What we do
Advocacy and child policy
Speaking up for children and families with authorities, experts and policymakers.
ISS Switzerland champions children’s rights through advocacy, information and awareness-raising. In particular, it brings the issues of protecting unaccompanied minors (UMs) and protecting children in parental separation to the attention of Swiss authorities, experts and policymakers. In this way it helps practices and policies evolve by placing the best interests of the child at the heart of decisions.
Since its founding, International Social Service has been recognised as an international advocacy organisation. ISS Switzerland takes part in the network’s working groups on topics where it has specific expertise or experience.
UMs are children first and foremost
Unaccompanied minors (UMs) are first and foremost children and young people whose rights and protection needs must be fully recognised.
ISS Switzerland advocates for harmonised care standards and practices centred on the best interests of the child. It supports UMs in exercising their rights and finding durable individual solutions. It carries out advocacy, information and awareness-raising with authorities, experts and policymakers, also taking part in collective initiatives with the actors concerned and with young people themselves. Finally, it supports professionals through training and intercantonal meetings and provides practical tools that encourage knowledge sharing and the spread of good practice.
The child in family conflicts
Separation and divorce can expose children to parental conflict and to the risk of losing contact with one of their parents. ISS Switzerland works to keep their rights, needs and best interests at the heart of the decisions that affect them, in particular by promoting interdisciplinary and amicable approaches. In cross-border situations, especially in cases of international child abduction, it also offers international family mediation in collaboration with the competent authorities, to encourage dialogue, maintain family ties and find solutions suited to the child’s interests.
ISS Switzerland also contributes to developing professional practices and tools that promote children’s participation, in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the General Comments of the UN Committee and international standards. These approaches are integrated in particular into ISS training and its advocacy within the ISS network.
International advocacy on children’s rights
ISS advocacy focuses on principles of intervention with children and families and is based on practical experience of cross-border cases and the modelling of good practice within the ISS network.
Exemples récents de plaidoyer :
The “ISS Ottawa Principles for protecting children and parents subject to family violence in cross-border situations” are a set of guidelines on the specific challenges that arise when domestic violence crosses international borders.
The document sets out 15 core principles to guide States, courts and other professionals in better handling situations of cross-border family violence. It aims to support the implementation of these principles and to encourage cooperation across jurisdictions and sectors, so as to strengthen the protection of children and families. Rooted in ISS field experience and international legal standards, the principles are designed for global implementation while providing a basis for local adaptation and context-specific interpretation.
The publication includes recommendations on cross-border family conflicts, contact rights and the recognition of foreign decisions.
Permanency Equity refers to 6 principles of child protection practice that prioritise exploring family placements, without discrimination of any kind, to achieve the best long-term outcome for the child. These principles aim to empower child protection partners worldwide to adopt a child-rights-based approach, and promote policies and protocols ensuring that all family placement options are explored for children who can no longer be cared for by their parents. Permanency Equity seeks to build connections with a child’s extended family, both locally and abroad, to give the child the best chance of growing up with a strong sense of identity, belonging, roots and culture.
ISS Switzerland was an observer to the Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to member States on the protection of the rights and best interests of the child in parental separation proceedings, in which family mediation plays a fundamental role.
In 2022, as part of the European iCare project, which aims to develop a set of tools on international child abduction that includes international family mediation as a complement to court proceedings, Defence for Children International Italy and Missing Children Europe jointly wrote a professional guide for central authorities, legal practitioners and mediators.
To do so, they drew on the Charter for International Family Mediation Processes and on an information guide for parents published by ISS in 2014, to which all organisations of international family mediators around the world contributed.
ISS Switzerland is part of the network of Missing Children Europe.
See: www.ifm-mfi.org
The constant development and growing use of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) have wide-ranging implications for children. Taking a child-rights-based approach, ISS calls for better protection of children born through surrogacy. This approach recognises surrogacy as a reality, without encouraging or promoting the practice.
These Principles are intended to inspire and guide legislative, policy and practice reforms on respecting the rights of children born through surrogacy. They were designed to complement other initiatives in the wider human rights landscape. Although no global consensus on surrogacy has yet been reached, the rights of children born through surrogacy must be addressed urgently.