On 31 January, COPE’s Secretary General Nancy Loucks OBE of Families Outside represented COPE at a Parliamentary expert meeting and a national-level conference on children with imprisoned parents in Lisbon, Portugal. Nancy spoke on behalf of COPE about the network, recent European developments for children of prisoners and the Italian model Memorandum of Understanding. Among … Read more
The Italian model “Memorandum of Understanding on children with imprisoned parents” (MOU), an agreement between the Italian Minister for Justice, the National Ombudsman for Childhood and Adolescence and COPE member NGO Bambinisenzasbarre, was originally signed in 2014. This agreement concerns the fulfillment and protection of the rights of children with imprisoned parents. Valid for two … Read more
Every six months, Exodus organises an expert meeting on the rights and wishes of children of prisoners. The goal is to realise ten wishes of children of prisoners, following a step-by-step process. A variety of organisations work together (prison system, police, schools, lawyers, youth care, probation service). One of the topics that has come up … Read more
The Council for Penological Co-operation (PC-CP) of the Council of Europe has published a Summary Meeting Report following the 14th meeting of the Working Group in Strasbourg, 30 January – 1 February 2017, in which two COPE experts participated to draw attention to the issue of children with imprisoned parents. Other topics discussed during the three-day … Read more
Bambinisenzasbarre and Children of Prisoners Europe invite you to attend their international conference on supporting children with imprisoned parents in Naples, Italy on 19 May 2017. More details to follow.
COPE began working in Strasbourg with the Council of Europe in late January 2017 to draft a Committee of Ministers Recommendation on Children with Imprisoned Parents. The Recommendation will be based on all aspects of the Italian Memorandum of Understanding that are relevant to prisons, including rights to visits; child-friendly spaces and information; supporting the child-parent relationship; prison officer … Read more
As part of the Child Rights Connect working group on children of incarcerated parents, Children of Prisoners Europe (COPE) co-organised and participated in an international briefing for Member States at the UN in Geneva on 1 February 2017. This event took place during the 74th session of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child … Read more
The Inspectorate of Prisons (England and Wales) report published in August 2016 acknowledged that maintaining family contact, where appropriate, is a “key source of support for prisoners during their time in custody and on their release”. The Inspectorate also recognised that: “maintaining contact with the imprisoned parents supports the children’s development: mentally, emotionally and in … Read more
An estimated 2.1 million children across Europe have a parent in prison. In addition to being separated from their parent, these children may also experience stigma, trauma and anxiety, which can have an impact on their well-being and development.
The Council of Europe Strategy for the Rights of the Child provides a plan from 2016-2021 to improve upon and develop child rights legislation. Following the European Convention on Human Rights and the principles of United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)—non-discrimination, best interests of the child, right to life, survival and … Read more
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The COPE network is part of the Child Rights Connect Working Group on Children of Incarcerated Parents.
COPE is a member of
COPE is proud to be one of 18 organisations that contributed to writing the Child Rights Manifesto.
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