Communication from the Commission - Towards an EU strategy on the rights of the child {SEC(2006) 888} {SEC(2006) 889}
Date: 2006-07-04
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU initiative, EU policy, EU relations, child protection, children's rights

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 4.7.2006 
COM(2006) 367 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 

Towards an EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child 

{SEC(2006) 888} 
{SEC(2006) 889} 

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 

Towards an EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child 

I. 

ISSUES AT STAKE 

This  Communication  proposes  to  establish  a  comprehensive  EU  strategy  to  effectively  promote 
and safeguard the rights of the child in the European Union's internal and external policies and to 
support Member States’ efforts in this field. Children, understood here as persons below the age of 
18,  as  in  the  UN  Convention  on  the  Rights  of  the  Child1  (UNCRC),  make  up  one  third  of  the 
world’s population. 

I.1. 

Children's rights – a priority for the EU 

Children’s rights form part of the human rights that the EU and the Member States are bound to 
respect  under  international  and  European  treaties,  in  particular  the  UNCRC  and  its  Optional 
Protocols2, including also the Millennium Development Goals3; and the European Convention on 
Human Rights4 (ECHR). The EU explicitly recognised children’s rights in the European Charter of 
Fundamental Rights5, specifically in Article 24. 

The Commission identified children's rights as one of its main priorities in its Communication on 
Strategic Objectives 2005-2009: “A particular priority must be effective protection of the rights of 
children, both against economic exploitation and all forms  of abuse, with the Union acting as a 
beacon  to  the  rest  of  the  world”6.  In  this  context,  the  Group  of  Commissioners  on  Fundamental 
Rights,  Non-discrimination  and  Equal  Opportunities  decided  in  April  2005  to  launch  a  specific 
initiative  to  advance  the  promotion,  protection  and  fulfilment  of  children’s  rights  in  the  internal 
and external policies of the EU. 

In March 2006, the European Council requested the Member States “to take necessary measures to 
rapidly and significantly reduce child poverty, giving all children equal opportunities, regardless 
of their social background”. 

This communication gives effect to these decisions. 

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6 

the  Rights  of 

text  available  at 

the  Child  of  20  November  1989.  Full 

Convention  on 
http://www.unicef.org/crc/crc.htm. 
UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children; UN 
Protocol  to  the  Convention  on  the  Rights  of  the  Child  on  the  sale  of  children,  child  prostitution  and  child 
pornography; Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed 
conflict. 
UN General Assembly, United Nations Millennium Declaration, Fifty-fifth session, 18 September 2000 
Full text available at http://www.echr.Council of Europe.int/ECHR/EN/Header/Basic+Texts. 
Charter  of  Fundamental  Rights  of  the  European  Union  (OJ  C  364  of  18.12.2000),  available  at 
http://europa.eu.int/comm/justice_home/unit/charte/index_en.html. 
Strategic  objectives  2005-2009.  Europe  2010:  A  Partnership  for  European  Renewal,  Prosperity,  Solidarity 
and Security - COM(2005) 12, 26.1.2005. 

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I.2. 

The situation of children's rights in the EU and globally  

Children are vested with the full range of human rights. It is, however, vital that children’s rights 
be  recognised  as  a  self-standing  set  of  concerns  and  not  simply  subsumed  into  wider  efforts  to 
mainstream human rights in general. This is appropriate since certain rights have an exclusive or 
particular  application  to  children,  for  example  the  right  to  education  and  the  right  to  maintain 
relations with both parents. Also, the almost universal acceptance by States of obligations in the 
field of children’s rights provides a particularly robust basis for engagement between the European 
Commission and non-EU countries: an advantage which does not apply to all human rights issues. 
Finally,  the  EU  has  clearly  identified  the  promotion  of  children’s  rights  as  a  separate  issue 
meriting specific action. 

The rights and the needs of the child should be seen together: respecting and promoting the rights 
of all children should go hand in hand with the necessary action to address their basic needs. 

