Opening Remarks by Christina Meinecke, Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to the European Union.

22 September 2026, Brussels.

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Welcome to the UN House and to this Human Rights Talk on Ending child homelessness in Europe: policy and legal pathways.

We started this series of Human Rights Talks a few years back to mark the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration for Human Rights, to place a spotlight on a wide range of human rights and bring together different networks and stakeholders to discuss persisting and emerging human rights issues and how to address those. We are now relaunching it, as part of a broader effort to inspire action and strengthen collaboration for human rights under the Global Alliance for Human Rights.

Today’s event explores the reality of child homelessness in Europe, how EU instruments can be used to address it and how UN human rights mechanisms can guide those efforts. It has been organized in excellent collaboration with the European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless (FEANTSA).

The issues that we will discuss today of crucial importance. Let us be clear: No child should be without a home. No child should live on the street, in a car, in a shelter or hop from couch to couch.

Yet, the persistence of child poverty in the EU remains alarming, with nearly one in four children being at risk of poverty and social exclusion. Imagine: in an average classroom of 25 children, around six are growing up at risk of poverty or social exclusion. This is not a marginal issue, it is a reality affecting millions of children across Europe.

Housing is at the heart of this challenge. Without a safe, stable and adequate home, children are cut off from opportunities to thrive: Safety, food, health, education - things that many of us take for granted - are out of reach.

It is clear that poverty has far-reaching consequences for human rights.

Meanwhile, poverty and homelessness are not inevitable, especially not in countries with relative wealth and prosperity. It is, at least in part, the result of political choices and policies that fail to protect or to provide opportunities for families and children who are most at risk of falling between the cracks.

We can turn things around, starting by recognizing that this is about human rights. That is why it matters when the President of the European Commission, in her State of the Union address this week, spotlights housing as a right, not a privilege.

Indeed, eradicating child poverty and homelessness is not only a moral duty but also a legal obligation under existing international human rights law, in particular through the right to an adequate standard of living [and housing as a component] that is recognized under the Convention on the Rights of the Child the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

These are universal and binding standards that can serve as a helpful guide for a human rights-based implementation of key EU social policy tools, such as the European Anti-Poverty Strategy, Affordable Housing Plan, the European Child Guarantee and the pending Council Recommendation on fighting housing exclusion. And you may recall that our Office made recommendations as to how to ground some of these strategies in human rights.

Findings of international and regional human rights mechanisms can also be useful in guiding their implementation.

Let me conclude, that it is a real pleasure to have all of you - from such a diverse crowd of stakeholders - with us today! Among us we have representatives from EU institutions, Member States, Council of Europe, United Nations, human rights and equality bodies, organizations working with children and homeless people, civil society and academia.

To open our discussion, we will hear opening remarks from Ireland's Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, followed by a scene-setting intervention from the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing. These contributions will frame a panel discussion bringing together Council of Europe, EU and national experts to reflect on the reality of child homelessness in Europe and tools to address it. We will finish this event with a light informal networking lunch.

Allow me now to wish everyone an interesting Human Rights Talk!