Resolution on the European Union positions in the special session on children of the UN General Assembly

In adopting this resolution on the rights of the child, the European Parliament urges the EU and the Member States to work actively together to ensure that the Special Session of the UN General Assembly on Children reinforces the Convention on the Rights of the Child and supports implementation of all the new treaties to strengthen child protection. There is support too for the proposal to adopt a Common Strategy on the Rights of the Child and Council is urged to work on this common strategy as a priority. In particular, developing countries should be protected from the negative impact of globalisation and should develop global trade rules that work for the benefit of all the children. A number of amendments were adopted. One, for example, urged all those concerned to do everything in their power to solve the cases of missing children. Member States and other countries are also urged to do everything possible to speed up the universal ratification of the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict. Other amendments stress the importance of the family as 'the fundamental unit of society'. Finally, an amendment seeks to place children and families in the centre of the decision-making process. �