Its  worth  to  highlight  that  the  European  integration  has  been  proven  to  be  a  success  story  in 
addressing rights and needs of children, if compared to the dramatic situation in many other parts 
of the world. However the situation within the Union is still not satisfactory. The new challenges 
linked  to  globalisation  and  the  demography  risk  undermining  the  European  way  of  life  if  not 
decisively  addressed.  These  could  have  significant  repercussions  on  the  situation  of  children  in 
Europe.  Therefore  the  idea  of  creating  children  friendly  societies  within  the  EU  can  not  be 
separated from the need to further deepen and consolidate European integration. 

I.3. 

Legal basis for an EU strategy 

Under  the  Treaties  and  the  case  law  of  the  Court  of  Justice7,  the  EU  does  not  have  general 
competence in the area of fundamental rights, including children’s rights. However, under Article 
6.2  of  the  Treaty  on  the  European  Union  (TEU),  the  EU  must  respect  fundamental  rights  in 
whatever action it takes in accordance with its competences. These rights include in particular the 
ECHR,  which  contains  provisions  concerning  children's  rights.  Moreover,  the  provisions  of  the 
UNCRC must be taken fully into account. The Charter of Fundamental Rights, independently of 
its legal status, may be seen as a particularly authentic expression of fundamental rights guaranteed 
as general principles of law. 

The EU's obligation to respect fundamental rights, including children's rights, implies not only a 
general duty to abstain from acts violating these rights, but also to take them into account wherever 
relevant  in  the  conduct  of  its  own  policies  under  the  various  legal  bases  of  the  Treaties 
(mainstreaming).  Moreover,  notwithstanding  the  above-mentioned  lack  of  general  competence8, 
various  particular  competencies  under  the  Treaties  do  allow  to  take  specific  positive  action  to 
safeguard  and  promote  children's  rights.  Any  such  action  needs  to  respect  the  principles  of 
subsidiarity and proportionality and must not encroach on the competence of the Member States. A 
number of different instruments and methods can be envisaged, including legislative action, soft-
law, financial assistance or political dialogue. 

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See, in particular, Opinion 2/94, 1996 ECR I-759. 
See Article 51.2 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. 

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I.4. 

The situation of children today 

As highlighted during the 2002 UN Special Session on Children, an enormous gap exists between 
the  good  intentions  of  international  treaties  and  the  real-life  conditions  of  poverty,  neglect  and 
exploitation that millions of children worldwide are forced to endure. In spite of progress achieved 
in some areas, much remains to be done9. 

From  birth  to  adulthood,  children  have  very  different  needs  at  different  developmental  stages  of 
their  lives.  In  the  first  five  years,  the  child  is  particularly  in  need  of  protection  and  health  care. 
From the age of 5 to 12 years, children are still in need of protection but also develop other needs: 
the  right  to  education  is  obviously  essential  for  children  to  be  able  to  develop  in  society.  As 
teenagers, children face new needs and responsibilities. Adolescents need, for example, to express 
their views on decisions which affect their lives. Moreover, parental poverty and social exclusion 
seriously  limit  the  opportunities  open  to  children  and  their  access  to  their  rights,  thus 
compromising the future well-being of society as a whole. In addition, the place where children are 
living also influences their situation. 

I.4.1.  Global situation 

Of  the  2.2  billion  children  in  the  world,  86%  live  in  developing  countries  and  over  95%  of  the 
children  dying  before  the  age  of  five,  lacking  access  to  primary  education  or  suffering  forced 
labour  or  sexual  abuse  are  also  located  in  these  countries.  Over  half  of  all  mothers  in  the  world 
lack adequate rights including care during pregnancy and childbirth. This situation handicaps the 
future of many children from the moment of birth. 

During the first five years of life, one third of all children lack adequate food and develop some 
degree  of  malnutrition.  This  affects  not  only  their  health  and  chances  of  survival,  but  also  their 
ability  to  learn  and  develop.  Besides  receiving  inadequate  nutrition,  many  children  live  in 
conditions  with  limited  access  to  safe  water,  poor  sanitation  and  indoor  pollution  and  lack  of 
access to adequate disease prevention and health care. As a result, over ten million children under 
five die every year from diseases which are easy to prevent or treat, and one billion children suffer 
impaired physical, intellectual and/or psychological development which is often irreversible. 

