Children encouraged to monitor observance of their rights

The children need motivation and indicators for monitoring their own rights. This is one of the conclusions reached by the Working Group for Monitoring the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which met in Chisinau for a training workshop organized by the Child Rights Information and Documentation Center, Info-Prim Neo reports. The members of the Working Group said children’s rights are observed differently in the country’s regions, with the rights to opinion, protection against economic exploitation and free time being most often violated. The right to protection against violence continues to be violated by grownups and mates. The children have an aggressive behavior towards their mates, while the teachers treat the children rudely, intimidate them and threaten to decrease their grades if they are disobedient. The members of the Group also said that the right to education is the most respected right, according to the monitoring results. The country’s schools are adequately supplied with textbooks and equipment, but the quality of interactive and game teaching should be improved. The adults’ role is to help the children know their rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, developing their abilities, the Child Rights Information and Documentation Center says in a communiqué. The Working Group formulated proposals for the local organizations that will want to involve the children in monitoring their rights and recommendations for the parents whose children are engaged in this process. The observance of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child has been monitored by 25 children from 14 regions during four months. The monitoring is carried out within the Children Monitor how their Rights are Respected Project that is implemented by the Child Rights Information and Documentation Center with support from the Swedish organization Save the Children, the U.S. Embassy in Moldova and the UNICEF Moldova Representative Office.