U februaru, broj izbeglica i migranata koje je Praxisov terenski tim viđao i sa kojima je razgovarao nije bio veći od 125 dnevno, uključujući novopristigle, izbeglice i migrante smeštene u Centru za azil Krnjača i Prihvatnom centru Obrenovac, kao i one koji su se u Beograd vratili nakon neuspešnih pokušaja prelaska hrvatske, mađarske ili rumunske granice. U tom periodu, Praxis je pružio pomoć izbeglicama i migrantima (ukupno 828) u vidu informisanja, upućivanja na ciljanu pomoć koju pružaju različite organizacije i institucije ili pokrivanja troškova prevoza do centara za auto azil i prihvatnih centara.

Praxis je nastavio da sprovodi svoje aktivnosti na terenu u okviru kojih je ukupno 425 novopridošlih izbeglica/migranata (325 odraslih - 276 muškaraca i 49 žena i 100 dece - 79 dečaka i 21 devojčica, uključujući 56 potencijalna maloletnika bez pratnje - sve dečaci) dobilo releventne informacije. Od ukupnog broja novopristiglih izbeglica i migranata (425), 61 lica ili 14,4% njih su iz Avganistana. 23 novopristiglih izbeglica i migranata su bili iz Sirije, što je  5,4% od ukupnog broja. 75 izbeglica i migranata je došlo iz Iraka (17,6%). 100 izbeglica i migranata (23,5%) su došli iz Pakistana. 136 izbeglica i migranata (32,0% od ukupnog broja) došli su iz Irana. Izbeglice i migranti iz Irana nastavljaju da stižu avionom: bilo ih je 115 u februaru. 7 izbeglica i migranata (1,6%) su došli iz Alžira. Ukupno 23 (5,4%) izbeglica i migranata su došli iz drugih zemalja - Libije (12), Indije (3), Šri Lanke (1), Nigerije (1), Kuvajta (3), Bangladeša (1), Sudana (1) i Ukrajine (1).

Preuzmite kompletan Izveštaj o praćenju zaštite i pružanju pomoći i informacija izbeglicama i migrantima ovde.

Praxis je učestvovao na prvoj javnoj raspravi o Nacrtu Zakona o pravima deteta i zaštitniku prava deteta koja je održana 5. juna 2019. godine. Savet za prava deteta Vlade Republike Srbijeu kome su zastupljeni predstavnici relevantnih državnih institucija i civilnog sektora je jednoglasno pokrenuo inicijativu 2017. godine da Republika Srbije dobije sveobuhvatni Zakon o pravima deteta i zaštitniku prava deteta. 

Trenutno, profesionalci primenjuju u praksi preko 80 zakonskih tekstova u oblasti prava deteta, a kao jedan od problema koji se najčešće ističe jeste i njihova međusobna neusklađenost. Zato bi i budući Zakon o pravima deteta i zaštitniku prava deteta, kao tzv. „krovni“ zakon, trebalo da doprinese harmonizaciji celokupnog pravnog sistema u oblasti prava deteta, jer će biti neophodno usaglašavanje postojećih zakonskih rešenja u svim sektorskim zakonima sa rešenjima sadržanim u pomenutom zakonu.

Na neophodnost usvajanja sveobuhvatnog zakona u oblasti prava deteta, civilni sektor je ukazivao kontinuirano kako državnim institucijama, tako i međunarodnim telima UN koji prate sprovođenje međunarodnih instrumenata za zaštitu ljudskih prava u Srbiji. Usvajanjem ovog zakona naša zemlja bi ispunila jednu od svojih međunarodnih obaveza koja proizilazi iz članstva u Savetu Evrope, što je i preporuka Komiteta za prava deteta UN, koja datira iz 2008. godine, a ponovljena je i u narednom ciklusu, kao i preporuka sa poslednjeg procesa Univerzalnog periodičnog pregleda Saveta za ljudska prava iz januara 2018. godine. Praxis je imao priliku da aktivno učestvuje i tokom javne rasprave o Nacrtu Zakona o pravima deteta koja je bila održana pre deset godina, ali zbog nedostatka političke volje dalji rad na izradi zakona je bio obustavljen. Nadamo se da će ovog puta država biti odlučnija i u skladu sa predviđenim planom do septembra 2019. godine usvojiti izuzetno važan zakon, kao instrument koji će pre svega imati osnovni zadatak da promoviše i unapređuje prava deteta, koordinira aktivnosti u ostvarivanju prava deteta i vrši kontrolu organa javne vlasti i drugih subjekata u društvu u poštovanju prava deteta.

