The General Police Inspectorate, with the financial support of the EU, has launched a nationwide awareness-raising campaign to inform the children about their rights when they come into contact with the police, IPN reports.

Mihai Cibotaru, adviser at the Ministry of the Interior, said there were produced brochures, video clips and posters with information and contact data where the child rights violations can be reported.

The head of the Economic and Political Section of the EU Delegation to Moldova Wicher Slagter said that Moldova is the only Eastern Partnership country whose Association Agreement with the EU contains clauses that refer to the promotion of children’s rights and this is a sign of the importance the EU attaches to children’s rights in Moldova. “The justice reform is one of the very important programs in Moldova in which the EU became involved because the legal system affects every citizen of this country, including the children. The justice sector reform strategy includes a chapter about child-friendly justice. This thing is important because it forms part of the police reform,” stated the representative of the EU Delegation.

He added that the law ensures an appropriate framework for protecting the rights of the children, but in reality things are different from what the law provides. “The children who come into contact with the police are in a very vulnerable situation and, if they are treated inappropriately, the chances for these to continue to commit crimes increase. Thus, the first good contacts with the police are a first step towards the integration of these children into society,” said Wicher Slagter. He also said that the inappropriate or discriminatory treatment of children is not the result of premeditated actions on the part of the police, but derives from inappropriate abilities or attitudes and it is very important for the children to be fully informed about their rights.

More than 3,000 children came into contact with the police as offenders or victims last year.