Children of Prisoners Europe welcomes the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s referencing of Council of Europe Recommendation CM/Rec(2018)5 enshrining the rights of children with incarcerated parents, as part of the Committee’s Concluding Observations on the combined fifth and sixth periodic reports of Germany, adopted at its ninety-first session (29 August—23 September 2022). The Concluding Observations also feature several references to children with imprisoned parents, in two sections.
The first reference to parental incarceration is found in Paragraph 10(b), on Data collection, and reads:
10. Recognizing the large body of data available, of which only a selection was made to the Committee, it is however noted that there remain gaps relating to some areas of the Convention. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Strengthen its data collection system regarding both qualitative and quantitative indicators that encompasses all areas of the Convention, and that the data are disaggregated by age, sex, disability, geographical location, ethnic origin, nationality and socioeconomic background;
(b) Improve the collection and analysis of data on violence against children, including abuse and neglect, sexual exploitation and online violence, and the situation of children in disadvantaged situations, including children in alternative care, children without a regular residence status and children of incarcerated parents;
The second reference, in Paragraph 28 entitled Children of incarcerated parents, reads:
28. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Ensure the visitation rights of children of incarcerated parents, including by increasing the frequency and duration of visits and supplementing visits with remote contact on a regular basis, in line with the recommendations of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers concerning children with imprisoned parents (2019);
(b) Evaluate, with the participation of children of incarcerated parents and their families, existing policies regarding visitation rights of such children, with a view to developing federal standards for ensuring that such children can maintain personal relations with their parents and have access to adequate services and appropriate support.
These developments further enshrine the rights of children with imprisoned parents, strengthening their rights to maintain direct contact with their parent in prison and to be provided with adequate and appropriate support.
For further information: contact [at] networkcope.eu