Održavanje javnih rasprava će uslediti u Novom Sadu, Kragujevcu, Novom Pazaru i Nišu. 

On Thursday, 23 May 2019, the newly established Thematic Group on Early Childhood Development and Education of Children, coordinated by the Network of Organisations for Children of Serbia, held its first meeting. 

The meeting was dedicated to the formal establishment of the Thematic Group on Early Childhood Development and Education of Children, agreement on future work, dynamics, ways of cooperation, possible joint activities, identification of stakeholders, relevant decision makers and the media.

The meeting participants shared current information in the field of early childhood development, about relevant initiatives such as Call for Action of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, supported by UNICEF, development of early intervention models, creation of Internet Platform for Parents and Practitioners.

As a member of the newly-established Thematic Group, Jasmina Miković, Praxis Deputy Executive Director, shared the experience and findings of Praxis, especially pointing out the importance of investing in early childhood development without discrimination, which should be one of the important priorities because it would allow each child to fully enjoy the guaranteed rights. In addition, she stressed the importance of promoting the registration of every child into birth registry books immediately after birth, providing adequate living conditions, as well as working on the prevention and elimination of harmful practices such as child, early and forced marriages.

More than 150 participants attended the Eurochild General Assembly and Members’ Day in Brussels on 17 and 18 April 2019, making it the largest gathering in Eurochild’s history. On that occasion, the Network of organizations for children of Serbia - MODS, as a member of the Eurochild’s National Partner Networks, was represented by Jasmina Miković from Praxis, President of the MODS Management Board.

The aim of this annual gathering of Eurochild members was to reflect on child rights advocacy in a changing Europe, share experiences and gain new knowledge in specific topics linked to Eurochild’s strategic goals, in order to be able to work/influence more effectively and work with the next EU legislature. Therefore, the meeting was attended by the high level EU stakeholders from the European Commission, who provided input to Eurochild’s advocacy work for children’s rights.

This meeting was the opportunity for Eurochild to reaffirm its Strategic Plan2019-2021, as the result of a process of reflection with Eurochild members, Management Board, and children and young people. In the period 2019-2021, Eurochild’s advocacy will focus on tackling child poverty and social exclusion (promoting a children’s rights approach), reforming child welfare and protection systems (promoting systemic change centred on strengthening families and communities), and making children’s rights visible at the highest political level. 

For more information, see the announcement here.

Civil Rights Defenders and the AIRE Centre (Advice on Individual Rights in Europe) organised the Sixth Regional Rule of Law Forum for South East Europe. The Forum gathered over 170 participants from Albania, BiH, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey and Hungary, including presidents and judges of supreme and constitutional courts, members of judicial councils, directors of judicial academies, representatives of NGOs and prominent legal experts in the field, as well as nine current and former judges of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. As a representative of NGO Praxis, Jasmina Miković, Deputy Executive Director took part in the Forum.

The aim of the Forum was to promote the implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights at the domestic level, to encourage regional cooperation in the continued development of the rule of law and the protection of human rights, and to assist the process of EU integration across the region.

The topic of the 2019 Forum was child rights, focusing on the protection of children as an integral and essential part of the rule of law and marking 60th anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child. Children are amongst the most vulnerable members of our societies and the protection of their rights is of fundamental importance to the rule of law. The topics forming the basis of the Forum discussions included domestic violence (with children as victims and witnesses), human trafficking, asylum, migration, custody and care of children, and access to justice for children.

For more information, see the announcement here.

