Be it in the context of humanitarian or conflict situations, school, poverty, displacement or migration, the EU mainstreams the Rights of the Child in all its external policies, because there are very few issues that do not concern the Rights of the Child.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most widely ratified human rights convention in history. Investing in children means investing in the future: it is vital for breaking the cycle of poverty. The Convention inspired the EU to adopt and change laws and policies aimed at ensuring that all children can fully enjoy their rights. The EU is guided by its principles: devotion to the best interests of the child, non-discrimination, respect for the views of the child, and their right to life, survival and development.

The EU continues to implement the EU Guidelines on the Rights of the Child and on children in armed conflict. In response to the Syrian crisis, the EU funded for example the Back to the Future project to provide education to refugee children in Lebanon and Jordan.

The EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child was developed with contributions from over 10,000 children and proposes new actions to address challenges related to the support of children, and the protection and promotion of their rights both inside the EU and globally.