The Annual Assembly Meeting of the Network of Organisations for Children of Serbia (MODS) was held in Kragujevac on 9 and 10 November 2019.

The Assembly Meeting was chaired by Iva Eraković, Executive Director of the organisation Friends of Children of Serbia. In the working session, the Assembly first considered the MODS Activity Report for 2018, presented by Director Saša Stefanović, and then Jasmina Miković from Praxis, President of the MODS Steering Committee, presented the Steering Committee Report and reported on the participation of MODS in governmental bodies, first of all in the Children’s Rights Council and the working groups established by the competent ministries: the Working Group on Early Development and the Working Group on the Development of Child Rights Strategy. The Supervisory Board Report 2018 and 2019 and the 2020 Financial Plan were presented by Radomir Jevtić, President of Supervisory Board. After a brief discussion, the Assembly members unanimously adopted these reports.

The MODS Assembly then unanimously re-elected Iva Eraković as a member of the Steering Committee.

In the continuation of its work, the Assembly also unanimously adopted a proposal for MODS to join the regional network in the Danube region - Danube Civil Society Forum, and the global network for ending sexual exploitation ECPAT.

Iva Eraković then presented the initiative of the Protector of Citizens to sign the Cooperation Agreement with MODS, which was unanimously adopted by the Assembly.

On the afternoon of the first working day, Bojana Selaković, Programme Director of Civic Initiatives, presented support for civil society development provided by Civic Initiatives within their Resource Centre. After the introductory part, the members had the opportunity to share their experiences from the local level, as well as the challenges and problems they most often faced.

A novelty at this year's Assembly Meeting was the Market of Ideas - a session in which the members had the opportunity to exchange ideas on the projects and programmes they were implementing, as well as to propose topics and activities for MODS in the coming year.

The second working day was reserved for the presentation of new organisations for admission to MODS membership. The organisation Na pola puta (Halfway) from Pančevo and the Association for Cerebral and Child Palsy, Kosjerić, were unanimously admitted to MODS membership, currently consisting of 103 members.

The last part of the session was used for proposals for improving MODS work and discussing future MODS activities and advocacy plans.

In Belgrade on 16 October 2019, in cooperation with the Network of Organisations for Children of Serbia – MODS, the Child Rights Centre held a consultative workshop on the implementation of recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child. The aim of the workshop was to jointly and continuously collect and monitor the implementation of recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child in the coming period. 

As representatives of Praxis, Jasmina Miković and Jelena Petrović particularly pointed out that registration at birth had not been ensured for each child, regardless of whether mothers had personal documents. They also drew attention to the fact that the role of the Children’s Rights Council of the Government of the Republic of Serbia had not been improved in terms of providing additional human, technical and financial resources for its efficient functioning. Concrete results were not visible in the field of prevention and elimination of child marriages, except that the National Coalition to End Child Marriages had been established, at the initiative of UNICEF, and that the competent ministry sent to social welfare centres an instruction on how to act in case of child marriages. Regarding the implementation of relevant anti-discrimination regulations, the state had not taken concrete measures to end segregation of Roma pupils in education, while the recent amendments to educational laws re-introduced the possibility of setting up special classes for children with disabilities within regular schools. 

The workshop was organised as part of the project "Monitoring the Implementation of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child Recommendations with a Special Focus on Improving Child Participation", implemented by the Child Rights Centre with the support of UNICEF and in cooperation with the Office for Human and Minority Rights of the Republic of Serbia. The project aims to contribute to the improved monitoring of the recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child through the partnership of the state, the non-governmental sector and the participation of children.

In February 2017, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child reviewed the Second and Third Periodic Reports on the Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in the Republic of Serbia and adopted the Concluding Observations and recommendations for further improvement of the situation of children and the fulfillment of obligations undertaken by ratification of the Convention and its optional protocols.

Although the measures stemming from the recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child are primarily the responsibility of the state, the role of the civil sector is to encourage and cooperate with the state in this regard. Therefore, the indicators have been developed to show the level of success in the implementation of the recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the impact of policies and laws at national and local levels with respect to the exercise of the child rights from the aspect of civil society.

At the 8th meeting of Children’s Rights Council of the Republic of Serbia, held on 29 October 2019 in Belgrade, MODS was represented by Jasmina Miković from Praxis, member of Children’s Rights Council and President of MODS Steering Committee and Saša Stefanović, MODS Director.

Saša Stefanović informed the Council members about the findings of research on multisector cooperation in the protection of children from violence in local self-governments. The adopted agreements and protocols of cooperation in the protection of children from violence in local self-governments are available in the child protection map, and can serve as models for local self-governments that have not yet adopted protocols to protect children from violence.