One  sixth  of  all  children  (predominantly  girls)  are  not  enrolled  in  primary  school  and  will  lack 
opportunities to learn, develop and integrate in society. Worldwide, some 218 million children can 
be  found  at  work10.  Over  5.7  million  children  (some  even  not  yet  adolescents)  work  under 
especially horrific circumstances, including virtual slavery of bonded labour, and an estimated 1.2 
million children are victims of trafficking in human beings11. At any given time, some 300 00012 
are fighting as child soldiers in more than 30 armed conflicts all over the world. 

An estimated 130 million girls and women worldwide have undergone Female Genital Mutilation, 
with another two million girls being affected each year, often through initiation rites at the break of 
adolescence. One third of all girls are subject to coercive sexual relations, one fifth are subjected to 
forced marriages13 and some 14 million girls between the ages of 15 and 19 give birth each year. 

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EU statement for the 57th UNGASS meeting, 2003. 
The  end  of  child  labour:  Within  reach,  Global  Report  under  the  follow-up  to  the  ILO  Declaration  on 
Fundamental  Principles  and  Rights  at  Work,  report  to  the  95th  session  of  the  International  Labour 
Conference, Geneva, 2006. 
source : UNICEF. 
Ibidem. 
Source : UNIFEM. 

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Over one million adolescents became infected last year with HIV, two thirds of them girls. More 
than  one  million  children  worldwide  live  in  detention  as  a  result  of  conflict  with  the  law  and  a 
large proportion lack the special attention and protection they need. There are also children who 
deserve particular attention to their rights and needs: over 200 million children live with serious 
disabilities and 140 million children are orphans, a number that is growing due to HIV/AIDS. 

I.4.2. 

In the EU 

Today, the EU is experiencing significant economic, political, environmental and social changes 
that  also  affect  children.  Children  in  the  EU  face  a  higher  risk  of  relative  poverty  than  the 
population as a whole (20% for children aged 0-15 and 21%  for  those aged  16-24,  compared to 
16% for adults). Children living with poor parents or who cannot live with their parents, as well as 
children  from  some  ethnic  communities,  such  as  the  Roma,  are  particularly  exposed  to  poverty, 
exclusion  and  discrimination.  Moreover,  children  –  and  poor  children  in  particular  –  suffer 
disproportionately  from  environmental  degradation.  The  EU  has  started  to  address  these 
challenges when putting its strategy for more sustainable growth and more and better jobs on the 
top of the European agenda. Its success is a precondition for inclusive European societies in which 
also  the  rights  and  the  needs  of  children  of  the  present  and  of  future  generations  are  firmly 
anchored. 

Issues  of  identity  have  also  come  to  the  fore  across  Europe  in  recent  years.  Alongside  long-
standing manifestations of all forms of racism, hostility towards and fear of ‘outsiders’ has become 
an increasingly worrying phenomenon in EU societies. Children from minorities are easy targets 
for such racism. Conversely, some children from majority populations may be readily swayed by 
the simplistic solutions presented by extremist politicians and parties. 

Violence against children has been of increasing concern within the EU in recent years. It takes a 
range  of  forms,  from  violence  in  the  family  and  in  schools,  to  issues  with  a  transnational 
dimension, including child trafficking and exploitation, child sex tourism and  child pornography 
on  the  internet.  Another  challenge  is  to  ensure  that  the  rights  of  children  as  immigrants,  asylum 
seekers and refugees are fully respected in the EU and in Member States' legislation and policies. 

Over  decades,  more  than  50%  of  the  medicines  used  to  treat  children  have  not  been  tested  and 
authorised  for  use  on  children,  making  it  difficult  to  know  whether  the  medicine  will  be  truly 
effective  and  what  the  side  effects  may  be.  This  probleme  has  now  been  addressed  by  the 
paediatric regulation, which will be adopted shortly. 

II. 

WHY AN EU STRATEGY ON CHILDREN’S RIGHTS IS NEEDED 

II.1. 

The added value of EU action 

As stated above, children’s rights are still far from being generally respected, and basic needs are 
not being met for each and every child within the EU. 

The  European  Union  can  bring  essential  and  fundamental  added  value  in  the  field  of  children’s 
rights. First of all, it can build on its long tradition and legal and political commitments with regard 
to  human  rights  in  general  and  children’s  rights  in  particular.  It  has  the  necessary  weight  and 
presence to push children’s rights to the forefront of international agendas and can use its global 
presence and influence to effectively promote universal human rights at national level worldwide, 
particularly with regard to children. It can also promote and support attention to children’s needs, 

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drawing  on  the  European  model  of  social  protection  and  on  its  policy  commitments  and 
programmes in different fields. 

