Government of Slovenia
The promotion and protection
of the rights of children, both boys and girls,
are of particular importance to the Republic
of Slovenia. Child protection is one of the
highest priorities of Slovenia's foreign policy
in the fields of human rights and socio economic
development.
Slovenia fully shares the concern
of the international community about violations
of children's rights all over the world. Children
are in many cases subject to appalling mistreatment,
many suffer discrimination, harassment, violence,
sexual abuse or are victims of human trafficking;
this is why Slovenia strongly supports the work
of independent expert Professor Paulo Sergio
Pinheiro, who is in charge of the UN Secretary-General’s
global study on violence against children.
A comprehensive approach involving
children's voice in combating all forms of violence
remains indispensable for breaking the silence
of this vulnerable group. Each year, the Republic
of Slovenia convenes a Children's Parliament
at the local, regional and national levels.
On this occasion the children discuss relevant
issues that influence their everyday lives.
The topic of the thirteenth Children's Parliament
was 'Childhood without Violence and Abuse'.
Being well aware of harsh implications
of difficult transitional process in many countries
on the psychosocial well-being of children,
the Slovenian Government, the City of Ljubljana
and the nongovernmental organisation Slovene
Philanthropy have established the Foundation
Together – Regional Centre for Psychosocial
Well-being of Children. The Centre devotes particular
attention to the psychosocial rehabilitation
of children affected by armed conflicts, by
post-war poverty and other negative social processes;
its basic principle is to strengthen the local
structures in the field of child care, to develop
new mechanisms for protection and empowering
of children, and to stay in the region even
after the withdrawal of international assistance.
With this in mind Slovenia
is honoured to host in July 2005 the Regional
Consultation for the UN Study on Violence Against
Children – Europe and Central Asia. Following
the consultations, Slovenia will also host the
Conference "Yokohama Review for Europe
and Central Asia – Combating Sexual Exploitation
of Children".
Human Rights Ombudsman
of the Republic of Slovenia (VARUH-RS.SI)
In 2003 and 2004 the ombudsman’s
office ran an advertising campaign entitled
‘Children’s rights are the law!’,
aimed at the promotion of children’s rights.
Since the majority of violations of children’s
rights are caused by adults, often the parents
of children, adults were the target group of
the campaign. The mass media enabled us free
broadcasting of three television advertisements.
The campaign began on 10 December 2003 –
Human Rights Day – and was continuing
also in 2004.
The strategy for the advertising
campaign was devised in its entirety at the
ombudsman’s office. In addition to the
strategy we devised scenarios for individual
advertisements, proposals and designs for the
print advertisements. A good campaign depends
on good knowledge of the target group. We have
this knowledge thanks to the cases we deal with
and our collaboration with various experts,
practicians and NGOs. This is the advantage
of an institution that works at both the concrete
and general levels, since knowledge of concrete
cases enables better knowledge of the target
group and thus more effective promotion and
education.
Children’s rights are
the law!
nr.1
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Children’s rights are
the law!
nr.2
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Children’s
rights are the law!
nr.3
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