Council of the Baltic Sea States and the Expert Group for Cooperation on Children at Risk

The Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) was founded in Copenhagen in 1992. Thus, the political, economic, and cultural exchange should be supported after the end of the Cold War. Altogether, eleven countries and one member of the European Commission form the Council of the Baltic States. These are: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia, and Sweden. The foreign ministers of each country are the representatives within the Council which has a secretariat in Stockholm. Every year the presidency alternates between the different foreign ministries. Starting from July 2011 Germany takes the chair for one year.

The Council of the Baltic Sea States is a committee which intends to collaborate with its members in non-military matters. Thematically, these are divided into the five groups: Environment, Economy, Energy, Education & Culture, and Civil Security & the Human Dimension.

The Children’s Unit belongs to the group Civil Security & the Human Dimension. It tries to find ways to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Within the Children’s Unit the Expert Group for Cooperation on Children at Risk (EGCC) is responsible for the pursuit and implementation of those goals. The EGCC puts emphasis on specific topics, develops work assignments and works on concrete projects.

The EGCC furthermore appoints National Coordinators - generally members of NGOs – who, amongst others, are responsible for administering and updating their website named Child Centre. The Child Centre is a web-based tool which is supposed to encourage and simplify exchange between experts, scientists, and practitioners. The website provides comprehensive information on issues like sexual abuse, child trafficking, or child pornography.

The Competence Centers in each respective member country serve as drop-in centers where people can turn to for help. The experiences gained there enrich the work of the EGCC and influence their thematic orientation. The so called Contact Points are specialized in the area of child trafficking and are not located in all the member countries of the CBSS. Instead, there are further Contact Points in Moldova, Ukraine, and Belarus, which help to fight child trafficking in Eastern Europe.