News

The 11th plenary session of the Steering Committee on the Rights of the Child (CDENF) of the Council of Europe, which took place on 1 and 2 April 2025 in Strasbourg, and in which Portugal is represented by Célia Chamiça, member of the International Relations Team of the National Commission for the Promotion of the Rights and Protection of Children and Youth (CNPDPCJ).

During the meeting, work started at previous plenary sessions and started on a draft Recommendation to be endorsed by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on comprehensive age-appropriate sexuality education to prevent and combat violence against children. This draft recommendation was prepared by experts on the basis of the requirements defined by the members of the CDENF and had its first discussion at this meeting, based on the input gathered from the entities of the various Member States, including Portugal, through the CNPDPCJ and the Strategy and Planning Office of the MTSSS. Work on this draft recommendation will continue at the 12th plenary session, scheduled for November 2025.

During this meeting, the Bureau of the CDENF proposed to the Committee the successful election of:

• Maria João Fernandes, Vice-President of the CNPDPCJ, as CDENF Independent Expert on Children’s Rights to the Drafting Committee on Human Rights and Drug Policies; e
• Célia Chamiça, Member of the CNPDPCJ International Relations Team, as a CDENF reference person on children’s rights in new technologies and artificial intelligence.

On 3 and 4 April 2025, also in Strasbourg, the national representatives in the CDENF will participate in the Conference on the Mid-Term Review of the Council of Europe Strategy on the Rights of the Child (2022-2027), in which the representative of Portugal will moderate the session on children’s rights and new technologies and artificial intelligence. The conference was organised by the CDENF and is held under the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of Europe, which has chosen the mid-term review of the strategy as one of the issues to be addressed during this period.