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Terre des Hommes International Federation

TDHIF

Terre des Hommes International Federation works to protect children from poverty, violence, and exploitation globally.

Lobbying Activity

Terre des Hommes Urges Global EU Civil Society Strategy

4 Sept 2025
Topic — New EU framework to protect civil society and address shrinking civic space.
Message — The strategy must address the global dimension of shrinking civic space. It should explicitly include advocacy as a legitimate use of funding.123
Why — This would secure long-term funding and protection for their global operations.4
Impact — Anti-rights movements lose influence as the EU strengthens independent democratic watchdogs.5
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Meeting with Magnus Brunner (Commissioner) and

4 Sept 2025 · Protection of children from child sexual abuse

Terre des Hommes urges EU to protect LGBTIQ children online

24 Jun 2025
Topic — This consultation seeks views on the upcoming 2026-2033 EU LGBTIQ Equality Strategy.
Message — The group wants the strategy to recognize that online and offline lives are fluidly connected for LGBTIQ children. They recommend implementing child safety by design on platforms and promoting meaningful child participation in policy-making.123
Why — Binding safety regulations would help the organization prevent online violence, exploitation, and sexual harm targeting children.45
Impact — Digital platforms prioritising engagement over well-being would lose the ability to use addictive, unregulated algorithms on children.67
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Meeting with Maria Zafra Saura (Cabinet of Commissioner Michael McGrath) and Save the Children Europe and

20 Jun 2025 · Exchange of views on the forthcoming Digital Fairness Act and on children’s participation in decision-making

Terre des Hommes urges EU to prioritize child safety online

13 Mar 2025
Topic — The consultation develops a strategy to integrate security into EU legislation and policies.
Message — They urge the EU to adopt regulations for detecting abuse content. They advocate for criminalizing AI-generated material. They request more investment in specialized law enforcement training.123
Why — This supports their advocacy work to prevent child violence and exploitation.4
Impact — Offenders lose their ability to act with impunity in unregulated online spaces.56
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Meeting with Glenn Micallef (Commissioner) and

6 Feb 2025 · Prioritisation of children’s rights in third countries

Meeting with Saskia Bricmont (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and Save the Children Europe and

13 Sept 2024 · Child sexual abuse directive

Terre des Hommes demands stronger EU child abuse legal safeguards

21 May 2024
Topic — EU consultation on a Directive to combat sexual abuse and exploitation of children.
Message — The organization calls for gender-neutral terminology and decriminalising consensual peer-to-peer sexual activity. They advocate for uniform penalties and extending statutes of limitations until victims reach age 51. The proposal includes mandatory criminal record checks and child-friendly justice systems like the Barnahus model.1234
Why — Improved legal frameworks would increase the effectiveness of their child protection and survivor support efforts.56
Impact — Perpetrators would face higher risks of prosecution through stricter reporting and longer legal windows.78
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Meeting with Jeroen Lenaers (Member of the European Parliament)

13 Feb 2024 · Temporary Derogation CSAM

Terre des Hommes urges extension of child protection rules

12 Feb 2024
Topic — Proposal to extend temporary rules for detecting and removing child abuse material online.
Message — The group urges the EU to swiftly adopt the extension to prevent any gaps in protection. They demand a permanent regulation requiring detection of abuse across all digital platforms.123
Why — Maintaining current detection tools allows for the continued rescue of children and arrest of offenders.45
Impact — Privacy advocates lose because the proposal demands monitoring of private, end-to-end encrypted communications.67
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Meeting with Aleska Simkic (Cabinet of Commissioner Janez Lenarčič)

12 Dec 2023 · European Humanitarian Forum 2024: integration of children's needs & voices in high-level panel discussions

Meeting with Paul Tang (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and Microsoft Corporation and

5 Dec 2023 · Staff Level: Lunch on the Future of Encryption

Meeting with Birgit Sippel (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)

18 Sept 2023 · Screening Regulation (Staff level)

Meeting with Jan-Christoph Oetjen (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and AWO Bundesverband e.V. and Diakonie Deutschland

6 Sept 2023 · Current state of CEAS reform

Meeting with Birgit Sippel (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur) and AWO Bundesverband e.V. and Diakonie Deutschland

6 Sept 2023 · GEAS-Reform

Response to European Critical Raw Materials Act

20 Jun 2023

Terre des Hommes Netherlands welcomes and supports the European Commissions proposal to establish a comprehensive framework for ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials with the proposed European Critical Raw Materials Act. Terre des Hommes Netherlands believes that the Critical Raw Materials Act provides a unique opportunity to develop strategic projects not only in Europe but also in third countries, that will make companies accountable for both environmental and social impacts of their operations along the global supply chains. This is setting the basis for a viable future for children everywhere. Governments, industries and local communities should work collaboratively in a responsible way to achieve this. Please find attached our feedback on the proposed revision of the Directive.
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Meeting with Samira Rafaela (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)

2 May 2023 · Forced Labour Ban

Meeting with Paul Tang (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and Snap, Inc. and eco - Verband der Internetwirtschaft

