“Protection and promotion of the rights of the child is one of the objectives of the European Union. The overall goal of our support is to ensure that all children but in particular children without parental care, children at risk of separation from their families, and children with disabilities, enjoy equal rights and status with other children in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” remarked Khaldoun Sinno, Deputy Head of the Delegation of the European Union in Bosnia and Herzegovina today, at the conference of the EU funded programme “Support to Transformation of Care Institutions” worth €1 million.
The conference presented the findings and recommendations of the programme evaluation, with a specific focus on highlighting key, necessary reforms. “For the last two decades, UNICEF, the European Union and other partners have worked alongside government and civil society to improve deinstitutionalisation of children and have worked on strengthening family care systems. Complex reforms that need to be implemented will directly contribute to improvement to child care,” noted Afshan Khan, Regional Director of the UNICEF Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia.
The panellists focused on presentation of the achieved results within the programme across line ministries and relevant institutions and reinforced the need to mobilise the support of key stakeholders and media to fulfil the rights of children in line with international conventions on the rights of children and strategic frameworks in BiH.
“It is important that we continue working together to improve these processes. We need to protect the rights of the most vulnerable children and strengthen communities so that every child’s right to live with a family is safeguarded,” said Biljana Čamur-Veselinović, General Secretary of the BiH Ministry of Civil Affairs.
The European Union is supporting institutions at the local and higher levels of government to build capacities so as to provide services and implement core duties. A high level of commitment of all involved is necessary to enable successful implementation and ensure that children with disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina reach their full potential, agreed the participants.
