Council of Europe protects children’s rights through action plan in biomedicine
The action plan focuses on addressing key challenges posed by technological developments and trends in biomedical practices
The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe recently supported a new five-year strategic action plan, presented by the Committee on Bioethics, on human rights and technologies in biomedicine. With regard to children, the action plan provides for a guide to good practice concerning the participation of children in the decision-making process and a seminar on relevant legislation and good practices with regard to early intervention on intersex children.
The action plan builds on the recommendations of the study ‘From Law to Practice: Towards a Roadmap to Strengthen Children’s Rights in the Era of Biomedicine’ submitted to the Council of Europe’s Committee on Bioethics in 2017. This study was prepared by Prof. Ton Liefaard, Prof. Aart Hendriks and Daniella Zlotnik LL.M. The study assesses the existing body of international and European legal standards in relation to children in biomedicine and recommends actions that the Council of Europe could undertake to strengthen the protection of children’s rights in this field.