Actions for the protection of children at risk: the experience of Poland, Germany

 

Actual Implementation Dates:  20.01.2010 – 31.11.2010

Grant Receiver and Partner Organizations Data:

  • Thenon-governmentalorganizationHumanRightsCenter“Postup”, Ukraine, Luhans’k, 2, 30-letiia Pobedy St., office 50, fax: +38 0642 49 59 63, www.postup.lg.ua
  • Helsiсska Fundacja Praw Czіowieka, 11 Zgoda Str. 00 – 018 Warsaw, Poland, fax: +48 (22) 556 44 50, www.hfhrpol.waw.pl
  • Thenon-governmentalorganizationRussian-German Exchange, Badstr. 44 , 13357 Berlin, fax: 0049 (0) 30 / 44 66 80-10, www.austausch.org

 

Project Implementation

 

Thefollowingactivitieswere implemented within the framework of the project and according to the schedule from January to October 2010:

  • Nationalexpertgroupswereformed

The national project coordinators formed expert groups during the first and second months of the project implementation. The groups included representatives of non-governmental organizations and police establishments from Ukraine, Poland, and Germany.

  • There was held the monitoring of the observance of rights of children at risk in Ukraine

TheprojectexpertsperformedtheanalysisoflegislationandofthelawenforcementpracticeofUkraine. As a consequencethere were revealedproblemspheresrelatedtotheobservanceofrightsofchildrenatrisk. Therewascollectedinformationabouttheviolationofrightsofchildrenatrisk with a particular attention to the law enforcement agencies. The analysis outcomes were presented to the Polish and German experts of the project, who afterwards developed and introduced to the Ukrainian colleagues an overview of national systems and standards for the provision of assistance to children at risk. The materials are available athttp://postup.lg.ua/korotkiy-oglyad-situaciyi-z-dotrimannya-prav-ditey-grup-riziku-v-ukrayini

  • Therewaspreparedandheldanexpertandpracticalseminartitled“InternationalStandardsofHumanRightsandof the Treatment of Juveniles at Risk: the Experience of Poland, Germany and Ukraine”

Theexpertgroupgaveconsiderationtocertaincomponentsof theobservanceofrightsofchildrenatrisk. They examined the German and Polish experience concerning the resolution of similar issues, and defined a strategy and the schedule of further work within the framework of the project. The Polish and German experts familiarized themselves with the successful experience of Ukrainian non-governmental organizations working in the interests of children and of a specialized controlling agency within the Ministry of Interior, the function of which is to monitor the observance of human rights by police officers.

Photo reports:

http://postup.lg.ua/news/uk-ssha-ocenili-vybory-v-ukraine

  • Information concerning the violation of rights of children at risk collected within the framework of the project was submitted to the UN Committee on Children’s Rights

TheinformationwassystematizedandenteredontheAlternativeReport, preparedbytheAssociationofchildren’shumanrightsorganizations, andwas submitted for consideration to the Committee. Having considered the information prepared by the project experts, the Committee addressed a question to the Government of Ukraine about the widespread cases of cruel and degrading treatment of children at risk by the representatives of the law enforcement agencies of Ukraine.  The materials are available on the website of the Human Rights Center “Postup”: http://postup.lg.ua/fakty-narusheniy-prav-detey-grupp-riska-sotrudnikami-ovd-zafiksirovannye-obshchestvennymi

  • ThereweredevelopedrecommendationstotheUkrainiangovernmentconcerningthe improvement of the observance of rights of children at risk

IntherecommendationstheexpertspaidattentionoftheUkrainiangovernmenttothefollowingproblemspheres: a“punitiveapproach” towardschildren,underthethreatofdemoralizationandof those who are demoralized,existingintheUkrainiansystem; theabsenceofaspecializedbodycoordinatingvariousgovernmentalinstitutionsworkingintheinterestsofchildrenatrisk; the weakcoordinationofactionsofvariousgovernmentalinstitutionsworkingintheinterestsofchildrenatrisk; the absence of effective mechanisms for the legal protection of children who became the victims of unlawful violence (with an emphasis on the violence committed by police officers); the inconformity of the examination of children who witnessed a crime or became victims of a crime with the international human rights standards; the inconformity  of criminal proceedings concerning juveniles with the international children’s rights standards; the lack of a qualitative education in the sphere of human and children’s rights in the system of training of staff of the law enforcement agencies of Ukraine.  Preliminaryrecommendationsareavailableforinformation onthewebsiteoftheUnderstandingHumanRightsAll-UkrainianProgram:(http://edu.helsinki.org.ua/index.php?id=1287650722)

  • Thereweredevelopedtwoeducationalmodulesfor police officers on the standards of treatment of children at risk

Theeducationalmodulesforthetrainingofofficersof lawenforcementagencies inthestandardsofthe treatmentofchildrenatriskweredevelopedwiththeparticipationoftheexpertsoftheUnderstandingHumanRightsAll-UkrainianProgramandtheparticipantsoftheeducationalcoursetitled“TeachingHumanRightsintheSystemoftheMinistryofInterior” whowork in educational establishments of the system of training of the law enforcement staff of Ukraine. Recommendations as to special courses on children’s rights standards in the system of training and retraining of staff of the law enforcement agencies of Ukraine were included in the final publication based on the project results.