At the initiative of UNICEF and the Coordination Body for Gender Equality, the National Coalition to End Child Marriage was established with the aim of contributing to ending child marriages in Serbia by eliminating institutional and social barriers to law enforcement and promoting good practice of partnership between local communities, the media, non-governmental, governmental and private sectors. At the same time, the Coalition should work on safe choice options for Roma girls and on empowering Roma boys and girls to change the existing harmful practices.

The first founding meeting of the Coalition was held on 21 February 2019 in the building of the Government of the Republic of Serbia. On this occasion, UNICEF Representative in Serbia Regina De Dominicis pointed out that early and child marriages constituted a serious violation of the rights of girls, who were more at risk from this phenomenon.

"The story of every early married girl I met is full of pain and regret. Tradition is not harmful in itself, but the question is how society perceives this tradition and how it stimulates stereotypes. One of the most important aspects of child protection is precisely prevention of child marriages", said De Dominicis.

Assistant Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, Jovana Atanacković, noted that marriage before the age of 18 was a serious violation of human rights and affected the girls' right to health, education and life without violence.

"Therefore, we are establishing the National Coalition in order to contribute, through our joint efforts, to creating intervention models, empowering young Roma women to get educated, strengthening local Roma communities and establishing better coordination at all levels in order to eradicate child marriages," said Atanacković. Silvija Nešić, a representative of NGO Ternipe, stressed that no Roma woman had a future without support.

"Therefore, UNICEF's support is extremely important for us, Roma organisations. Support and cooperation are the only way of fighting", said Silvija.

The Coalition represents a community of individuals, institutions and organisations, including representatives of the Coordination Body for Gender Equality, UNICEF, the Office for Human and Minority Rights, the Administrative Districts of Nišava, Jablanica and South Banat, the Committee on Human and Minority Rights and Gender Equality and the Committee on the Rights of the Child of the National Assembly. The members of the Coalition are also representatives of the Protector of Citizens, the Commissioner for Protection of Equality, the City of Belgrade, civil society organisations Bibija, Ternipe, Praxis, Indigo, the Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Team, the Roma Inclusion Office, the Association of Roma Novi Bečej, the Republic Institute for Social Protection and UN agencies.

The first meeting of the Children’s Rights Council of the Government of the Republic of Serbia this year was held on 12 February 2019 in Belgrade. Jasmina Miković, Praxis Deputy Executive Director and MODS Management Board President, who is also a member of the Children’s Rights Council, participated in the meeting on behalf of MODS.

The Council’s Annual Activity Plan for 2019 was adopted and the participants were informed about developments in the field of children's rights. Ines Cerović, Director of Child Rights Center, informed the members of the Council about the development of indicators for monitoring the recommendations that the Committee on the Rights of the Child had given to Serbia.

In addition, Suzana Paunović, Director of the Office for Human and Minority Rights, informed the participants about the planned activities on the drafting of the Common Core Document in accordance with the agreed guidelines for reporting on international human rights treaties.

UNICEF presented the initiative for the establishment of the National Coalition to Eliminate Child Marriage, with the aim of motivating relevant actors who, through coordinated action, would contribute to the elimination of this harmful phenomenon. After the constituent meeting to be held on February 21st, the coalition will be open to the participation of individuals, public institutions, independent bodies, non-governmental organisations, private sector and the media, or those ready to commit to addressing this problem.

Nadjat Madjid from Morocco, guest participant, spoke about the experiences and good practices in formulating national policies for children, focusing on good practices from Ireland, Kenya and Mauritius.

Finally, UNICEF presented the results of the conference System Cooperation in Supporting Children with Developmental Risks and Disabilities and Their Families - Towards Integrated Early Intervention Services.

See the footage by Tanjug.

On 5 December 2018, Terre des hommes Regional Office for Central and Southeast Europe and partner NGO Center for Children's Rights of Montenegro organised an event on the occasion of the beginning of the Child Protection Hub project in Montenegro, in Podgorica. The main goal of the project is to strengthen and connect the community of professionals in the field of child protection. Special attention within the project is given to the prevention and ending violence against children. Thanks to the support of the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, the Child Protection Hub has the opportunity to extend its activities to Montenegro in partnership with the Center for Children's Rights of Montenegro.