The meeting participants considered the initiative for establishing a special institution for the treatment and training of juvenile offenders with psycho-physical development challenges or mental disability. The initiative was presented by Biljana Sinanović, Judge of the Supreme Court of Cassation and President of the Council for monitoring and improving the work of agencies responsible for criminal proceedings and the enforcement of criminal sanctions against minors.

The Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs announced the plans to adopt the Law on Child’s Rights and the Law on Ombudsman for Children by the end of the year, whereas the application of certain parts of these laws would be delayed, such as the establishment of the Ombudsman for Children and others.

Ljiljana Simić, on behalf of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, informed the meeting participants about the work of the Joint Body for supporting social inclusion and coordinating the supervision of the activities of inter-sectoral committees aimed at assessing children’s needs for additional educational, healthcare and social support, as well as about the plans for further activities of raising awareness about the importance of educational and social inclusion.

It was stressed that Serbia was one of 12 countries that received "significant progress" rating from the US Department of Labor when it comes to punishments for child labour. In addition, the participants were informed about monitoring of the prevention and prohibition of child marriages, and in this regard, it was announced that the provision of the Law on Family that exceptionally allowed the marriage of a child at the age of 16 would be deleted. On that occasion, Jasmina Miković added that in addition to improving the regulatory framework, it was necessary to work on establishing an adequate institutional response to the phenomenon of child marriages at the local level as well as to continue educating parents, children and local institutions about the harmfulness of child marriages, which constituted gross violations of the rights of the child with catastrophic consequences. 

The Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government announced the work on professional development of employees in local self-governments in the field of children's rights. Jasmina Miković praised that initiative and stressed the consequences of creating local policies without the participation of citizens and civil society organisations. The lack of citizen participation in local policy-making had led to numerous decisions that did not comply with anti-discrimination regulations and undermined the rights of the child.

The visit was financially supported by the governments of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Province of Schleswig-Holstein with the aim of presenting and exchanging experiences and good practices in the field of policies related to supporting youth, members of national minorities, overcoming obstacles in the educational system and moving from the world of education to the world of work. In that respect, the Province developed the programme of support for youth from vulnerable groups of population with the aim of fostering their skills related to vocational education and employment, inter alia through direct access to dual education, which should facilitate entry into professional life. The participation in this programme is voluntary and free of charge. It is intended to provide support to pupils in planning their professional future by learning more about their own capacities and making informed decisions, which should result in taking responsibility for their future careers. In the period 13-18 May 2019, the German Organisation for International Cooperation - GIZ organised a study visit for relevant institutions and organisations that participated in or advocated for minority support programmes in Kiel, the capital of the German Province of Schleswig-Holstein, well-known, even outside Germany, for its successful inclusive minority policy. Over the past decades, the Province has implemented many projects and measures to support vulnerable groups, especially in the field of career guidance and counselling for the purpose of continuation of their education and employment. 

The legal framework in the field of dual education has recently been established in Serbia. Among other things, it has introduced novelties regarding the structure and networking of school teams for career guidance and counselling, while taking into account the specific characteristics of dual education system. On the other hand, pupils from vulnerable groups often need additional support in terms of career guidance and counselling because of their specific situation and obstacles they face during their professional development. The need was recognised to develop a brochure in order to provide guidance to career guidance and counselling teams in the secondary school implementing dual educational programmes. The brochure would enable representatives of Serbian institutions to learn about positive and specific knowledge, methods and experiences from Schleswig-Holstein, as well as to get acquainted with institutions, models and ways of working with vulnerable groups in that province, which would contribute to the establishment and implementation of the standards of career guidance and counselling for young people in Serbia. 

Despite the fact that the problems encountered by the Roma national minority in the province of Schleswig-Holstein are more or less similar to those in Serbia, the study visit has revealed that the measures of support for young people in acquiring vocational qualifications and getting vocational training are successful because of the individual approach to pupils, focused on the potentials of each of them. 

In addition to Praxis representatives, Jasmina Miković and Marija Dražović, the study group consisted to representatives of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, the Institute for the Improvement of Education, the National Employment Service, the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, the Union of Employers, the Kragujevac City School Administration, the Secondary Vocational School in Kragujevac, Inventiva Centre - Association for the Development of Vocational Orientation, the Educational and Cultural Community of Roma “Romanipen” from Kragujevac, the Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, the German Corporation for International Cooperation - GIZ and the European Center for Minority Issues (ECMI) from Germany.