  • Sixarticlescoveringtheconsideredproblemsandtheprojectimplementationwerepublishedbythemassmedia

Afterthearticleswerepublished,thenumberofappealsforconsultationsonvariousquestionspertaining totheviolationofrightsofchildrenbypoliceofficersaddressedtopartnerorganizationsbytherepresentativesofNGOsandgovernmentalinstitutionsfromdifferent regions of Ukraine has increased.Therehavebeen registeredthreetimesmoreofappealstothelegaladviceofficesofthe organizationsoftheHumanRightsChildren’sNetworkofDonbas. Some links: http://human-rights.unian.net/ukr/detail/194447http://gazeta.ua/index.php?id=350006http://www.golosua.com/suspilstvo/2010/08/09/ukrayinski-polski-ta-nimecki-pravozahisniki-vimaga/  http://umdpl.info/index.php?id=1271925594http://helsinki.org.ua/index.php?id=1281097882

  • Project results were presented

TheresultsoftheworkperformedbythetrilateralexpertgroupwerepresentedattheConferenceontheDevelopmentofEducationintheSphereofHumanRightsthattookplaceinKyiv15 to16 October 2010. TherepresentativesofgovernmentalinstitutionswhoattendedtheConferencesharedtheiranxietyovertheproblemandexpressedwillingness to cooperate with the project team to ensure the implementation of the recommendations.

A photo report: http://postup.lg.ua/gallery/prezentaciya-ta-obgovorennya-rekomendaciy-v-ramkah-proektu-diyi-na-zahist-ditey-grup-riziku

  • A booklet containing the project information materials was published

Thebookletcontainsthemostessentialmaterialsconcerningchildren’srightsstandardsandnationalsystemsofassistancetochildrenatriskpreparedbytheGermanandPolishpartners, theanalysisoftheobservanceofrightsofchildrenatriskinUkraine, mainconclusionsoftheexpertgroup, recommendationstotheGovernmentofUkraineastotheimprovementofanexistingsituation and two educational modules on the standards of human and children’s rights for the training of officers of the law enforcement agencies. The electronic version of a booklet is available at the website of the Human Rights Center “Postup”: http://postup.lg.ua/pidsumkova-publikaciya-za-rezultatami-tristoronnogo-proektu-%3C%3Cdiyi-na-zahist-ditey-grup-riziku

  • Therecommendationsdevelopedwithintheframeworkoftheprojectweresentto theGovernmentofUkraineandspreadamongorganizations and institutions concerned

TherecommendationsoftheexpertgroupweresenttotheCabinetofMinistersofUkraineandanumberofspecializedministries and departments. Also this information was sent to the institutions listed below: Amnesty International International Secretariat, European Court of Human RightsCouncil of Europe, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) , Parliamentary Assembly, Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights, FIDH(France), FIDH(Belgium), The Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), European Commission Secretariat-General, OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.The conclusions of the expert group were spread among the partner organizations, organizations cooperating with the Understanding Human Rights All-Ukrainian Educational Program, among the organizations that are the members of the coalition of non-governmental organizations working in the interests of children (www.childrights.in.ua),and were presented to the German and Polish partners of the project.Furtherjointactionsoftheprojectpartnersintendthespreadingof therecommendationsandthelobbyingofthe implementation of suggested changes.

 

4. ProjectOutcomes/Follow-Up

 

  • TherewasorganizedastudyvisitoftherepresentativesoftheHumanRightsChildren’sNetworkofDonbastoPolandinorderto analyzeapproachesandthe system of assistance to children at risk

Twelverepresentativesofsixchildren’shumanrightscentersoftheHumanRightsChildren’sNetworkofDonbasparticipatedinatendaysstudyvisittoPolandtostudythesystemofassistancetochildrenatrisk. A photo report: http://postup.lg.ua/news/cotrudniki-seti-detskih-pravozashchitnyh-centrov-donbassa-povyshali-kvalifikaciyu-v-polshe

  • Further cooperation of partner organizations:

Inordertoachievethestrategicgoal, whichisthedevelopmentofaneffectivesystemofguaranteesfortheprotectionofrightsofchildrenatrisk, theprojectpartnerorganizationshaveplannedacampaigntolobbythesuggestions of the trilateral expert group. Such campaign is planned for the year 2011. It is intended to use the materials developed within the framework of the project titled “Actions for the Protection of Childrenat Risk: the Experience of Poland, Germany and Ukraine” in the educational activities for police officers and officers of specialized institutions for children that will be held in 2011 and 2012 within the framework of the Understanding Human Rights Program. It is also planned to engage the Polish and German partners of the project in the development of the educational plans and in the educational measures of the mentioned Program.

  • Solutions and recommendations of the experts group will be presented
    at the Parliamentary Hearings “Ensuring Human Rights for children in
    Ukraine. Maternity and childhood care” 22 December 2010.