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Summary: This report is part of a series of lessons learned from Save the Children’s work. The first report was based on their work in Central America and the Caribbean; a similar report on Egypt will be made available on the CRIN website in the coming months.Save the Children has launched a compilation of lessons learned in contributing to rights-based legal and policy frameworks for children in Bulgaria.
Save the Children UK started working in Bulgaria in 1926. The programme closed in September 2007 following Bulgaria’s accession to the European Union. This is a record of lessons learnt, challenges identified and recommendations which have come out of Save the Children’s experiences. European Union Advocacy Bulgaria acceded to the European Union on 1 January 2007. Save the Children played a key role in influencing the pre-accession talks, ensuring that child rights were placed on the political agenda. Bulgaria had the highest percentage of institutionalised children in Europe in 2002: an estimated 31,000 children – over two per cent of the country’s children. The reasons for this varied – because they were from disadvantaged backgrounds, had been in conflict with the law, had disabilities, etc. Only two per cent were orphans. Under the communist State Bulgaria had segregated these different groups for 50 years without providing any services or opportunities to develop their potential. Save the Children used the European Union accession as leverage for getting child rights on the national political agenda. The first step was to persuade the EU to secure a commitment from the Bulgarian government to reduce the number of children in institutions through the EU-Bulgaria Accession Partnership agreement. This became a pre-condition for Bulgaria’s accession to the EU. This advocacy work was supported by strong programming and monitoring work. As a result of these activities, de-institutionalisation is now a government priority and 12 out of 70 institutions have been closed since this work began. Lessons learned Tone: a balanced ‘dry/ factual’ tone is more likely to win over an audience of policy makers. Timing: Align any advocacy campaign with the timetable of those you are seeking to influence. Save the Children publicly released their reports two days prior to the launch of the official version submitted to the European Commission. This attracted substantial media attention. Build relationships with experts in the know. Operate transparently: ensure all parties are aware what you are asking for to avoid tensions and feelings that you are ‘going behind the government’s back.’ Planning: Advocacy work at this level demands time and resources which need to taken into account. Keep the pressure on! Even once the government has agreed to your advocacy demands, pressure must be kept on them to follow through on promises and implement the changes agreed. Send feedback to: [email protected] For more information, contact: Further information
Start early: work at this level needs to be started early. Save the Children’s input began in 2004 but would have had more of an impact had it started earlier. Save has already applied this lesson in its work on the accession to the EU of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro.
Save the Children UK
1 St John's Lane, London EC1M 4AR, UK
Tel: + 44 20 7012 6400; Fax: + 44 20 7012 6963
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.savethechildren.org.uk