It is a cross-party, a cross-national group of committed MEPs, who work together with child-focused organisations to keep children’s rights on top of the EU agenda. The aim of the Intergroup is to promote children’s rights, and ensure that the best interest of the child is taken into account in EU internal and external action.
The European Parliament Intergroup is Co-Chaired by MEP Caterina Chinnici, and MEP Anna Maria Corazza Bildt. Both MEPs have in the past collaborated with the President’s Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society. Most recently, MEP Caterina Chinnici was a keynote speaker at the ‘Lost in Migration’ conference that was co-organised by the President’s Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society and Missing Children Europe in January 2017.
Director General of the President’s Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society Dr. Ruth Farrugia stated that “The President’s Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society is honoured to collaborate with the EP intergroup on children’s rights by working together towards ensuring promotion, respect, and effective access of child rights for all children. We firmly believe that mainstreaming child rights and affirming child participation is crucial to the dignity of each individual child citizen in Europe.”