Programme Aims

The Separated Children in Europe Programme's aims and goals

The Programme’s overall aim is to promote a greater recognition and realisation of the rights of separated children and to support the raising of standards in all policies, practices and services that impact upon them.

This aim has three inter-related themes running through it: the need for international protection of separated children; the need to ensure that the well-being and developmental rights of separated children are fully addressed; the importance of the participation and empowerment of separated children.

In striving to achieve this overall aim SCEP has four key goals, each of which should be fulfilled in the short-term with the implementation of the programme’s objectives. The four key goals are:

To raise awareness among relevant decision makers and practitioners as well as civil society about the situation of separated children and the need to protect their rights.
To influence existing and emerging legislation and policy by advocating for the rights of separated children at both the national and European levels.
To develop the skills necessary for effective, rights based work with separated children and to increase the knowledge base of relevant practitioners through exchanges of good practice, training and capacity building.
To increase the recognition of and consideration given to the views of children as well as the meaningful participation of separated children and to empower them to contribute actively in processes that affect them.