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What is child protection about?

Comprehensive and sustainable child protection is a series of activities and actions lead by the Children’s Unit at the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) Secretariat. Focus areas include:

  • promoting child rights including child-friendly justice;
  • early intervention and prevention;
  • protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation;
  • protecting migrant children and child victims of trafficking;
  • ensuring the rights of children in alternative care.

A multi-sectorial approach and cooperation among relevant authorities and other stakeholders both nationally and across borders is necessary to ensure the protection of people crossing borders. In cooperating transnationally to promote a multi-sectorial approach, these activities aim to prevent and respond to violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of children. Training modules, guidelines, research, exchanging lessons learned and best practices are regularly produced which are frequently used and applied by stakeholders working in child protection in the region and well beyond to improve their understanding, capacity, processes and regulations.

It is steered and supported by the CBSS Expert Group for Cooperation on Children at Risk (EGCC). The Expert Group consists of senior officials from the line ministries dealing with children’s issues or designated agencies in the Member States of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS).

Lead partner: CBSS Secretariat with the EGCC.
Funding: Annual contributions from EGCC member states and external funding for some of the projects.
Duration: Annual progress review in December (following the first EGCC meeting under the new CBSS presidency).