European Network of Ombudspersons for Children (ENOC)

NICCY is a member of The European Network of Ombudspersons for Children (ENOC), a not-for-profit association of independent children’s rights institutions (ICRIs) working in member states of the Council of Europe.

It was established in 1997, initially involving 10 institutions, but the membership has since grown to 42 Institutions across 34 countries. Its mandate is to facilitate the promotion and protection of the rights of children, as formulated in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. In 2001, ENOC adopted Standards for Independent Children’s Rights Institutions, based on the Paris Principles (Principles relating to the Status of National Institutions).

On 19 September 2025, Commissioner Chris Quinn was appointed as ENOC Secretary. Chris will be responsible for supporting the network’s overall operations during his one-year term and will serve as an integral member of the planning and delivery of annual seminars and conferences that protect and promote children’s rights.

ENYA
ENOC has established the European Network of Young Advisors – ENYA – a child/young people participatory project supported by ENOC members. The purpose of the ENYA project is to actively involve children and young people in ENOC’s annual work and to give them the opportunity to be heard at a level that exceeds their country boundaries, at European level.

NICCY will be the official host of the European Network of Youth Advisors (ENYA) conference in 2026.

ENOC Statements
ENOC members work together to produce annual statements and ad hoc statements.

Annual statements
Each year, ENOC works on a specific advocacy area affecting children’s rights, chosen by majority by all ENOC members, with the aim to:

• acquire expertise on the chosen area;
• share national experiences, challenges and good practices on the topic;
• listen to ENYA young people’s views on the matter; and
• draft policy recommendations on the selected area addressing European Institutions, national governments and other stakeholders.

To this end, throughout the year, ENOC members and ENYA young people engage in seminars, studies, forums and workshops supported by experts and facilitated by ENOC. A Synthesis Report is produced, which informs the drafting of a Position Paper, highlighting ENOC’s position on the issue. You can access these reports and policy position statement here: Annual Advocacy Areas – ENOC.

Ad-hoc Statements
Throughout the year, in addition to the annual statements on a selected topic of relevance for children’s rights, ENOC also issues ad-hoc Statements and Open Letters addressing topical and urging issues affecting the rights of children.

You can find these here: Ad-hoc Advocacy Areas – ENOC.

More Info
You can find out more information on ENOC and their work using the following links:

You can find out more about ENOC here on their website

You can read the ENOC position and joint statements here