The Union can support the Member States in their efforts, both by assisting them, in certain areas, 
in  taking  into  account  the  rights  of  the  child  in  their  actions,  and  by  providing  a  framework  for 
mutual learning within which the Member States can identify and adopt the many good practices 
to  be  found  across  the  Union.  Such  an  approach,  based  on  broad  and  coordinated  action,  would 
add value to the efforts of the Member States and would strengthen recognition of and respect for 
the principles of the UNCRC both within the Union and beyond. 

There  is  thus  an  urgent  need  for  a  comprehensive  EU  strategy  to  increase  the  scale  and 
effectiveness of EU commitments to improve the situation of children globally and to demonstrate 
real  political  will  at  the  highest  possible  level  to  ensure  that  the  promotion  and  protection  of 
children’s rights get the place they merit on the EU’s agenda. 

II.2. 

The EU response to date: steps already taken 

The  EU  has  made  significant  progress  in  this  area  in  recent  years  and  has  developed  various 
concrete policies and programmes on children’s rights under different existing legal bases. These 
span both internal and external policies and cover a broad range of issues, such as child trafficking 
and  prostitution,  violence  against  children,  discrimination,  child  poverty,  social  exclusion,  child 
labour  (including  trade  agreements  committing  to  the  abolition  of  child  labour),  health  and 
education. 

A non-exhaustive summary of EU actions affecting children's rights can be found in the Annex. 

In particular, within the EU, the Commission and the Member States have given a high priority to 
the issue of child poverty under the Open Method of Coordination on Social Protection and Social 
Inclusion (OMC), which forms a framework for mutual learning between the Member States based 
on a series of common objectives and indicators, and the adoption of national strategies to promote 
access to and the quality of social protection systems. 

The  enlargement  process  is  another  powerful  tool  providing  opportunities  to  promote  children’s 
rights. One of the criteria for membership of the EU is that the candidate country have achieved 
stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and 
the protection of minorities. In the framework of these so-called political criteria identified by the 
European Council in Copenhagen in 1993, the Commission has, throughout the accession process, 
promoted the reform of child protection and closely monitored progress on children’s rights in all 
the acceding and candidate countries. 

The  European  neighbourhood  policy  as  well  as  the  strategic  Partnership  towards  Russia  are 
important  tools  to  promote  children's  rights  in  the  EU`s  neighbourhood  and  first  actions  have 
already been launched. 

II.3. 

The need for effectiveness 

To maximise  the value of EU action on children’s rights,  it  is necessary to  address a  number of 
challenges, to produce: 

•  more  comprehensive  analysis  of  the  needs  and  priorities  and  of  the  impact  of  relevant  EU 

actions undertaken so far; 

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•  more efficient mainstreaming of children’s rights in EU policies, strategies or programmes and 

enhanced coordination within the European Commission; 

•  better cooperation with key stakeholders, including children; 

•  stronger communication and increased awareness of children’s rights and of EU actions in this 

field. 

III. 

TOWARDS AN EU STRATEGY ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD 

To  tackle  the  above  challenges,  this  Communication  marks  the  Commission’s  launch  of  a  long-
term strategy to ensure that EU action actively promotes and safeguards children’s rights and to 
support  the  efforts  of  the  Member  States  in  this  field.  The  strategy  is  structured  around  seven 
specific objectives, each supported by a series of actions. 

III.1. 

Specific objectives of the EU strategy on children’s rights 

1. 

Capitalising on existing activities while addressing urgent needs 

The Commission will maximise the use of its existing policies and instruments, in particular the 
follow-up to the Communication on fighting trafficking in human beings14 and the relevant Action 
Plan15, the Open Method of Coordination on Social Protection and Social Inclusion, the strategic 
partnership with the International Labour Organisation to fight child labour and the EU Guidelines 
on  children  in  armed  conflicts16.  The  Commission  will  continue  to  fund  specific  projects 
promoting children’s rights. 

