Steering Committee for the Rights of the Child

Established in 2020, the Steering Committee for the Rights of the Child (CDENF) is the Council of Europe intergovernmental body responsible for the standard-setting activities in the field of the rights of the child.

It guides the Council of Europe work in this field by advising the Committee of Ministers on appropriate action and proposals concerning the overall priorities to be taken in its field of competence and future work. Where appropriate, it undertakes actions for the development and promotion of activities and instruments (for example recommendation, declaration, policy guidelines, guide to good practices) concerning the rights of the child for consideration and adoption by the Committee of Ministers.

The CDENF also oversees the implementation of the Council of Europe Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2022-2027), ensures that the rights of the child are mainstreamed into all relevant Council of Europe committees and bodies, and supports member States in mainstreaming children’s rights.

Its Terms of Reference, which are valid from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2027, set out in detail its tasks and responsibilities for these 4 years. During this period, the CDENF, oversees the work of its subordinate bodies: the Committee of Experts on the prevention of violence (ENF-VAE), the Committee of Experts on access to child-friendly justice through multidisciplinary and Interagency services (ENF-JUS) and the Committee of Experts on the rights and the best interest of the child in parental separation and in care proceedings (CJ/ENF-ISE) together with the European Committee on Legal Co-operation (CDCJ), which finalised its work in 2024.

Bewteen 2016 and 2019, the Council of Europe's the intergovernmental work in the area of the rights of the child was guided by the Ad hoc Committee for the Rights of the Child (CAHENF).