As a ChildHub resource person from Serbia, Jasmina Miković from Praxis participated at the event which brought together over 50 professionals from various sectors dealing with prevention  of violence and protection of children. On this occasion, the Head of the World Health Organization Office in Montenegro, Mina Brajović, presented the INSPIRE package of strategies for the prevention and protection of children from violence. Representatives of the UNICEF Office in Montenegro presented the ways in which four of the seven INSPIRE strategies are implemented, as well as  various forms of support provided by UNICEF to national partners in protecting children from violence, abuse and neglect. On 6 and 7 December, fifteen Resource Persons from the South East Europe gathered in Bečići, Montenegro, to improve their leadership and coaching skills, in preparation of ChildHub's new activity "peer-to-peer support". Experienced executive and business coach Srđan Vukčević, Founder and CEO of Blue Coach helped participants review their own leadership styles, and work through their strong traits and those they needed to improve. During the training, participants also discussed how the ChildHub team/community could become stronger and more efficient, and fulfill its objectives better. After a lecture on the latest neuroscience of learning new habits, participants also had a short session on mindfulness, a practice that helps both children and adults to reduce stress, and which can facilitate learning in a very effective way.

After a discussion on how the peer-to-peer activity could be put in place, agreement was reached that each country team of Resource Persons would discuss and develop their own system, keeping in mind the overall aim and philosophy of voluntarism.

The Annual Assembly Meeting of the Network of Organisations for Children of Serbia (MODS) was held in Kragujevac on 16 and 17 November 2018. This was another opportunity for the members of the Network to meet, consider and adopt proposals relevant to the MODS's work and to admit new members.

The MODS Assembly also elected a new member of the Supervisory Board. The Assembly unanimously elected Nataša Raičević, Programme Director of the Center for Social Preventive Activities GRiG, a new member of the Supervisory Board. The members of the Supervisory Board are now: Radomir Jevtić (A Step Forward, Kruševac), Ana Jovanović (Center for Creative Development Knjaževac) and Nataša Raičević (GRiG, Belgrade).

One of agenda items was voting for the admission of new organisations into the Network. A total of five organisations presented themselves to the Assembly, after which the Assembly unanimously decided to admit all of them into its membership. Presently, MODS has 101 member organisations.

The Assembly discussed, among other things, the ways in which MODS could further enhance its capacities and increase the visibility of the work of organisations. There were also some new suggestions that MODS would seek to implement in its work. 

For more information, see the announcement here.

On Monday, 5 November 2018, the Fifth Meeting of Children’s Rights Council of the Republic of Serbia was held.   The meeting was attended by Jasmina Miković, Praxis Deputy Executive Director and MODS Management Board President, who is also a member of the Children’s Rights Council, and Saša Stefanović, MODS Director.  

Saša Stefanović, MODS Director, presented the Recommendations for the development and improvement of measures, services and programmes for preventing the separation of children from families or returning of children to the primary family if the separation occurred. These recommendations derived from the conclusions of the national conference "Strengthening the Family - A Look at Opportunities", and the basic message is that existing resources in different sectors should be used to strengthen the family and support the child’s staying in the family.

At the meeting, the Preliminary Draft Law on Child’s Rights and Child Ombudsman was discussed. It was pointed out that this Law contained the provisions confirming all rights of the child and instruments of independent control and protection. Adoption of this Law represents a major step in the improvement, promotion and provision of control over the protection of child’s rights in the Republic of Serbia. Also, by adopting this Law, the Republic of Serbia fulfils its obligations contained in the recommendations from the latest Universal Periodic Review of the state of human rights in Serbia as well as in the recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Action Plan for Chapter 23. A representative of the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs presented also a plan for further work on the adoption of this Law, expected in the first quarter of 2019.

The Council members were informed about the guidelines and practices of UNICEF-supported Child Friendly Cities Initiatives around the world and the continuation of the project "Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour".

The Universal Children's Day will be celebrated in Serbia on November 20th, under the slogan "Let's Paint It All Blue, for Every Child", and on that day all the most important institutions in Serbia will be lighted in blue as a mark of respect for the rights of children and adolescents, as stated at the meeting of the Children's Rights Council.