“Most important is the best interest of child”

[Interview with Mr. Steven Allen, UNICEF Central and Eastern Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS) Director about the Child Care System Reform in the Republic of Moldova and other countries in the region] [ - Which are the risks for the children who grow up in boarding schools?] - The most important risk is to go back to the reasons why children are there in the first place. The general reason is that their families were not able to take care of them. They may have no families, or they may have been abandoned by the families they have. And, of course, for a child to be and to feel abandoned is a terrible emotional and psychological burden to carry. Another risk is that children will grow up in an institutional environment without the benefits of a proper loving family environment. They won’t be able to fully develop; also they may be stigmatized at school. At the worst extreme, if the boarding school is not properly supervised and monitored, they could be subject of violence or abuse. This only underlines the need of very clear policies and practices to make sure that while children are in boarding schools, they have the best possible care, while, at the same time, there should be found longer term solutions which need to be family based. Most important is the best interest of child, of course. But it also makes a very good sense from a government budgetary point of view to look for family based solutions, because institutional based solutions are always more expensive and with less good results. Particularly at this time of economic crisis and recession, it’s more and more important for government to look for more innovative family based solutions for children. [ - How does the economic crisis affect children in poor countries like Moldova and how does UNICEF respond?] - The economic crisis has a more profound impact in the countries in economic transition. Particularly in countries such as Moldova, where one quarter of the work force is working abroad and hopefully sending remittances back to Moldova. The economic crisis may mean that many of these people working abroad may lose their jobs. Or, because they are foreigners in those countries, they may not have all their rights and protection of citizen and they may have their wages cut because employers won’t afford to pay you as much as they used to pay. It is not UNICEF’s target to resolve the world’s economic problems. There are specialized organizations, like International Labor Organization or International Organization for Migration. UNICEF cooperates very closely with these partner organizations who have their expertise in their particular area, and then we put it together with our expertise in relation to social sector reforms, in relation to child care system reform to come up with the best possible options and solutions the government to consider in the current environment. There is a lot of experience that can be learned from the way we tried to solve problems in other times and to learn the lessons, not to repeat the mistakes but make sure we take all the successful approaches from the past and adapt them even more to the present. In the past we tend to look for centralized solutions but now all the countries we work with, including Moldova, have adopted a much more decentralized approach. Therefore, it is more necessary to much more involve local level government, in Moldova it’s “rayons”, because they are much closer to the families and they really know how to find best solutions for them. [ - How do you find the Child Care policies in Moldova comparing with other countries in the region?] - The policies in Moldova are going to be reexamined by the new government. I know that the new policies will certainly involve a much more appropriate approach to cash benefits, to people in need. I am informed that there will be a greater commitment in the policies to children as well as to adults who have disabilities. I am very pleased to note that the Government of Moldova is currently studying the Convention on the Care of People with Disabilities. [ - Do you think that children’s rights are respected in Moldova?] - There are 4 key elements to the child rights. The leading element is the best interest of the child. There should not be a discrimination against children. The child has the right to life, to survival, to development, and the right to have a voice, a right to be heard. Broadly speaking children’s rights are respected in Moldova. But still, not all children have equal access to services and to benefits. I think a greater openness of the media to children’s issues will help children’s voices to be heard better now than it was in the past. Lastly, I think that it is very important that in this time of crisis, the government does everything possible to put the focus on social budgets for health, for education, for child protection, to make sure that children’s right to life and survival and development are protected in this difficult economic time. A failure to provide the necessary resources for programs for children will, again, unintentionally compromise the rights of children. I say “unintentionally” because I do believe that the government wishes to exercise the best interest of the child. [ - Is there any country Moldova could learn some lessons about child’s rights from?] - Moldova has a very good experience. Also Russia and also the countries in southeast Europe, particularly those countries which are undergoing the accession process towards Europe, because within the criteria that the accession countries have to meet to be acceded to Europe they have to address issues on the rule of law and human rights, including, of course, child’s rights. So, in this countries are introduced new laws on juvenile justice, on violence in the family. This assembly of laws is the mechanism needed to protect children. [ - Should we bring parents who work abroad back to their children left behind?] - I went to the internat in Străşeni and I met with 20 children who made 1 minute movies of their lives. Each one is different. In a story a boy falls at football and then he goes home to his father. So he has a father, but he is an abusive father. Many other children have natural biological blood-relatives here in Moldova, like in the story of the girl who has a sister. {See the OneMinuteJr films on http://www.unicef.org/moldova/ro/11941_12652.html} Indeed, there are some cases when children were abandoned and their parents left abroad and also, as we know, In Moldova rate of divorces is high. There are many stories, that’s why we say that the solutions need to be adapted to individual situations. In situations when parents work abroad we need to find family based solution for those children especially since they have natural families here: aunts, uncles, grandparents. These children need to be with those families, in this way they already have means of communication with their parents abroad. You can work abroad but still maintain a contact with your family.