In  external  affairs,  including  in  the  pre-accession  process  and  in  the  accession  negotiations,  the 
Commission  will  keep  promoting  the  ratification  and  implementation  of  the  UNCRC  and  its 
Optional Protocols, the ILO conventions on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour and 
the  minimum  age  for  admission  to  work,  and  other  relevant  international  human  rights 
instruments.  It  will  address  children’s  rights  in  political  dialogue  with  third  countries,  including 
civil society and social partners, and use its other policy instruments and cooperation programmes 
to promote and address children’s rights worldwide. 

In the short term, and especially due to the urgency of certain challenges, the Commission will, in 
particular, take the following additional measures: 

•  To  attribute  one  single  six  digit  telephone  number  (116xyz)  within  the  EU  for  child  helplines 

and one for child hotlines dedicated to missing and sexually exploited children (end 2006) 

•  To  support  the  banking  sector  and  credit  cards  companies  to  combat  the  use  of  credit  cards 

when purchasing sexual images of children on the Internet (2006) 

•  To  launch  an  Action  Plan  on  Children  in  Development  Cooperation  to  address  children’s 

priority needs in developing countries (2007) 

•  To promote a clustering of actions on child poverty in the EU (2007) 

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COM(2005) 514. 
OJ C 311, 9.12.2005. 
Council of the European Union document No 15634/03. 

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2. 

Identifying priorities for future EU action  

To identify the main priorities for future action, the Commission will analyse the scope and causes 
of  the  barriers  to  children’s  full  enjoyment  of  their  rights.  On  this  basis,  it  will  assess  the 
effectiveness of its existing action (legislative and non-legislative, internal and external) affecting 
children.  This  analysis  will  draw  on  existing  initiatives  (UNICEF,  Council  of  Europe, 
ChildONEurope, etc.). 

The assessment should be updated every five years and gradually tackle some critical areas, rather 
than attempting to cover all areas of relevance from the start. The update will be supported by data 
on children’s rights by Eurostat, the Member States, the Council of Europe, the ChildONEurope 
network, and the future EU Agency on Fundamental Rights. 

On  the  basis  of  this  analysis,  the  Commission  will  launch  a  wide  public  consultation,  including 
children,  that  will  enable  the  EU  to  address  children's  rights  in  a  comprehensive  manner  and  to 
identify the main priorities for future action. 

•  To assess the impact of the existing EU actions affecting children’s rights (2007-2008) 

•  To issue a consultation document to identify future actions (2008) 

•  To collect comparable data on children’s rights (2007 onwards) 

3. 

Mainstreaming children’s rights in EU actions 

It  is  important  to  ensure  that  all  internal  and  external  EU  policies  respect  children's  rights  in 
accordance with the principles of EU law, and that they are fully compatible with the principles 
and  provisions  of  the  UNCRC  and  other  international  instruments.  This  process,  commonly 
referred to as “mainstreaming”, has already been pursued in a number of Community policies, e.g. 
gender equality and fundamental rights. The process will take into account work carried out under 
the  Council  of  Europe  Programme  “Building  a  Europe  for  and  with  Children  (2006-2008)”  to 
effectively promote respect for children’s rights and protect children against all forms of violence. 

•  To mainstream children’s rights when drafting EC legislative and non-legislative actions that 

may affect them (2007 onwards) 

4. 

Establishing efficient coordination and consultation mechanisms 

The Commission will strengthen cooperation among the main stakeholders, making optimal use of 
existing networks  and international organisations  or bodies  involved in children’s rights. To this 
end, the Commission will bring the stakeholders together in a European Forum for the Rights of 
the Child. The Forum will include all the relevant stakeholders17, and will contribute to the design 
and monitoring of EU actions and act as an arena for exchange of good practice. 

The Commission will consider how it can replicate this mechanism in third countries where the EC 
Delegations could initiate systematic dialogue with international and national partners active in the 
field of children’s rights. 

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Including the Member States, UN agencies, the Council of Europe, civil society and children themselves. 

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To increase the involvement of all relevant stakeholders, the Commission will set up a web-based 
discussion  and  work  platform18.  This  platform  will  be  a  tool  to  promote  and  encourage  the 
effective exchange of information using the available expertise in a given area. The members of 
the  platform  will  have  access  to  a  library  of  documents  and  be  able  to  launch  discussions  or 
surveys among members. 