15 Feb 2023 · Child Sexual Abuse Regulation

Terre des Hommes seeks accountability for platforms facilitating trafficking

13 Feb 2023
Topic — The European Commission is revising rules to prevent and combat human trafficking.
Message — The organization calls for holding internet service providers accountable for child exploitation and implementing child safety by design measures. They also recommend including institution-related trafficking and establishing minimum compensation for victims.123
Why — Stricter regulations would advance their core mission of preventing violence against children.45
Impact — Online platforms face increased liability and tighter timeframes for removing illegal content.6
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Meeting with Saskia Bricmont (Member of the European Parliament)

19 Jan 2023 · forced (child) labour (meeting with APA)

Meeting with Heléne Fritzon (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur for opinion) and Google and

12 Jan 2023 · Rundabordssamtal

Meeting with Paul Tang (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and Google and

12 Jan 2023 · Closed door stakeholders meeting on Child Sexual Abuse Regulation with MEP Alex Agius Saliba and MEP Helene Fritzon

Terre des Hommes urges child-centered reforms for forced labor ban

30 Nov 2022
Topic — The EU is proposing a ban on products made using forced labour in global supply chains.
Message — The organization requests a child-centered approach including transition periods and supportive measures. They demand child participation and guaranteed access to legal remedies for all affected workers.123
Why — This would ensure the organization's child-protection priorities are legally integrated into EU trade enforcement.4
Impact — Impoverished families lose their livelihoods while children face more dangerous, hidden forms of exploitation.5
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Terre des Hommes urges child-rights focus in anti-abuse law

12 Sept 2022
Topic — New EU rules require online platforms to detect and report child sexual abuse.
Message — The federation advocates for a child rights approach and safeguards for vulnerable groups. They want to prevent the criminalization of minors for consensual sexting and seek independent oversight for the EU Centre.123
Why — This would strengthen platform accountability and support their global advocacy for child safety.4
Impact — Digital platforms would lose the discretion to rely only on voluntary detection measures.5
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Meeting with Jutta Urpilainen (Commissioner) and Save the Children Europe and

27 Jun 2022 · Consolations with Youth Organisation on the Youth Action Plan

Response to Youth Action Plan in EU external action

14 Oct 2021

Terre des Hommes welcomes the European Commission's call for feedback. Many barriers continue to prevent meaningful child and youth participation. Obstacles exist at every level: inadequate and insufficient sharing of information about opportunities for participation, lack of recognition in law and policy, adults struggling to understand how to empower children and youth to participate in a safe and meaningful way. Even when children and young people are able to contribute to decision-making, adults do not duly take their views into consideration. Insufficient funds to cover the costs of child and youth participation mechanisms remain a big challenge as well as the collection of robust and disaggregated data which is important to build an evidence-based child and youth policy-making. Younger children and children and youth living in disadvantaged situations such as children and youth on the move, working children, girls, children victims (or at risk) of violence, children in contact with justice systems, children living in rural areas or conflict zones are underrepresented and face huge barriers that inhibit their participation in policy and decision making. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child recognizes every person below the age of 18 as a child. According to the roadmap, the Action Plan will cover young people aged 10 to 24, which can be seen as discriminatory towards younger children who are at risk of being left behind. In order to be aligned with the Strategy for the Rights of the Child and the working principles of the HRBA to international partnerships, it is crucial to also include even younger children. The Plan will also cover children aged 10 to 18. This raises issues about the adaptability of participation mechanisms to different groups of children from different backgrounds and ages having different needs and requiring different skills from adults supporting children’s participation mechanisms and processes. For the Action Plan, we recommend to: - Extend its scope to “Children and Youth”, including also children below the age of 10 years. Children and youth should be involved from the outset of the development of the Plan - Be fully inclusive, support and strengthen opportunities to create spaces enabling all children and youth (including from disadvantaged situations) to dialogue with decision-makers and peers to influence decisions in a safe, accessible, gender and age-appropriate way - Strengthen expertise on child participation, child protection and safeguarding policies among the Commission and EEAS staff and the staff of EU Delegations. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to child participation and safeguarding, differentiated treatment is needed to respond to the different needs of a child. Develop guidelines for the meaningful participation of children and youth. - Support initiatives that empower children and youth across the globe to become advocates and active promoters of more peaceful and sustainable societies and address the increasingly interconnected global challenges such as inequality, climate change, migration, digital revolution and global recovery from Covid-19 pandemic, through development education and awareness raising initiatives - Map existing child and youth participation mechanisms in all regions as a first step to develop an evidence-based child and youth policy-making and knowledge building anchored in the real needs and situations of children and youth - Support initiatives aimed at strengthening well-being, psycho-social resilience and leadership among young people as key prerequisites for their meaningful participation in social, civic and democratic spaces - Create a mechanism in cooperation with CSOs working with children and youth, local authorities, and children and youth themselves for the development of the Plan, its implementation, monitoring and evaluation
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Meeting with Barry Andrews (Member of the European Parliament)

20 Oct 2020 · NDICI

Meeting with Dubravka Šuica (Vice-President) and Save the Children Europe and

5 Feb 2020 · Rights of the Child

Meeting with Jutta Urpilainen (Commissioner) and Save the Children Europe and

4 Feb 2020 · Meeting with the CEOs of 6 leading child rights agencies to discuss different avenues of cooperation.

Meeting with Janez Lenarčič (Commissioner) and

3 Feb 2020 · Education in emergencies, child protection, nutrition.

Meeting with Frans Timmermans (First Vice-President)

17 Feb 2016 · Roundtable Fundamental Rights