Transnational child protection is an increasingly important subject, with the growing mobility of persons and children within and into Europe, and the growth of online activity that facilitates child exploitation across borders. The Guidance aims to support child protection and justice systems—including policymakers, professionals, NGOs, lawyers, and guardians—in ensuring children’s rights are upheld in transnational cases.
It outlines key actors and identifies essential procedural steps to follow in administrative and judicial contexts. The Guidance focuses on EU-relevant cases such as children in migration or asylum processes, victims or suspects in criminal proceedings, and those involved in cross-border family disputes or parental abduction. It also addresses special considerations under EU frameworks, including anti-trafficking, temporary protection, and the use of transnational databases. The Guidance further provides practical examples and additional resources to aid in effectively protecting children’s rights in these complex situations.
Accompanying Tool
The Accompanying Tool serves as a support to both policymakers, child protection and justice services and professionals involved in administrative and justice proceedings when exploring how to better fulfil children’s rights in transnational child protection cases.
Read the accompanying tool here (only available in English).
This publication was published by the Council of the Baltic Sea States and Child Circle as part of the PROMISE Soteria project. It was produced with the financial support of the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV) 2021-2027 of the European Union. The contents are the sole responsibility of project partnership and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Commission.