A two-day training “Monitoring the observance of children’s rights in the regions” was held in Kyiv

The training was attended by representatives of fourteen non-governmental organizations and six regional representatives of the Office of the Ukrainian Parliament’s Commissioner for Human Rights.

“The participants were acquainted with international law, which defines the basic principles of respect for the rights of the child. Familiarized with national legislation. We considered specific cases of violations of children’s rights and singled out the areas of activity of monitors in the process of regional monitoring, “said Svitlana Klochko, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Child Rights Network.

The training was conducted with the participation of Aksana Filipishyna, a representative of the Ombudsman for the Rights of the Child and the Family, and Olena Chorna, Head of the Department for Monitoring the Rights of the Child and the Family of the Secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights.

After gaining theoretical knowledge, training participants took control tests. According to their results, the best will be selected.

“As part of this training, participants will be given certificates of completion of the course. And we will involve them in the monitoring, “said Aksana Filipishyna, a representative of the Ombudsman for the Rights of the Child and the Family.

Monitoring visits will be carried out in accordance with a quadripartite memorandum signed between the Ukrainian Child Rights Network, the UNICEF Office in Ukraine, the Office of the Ukrainian Parliament’s Commissioner for Human Rights and the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine.

The groups of monitors will consist of five people. These are representatives of the ombudsman and our Network. They will visit the boarding schools, shelters, and rehabilitation centers that arouse the most suspicion. They will communicate not only with the leaders, but also directly with the children. There will also be focus groups with people who have already left the boarding school.

“In this way, we will be able to find out what they experienced when they grew up. How many institutions have changed, what were the living and staying conditions, ”explained Svitlana Klochko, executive director of the Ukrainian Child Rights Network.

The first monitoring visits are already scheduled for December this year in Kyiv and Odesa oblasts. In January 2019, we will inspect Kharkiv, Donetsk and Lviv regions. The final step of the Ukrainian Child Rights Network in the framework of a joint project with UNICEF is to prepare an alternative state report on compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in Ukraine.