Pored predstavnica Praxisa, Jasmine Miković i Marije Dražović, studijsku grupu su činili i predstavnici Ministarstva prosvete, nauke i tehnološkog razvoja, Zavoda za unapređivanje obrazovanja i vaspitanja, Nacionalne službe za zapošljavanje, Privredne komore Srbije, Unije poslodavaca, Školske uprave grada Kragujevca, Srednje stručne škole u Kragujevcu, Centra Inventiva - Udruženja za razvoj profesionalne orijentacije, Obrazovno-kulturne zajednice Roma „Romanipen“ iz Kragujevca, Tim za socijlano uključivanje i smanjenje siromaštva Vlade RS, Nemačke organizacije za međunarodnu saradnju GIZ i Evropskog centra za pitanje manjina (ECMI) iz Nemačke. 

On Wednesday, 9th October, in the Media Center, as part of the Children’s Week, the Friends of Children of Serbia organised the panel discussion “Child Rights in Serbia 30 Years After Adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child”.

The speakers were Dragan Vulević, Special Advisor to the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs; Nataša Jović, Assistant Secretary-General for Child’s Rights, Gender Equality and Rights of Persons with Disability in the Ombudsman’s Office; Vesna Dejanović, UNICEF Children Protection Programme Manager; Jasmina Miković, Praxis Deputy Executive Director and member of the Council for the Rights of the Child; Saša Stefanović, MODS Director; and Dunja Joldžić, member of the participatory Group of 10 Friends of Children of Serbia.  The panel discussion was moderated by journalist Marija Šehić

The speakers presented the main trends and challenges in the field of children's rights in Serbia, after which they had the opportunity to discuss and exchange opinions on current challenges with children and other participants.

Jasmina Miković stressed that the child’s rights continued not to be a priority for our country and that we were far from the full implementation of ratified international treaties in the field of child’s rights. In this respect, she pointed to the existing shortcomings of the institutional and regulatory framework in this field.

She also drew attention to some of the trends and challenges in the field of child’s rights identified by Praxis in working with target groups, which had not been properly addressed:

•The state has not yet taken measures within its remit to remove legal barriers that prevent immediate birth registration of children born to mothers without personal documents.

•There is no adequate institutional response to child marriages, which occur disproportionately more frequently among the Roma population and particularly affect girls. 

•Segregation in education continues to exist, which seriously jeopardises the rights of the child and has far-reaching negative social consequences. Although it still exists in some schools in Serbia, no concrete measures or activities have been taken to prevent this discriminatory phenomenon.

•Discrimination against particularly vulnerable groups of children is still widespread and represents a major challenge in our society. Decisions taken at the local level are also disconcerting because they often discriminate against particularly vulnerable groups of children, such as children with IDP status, Roma children, children with disabilities and others.

Based on the presentations and discussion, the following recommendations were formulated:

1. Better monitoring and implementation of the existing legislation, as well as continuous work on maintaining the achieved standards and further improving the regulatory and institutional framework in Serbia;

2. Base policies and practices on realistic research and possibilities, plan rationally and direct resources accordingly;

3. Strengthen the role of the Children’s Rights Council - provide financial and human resources so that the Council can become the main institutional mechanism for inter-ministerial coordination, with the clear mandate and authority to coordinate all activities related to the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child at cross-sectoral, national and local level;

4. Enhance accessibility and investment in the systems on which the situation of child's rights directly depends - health care, social protection, education, culture, etc. Austerity measures must not affect services related to children and protection of their rights;

5. Continuously work on raising public awareness about the importance of respecting children’s rights;

6. Continuously involve children in topics that concern them - raise awareness about the importance of participation among the general public, professionals working with children at all levels and decision makers;

7. Intensify work on the prevention of child marriages;

8. Urgently amend the regulations that prevent immediate birth registration of children born to mother without personal documents;

9. Improve support and control systems for foster families;

10. Strengthen support for social services for families, especially from vulnerable groups;

11. Urgent social response to burning issues that affect children - violence, poverty, etc.

12. Work on the prevention and elimination of discrimination against particularly vulnerable groups of children and prohibit segregation in the education system, especially for Roma children and children with disabilities;

13. Work on strengthening support systems and alternative accommodation systems for young people with disabilities as well as young people from vulnerable categories of population;

14. Provide minimum housing standards for each child/family;

15. Work on the promotion and strengthening of dialogue between the government and civil sectors. 

In September 2019, Praxis continued providing assistance to refugees/migrants, through information, psychosocial support, referrals to the targeted assistance provided by various organisations/institutions or covering the costs of transport to the asylum and reception centres.

A total of 1977 newly arrived refugees/migrants were informed about current situation in Serbia and the region, legal status and available legal options (seeking asylum in Serbia, assisted voluntary return to the country of origin, possibilities of family reunification abroad or resettlement to a third country when possible), accommodation in asylum centres (AC) or transit-reception centres in Serbia, means of transportation to the assigned centres, other rights and available services (medical care, psychosocial support, food, NFIs, various workshops for refugees/ migrants etc).

Download the whole Protection Monitoring Report for September 2019 here.