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Minors — under the age of 18 — may migrate in many different ways, through family reunification, moving in the hope of finding a better life, or through forced and traumatic migration caused by conflict, poverty or climate change. Overall, the number of minors in migration has been rising globally since the turn of the century. In 2020, there were an estimated 35.5 million international migrant minors globally, the largest number ever recorded. This is equivalent to around 1 in 66 minors worldwide ...

This workshop was organised by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Justice, Civil Liberties and Institutional Affairs at the request of the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI), following the initiative of the EP Coordinator on Children’s Rights. It marked the 45th anniversary of the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Experts presented evidence from global statistical studies, EU practice and mediation casework to assess how the Convention operates ...

This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Justice, Civil Liberties and Institutional Affairs at the request of the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI), examines the added value that the Brussels IIb Regulation and the 1996 Hague Convention bring to the 1980 Hague Convention. This enhanced framework enables 26 EU Member States to ensure the prompt return of abducted children while protecting their best interests, and its further improvement calls for continued joint ...

The 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention recently celebrated the 45th anniversary of its signing on 25 October 1980. This in-depth analysis considers its successes and the challenges it faces, what we have learned so far, and what may be realistically achieved in its future operation, to ensure that it maintains its critical support and relevance for the contemporary global community it serves. The European Parliament’s current and potential role in this exercise is considered as part of this in-depth ...

The European Commission has prepared an EU action plan against cyberbullying which will be debated during Parliament's February plenary session. The actions in the plan seek to protect children and young adults (up to 29 years old), and others at particular risk such as people with disabilities, LGBTIQ, migrants and members of religious, racial or ethnic minorities.

A special plenary session will take place in Brussels on 27 January, International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The date marks the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp in 1945, and provides an opportunity to remember the victims of the Holocaust and to reaffirm the need for overcoming stereotypes and prejudice.

Online child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) and grooming practices (manipulation aimed at exploiting and abusing people), now increasingly targeting younger children, have been proliferating at an alarming rate. In 2024, more than 20.5 million reports of suspected online child sexual abuse materials were detected. Reports related to AI-generated CSAM saw a 1 325 % increase, rising from 4 700 in 2023 to 67 000 in 2024. Most activities detected were hosted in Europe. In response to this situation, on ...

Following a strategy of maximum pressure since January 2025, the United States intervened militarily in January 2026, captured Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and arraigned them in New York on drug trafficking charges. After their capture, Venezuelan Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as President. Venezuela's constitution provides for elections when the president is incapacitated, although the deadline by which elections are required to take place is not clear. Trump's message ...

The main objective of European Union regulation of drug precursors is to strike a balance between preserving the legitimate interests of businesses that commercialise chemical substances for licit economic activities, and the need for controls to prevent their diversion to illicit narcotic drugs production. However, measures to control the trade in drug precursors only partially prevent their illicit use. Despite reforms to apply controls to new substances more rapidly, criminal networks have demonstrated ...

The fight against impunity remains a key challenge for the international community, as efforts to hold perpetrators of serious international crimes accountable are increasingly strained by geopolitical rivalries, fragmented enforcement and weak political will. This paper examines three accountability mechanisms – international criminal tribunals, universal jurisdiction and transitional justice – through comparative analysis and case studies. International criminal tribunals, from ad hoc tribunals ...