As recognised in Article 12 of the UNCRC, children need to express their views in dialogues and 
decisions  affecting  their  lives.  The  Commission  will  promote  and  strengthen  networking  and 
children’s representation in the EU and globally, and it will gradually and formally include them in 
all  consultations  and  actions  related  to  their  rights  and  needs.  The  Forum  and  the  web-based 
platform will both contribute to involving children. 

Lastly,  the  Commission  will  improve  coordination  between  its  various  actions  to  increase 
consistency and effectiveness by setting up a formal inter-service group on the rights of the child 
composed  of  designated  contacts,  who  will  be  responsible  to  follow  up  the  strategy.  A 
Commission coordinator for the Rights of the Child will be appointed. 

•  To bring together stakeholders in a European Forum for the Rights of the Child (2006) 

•  To set up a web-based discussion and work platform (2006) 

•  To involve children in the decision-making process (2007 onwards) 

•  To set up a Commission Inter-service Group and to appoint a coordinator for the rights of the 

child (2006) 

5. 

Enhancing capacity and expertise on children’s rights 

All actors involved in implementing and mainstreaming children's rights in internal and external 
Community  policies  should  acquire  the  necessary  knowledge  and  skills.  To  this  end,  the 
Commission will continue to make training available. In addition, practical tools such as guidance 
notes and instructions should be improved, distributed and used as training material. 

•  To provide the necessary skills and tools to actors involved in mainstreaming children’s rights 

in Community policies (2007 onwards) 

6. 

Communicating more effectively on children’s rights 

Children are able to exercise their rights only if they are properly aware of them and in a position 
to use them. 

Children's  rights  in  general,  and  EU  action  in  this  field,  remain  largely  unpublicised.  To  raise 
awareness of these questions, the Commission will design a communication strategy on children’s 
rights.  This  will  help  both  children  and  their  parents  to  improve  their  knowledge  of  children’s 

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the  SINAPSE 

With 
http://europa.eu.int/sinapse/sinapse). 

e-Network 

(Scientific 

Information 

for  Policy  Support 

in  Europe, 

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rights, and contribute to the dissemination of relevant experience and good practice among other 
interested parties. 

Key EU measures with a direct impact on children’s rights will be publicised in a child-friendly 
manner. To this end, the Commission will develop a child-friendly website, dedicated to children’s 
rights, preferably in close cooperation with the Council of Europe, and linked to similar initiatives 
by, for example, Member States, the United Nations and civil society. 

•  To design a communication strategy on children’s rights (2007 onwards) 

•  To provide information on children’s rights in a child-friendly manner (2007 onwards) 

7. 

Promoting the rights of the child in external relations 

The European Union will continue and further enhance its active role in promoting the rights of 
the child in international forums and third country relations. The role and impact of the EU actions 
has been strengthened by good coordination and unified and coherent messages in the UN human 
rights forums. 

The Union will continue to pay particular attention to the rights of girls and children belonging to 
minorities. The EU will also continue its ongoing work on children and armed conflict. The EU 
will also discuss the global study on violence against children which is currently conducted by the 
UN Secretary General's independent expert Paulo Sergio Pinheiro. 

•  Continue and further enhance EU's active role in international forums to promote the rights of 

the child 

III.2  Resources and reporting 

The  Commission  is  committed  to  allocating  the  necessary  human  and  financial  resources  to 
implement this strategy. Efforts will be made to secure the financial resources necessary to fund 
the  actions  proposed  in  this  communication  and  the  future  strategy.  To  ensure  the  efficiency  of 
programmes that affect children’s rights, the Inter-service Group will pay due attention to possible 
synergies. 

To  increase  transparency  and  monitor  developments,  a  progress  report  will  be  presented  every 
year. 

IV. 

CONCLUSION 

The Commission:  

•  will  develop  a  comprehensive  strategy  to  ensure  that  the  European  Union  contributes  to 
promoting and safeguarding children’s rights in all its internal and external actions and supports 
the efforts of the Member States in this field; 

•  calls on the Member States, on the European institutions and on other stakeholders to take an 

active part in the development of this strategy and so to contribute to its success. 

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