On 1st March, the Children’s Rights Council of the Government of the Republic of Serbia held its third regular meeting. In addition to its regular members, the children activists of the Friends of Children Serbia actively participated in this meeting by presenting their views and experiences of violence to which children were exposed in society and suggestions of possible solutions. These children were part of a participatory group set up for the full participation of children in the adoption of a new national strategic framework for the protection of children against violence. Jasmina Miković from Praxis, President of the Steering Committee, also participated in the meeting.
Slavica Đukić Dejanović, President of the Children’s Rights Council, pointed out that the participation of children in the work of the Council was valuable, that their insights and suggestions were extremely important, and that children's participation should become a regular practice in the process of making decisions about children.
Ministers Zoran Lončar, Mladen Šarčević and Zoran Đorđević and Michel Saint-Lo, UNICEF Representative in Serbia, also participated in the work of the Children’s Rights Council. On that occasion, the Ministers signed the Call to Action to promote support for early childhood development, from pregnancy to the first 1,000 days. It was especially emphasised that the first thousand days of development of the nervous system was actually a framework for the psychological, cognitive, physical and emotional component of future adults, and that, therefore, the entire society had a task to deepen the knowledge and improve the conditions for meeting the needs of all these segments in the best possible way.
In the meeting, the Draft Strategy for the Prevention and Protection of Children against Violence was presented, followed by a conclusion on the adoption of the final text of the Draft Strategy. In addition, the newly formed Working Group for the preparation of the National Action Plan for Children was presented, in which Jasmina Miković will take part as a MODS representative. The importance of creating a comprehensive document that would clearly define the state’s policy towards children was highlighted as an important precondition for the advancement of children’s rights and the improvement of living and growing conditions for children in Serbia.
