Submitted by crinadmin on
Summary: Outcomes of workshops of the third and last
day of the Europe and Central Asia regional
consultation, presented by Jaap Doek, chair of
the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.
GROUP 1: MAKING SCHOOLS SAFE AND RESPONSIBILITY OF TEACHERS AND
OTHER STAFF
There was a clear emphasis on the respect of the child’s dignity and the
importance of participation. Participation does not mean responsibility is
shifting to children, it remains with adults and States. Children highlighted
the importance of not just addressing physical violence, but also moral and
verbal, as one quoted: “if you break the bone, the body will heal, if you
break the soul, the body will die.â€
Recommendations:
- Highlight the responsibility of teachers, and other staff
- Clear ban all forms of violence, including humiliating and
degrading treatments
- Develop codes of conduct
- setting up confidential complaints mechanisms for victims
- Training of teachers to develop skills in managing violence in
schools, deal with stereotyping, and develop engaging teaching methods
- attention given to children in military schools, underscored by
the same child protection policies
- comprehensible data collection
GROUP 2. MAKING SCHOOLS SAFE AND ADDRESSING PEER VIOLENCE
Recommendations:
- Actions should be based on systematic existing practices
- Develop campaigns concerning bullying to raise awareness.
- Prevention is important, making school part of a community
- Set up early warning systems
- Zero tolerance on violence
- Encourage dialogue between all stakeholders
- Need to undertake research on legal framework
- Global and societal approach is necessary
- Formalise children’s basic rights, taking into acc the CRC
- Call for attention of damaging influence of media, and promote
responsible journalism
GROUP 3: SAFETY IN OUT-OF-SCHOOLS ACTIVITIES AND ON THE STREET
Key issues: sports activities, phenomenon of street children, Roma
children, youth gangs, faith-based activities
Recommendations:
- integrate sports into child protection policies
- Ensure those involved in sports activities, such as coaches are
trained on child protection issues
- Promote international and regional cooperation
- Deal with allegations of child abuse with cases
- Call for action to address root causes of children living on the
streets, particularly poverty as one of the major causes
- Raise awareness among children, particularly, with minority
cultures and migrant children, educate people through campaigns
- Involve minorities and migrant communities in developing
appropriate policies
- Child welfare centers should be easily accessible for children
- Research root causes of youth gangs
- Training of law enforcement officials
- Effective measures including combating gun and drugs culture
- Concern on faith-based activities, violence within them, including
all forms of abuse
- Prevent forced recruitment to those religious institutions
- Invite all stakeholders, part religious and spiritual leaders to
respect child rights.
GROUP 4: PREVENTING EXPLOITATION AND TRAFFICKING
Recommendations:
- States should ratify all international and legal instruments,
including Protocol to CRC, EU Conventions, ILO Convention 182
- Need for recognition that is a cross regional and inter-country
problem
- Monitoring and evaluation systems
- Need to address problems of trafficking from a human rights
perspective, and economical development
- Need for more information, stronger alliance between all
stakeholder to see what works and why
- Crucial need to treat victims and not treat them like criminals
(taking into account international legal standards)
- Information and training for hose dealing with the issue
- Counter web and mobile phone abuse with innovative measures
- Investing effort to harmonise legislation, continue
comprehensive peer to peer education
- Concern about inter-country adoption, practices that amount to
trafficking, needs on going of attention