CRONSEE Annual Conference: Children Struck by Crisis

20140918 110611The Deputy Provincial Ombudsman for Children's Rights Protection Marija Kоrdić participated at the Annual Conference of the Children's Ombudsmen Network in South-East Europe (CRONSEE) held in Belgrade from 18-20 September. The conference dealt with the effects of the economic crisis on the possibilities of children's rights exercise, protection and development.

The cross-cutting issue of the Conference was the fact that children have been the most affected by the crisis in the country. Statistics indicate that the number of children in Serbia decreased by 205,000 during the last decade, making thus only 17.2 percent of the total population.

Ombudsmen discussed this issue with the members of the Children's Rights Board of the Serbian National Parliament. Their President, both that of the Parliament and the Board, Maja Gојkоvić and Nаdа Lаzić, the Deputy President of the Board, stated that children are the ones who should be the least affected by the measures undertaken in economic crisis. Pointing out that human rights are often in the shadow of economic issues, the Deputy Parliament President Gоrdаnа Čоmić referred to ombud institutions as 'the only beacon of light in the country' and appealed for supporting them in the future.

The host of the Economic Crisis: Children's Services Did (Not) Survive. What Are We Doing? Conference was the Serbian Ombudsman institution. Its participants were representatives of ombud institutions from Greece, Croatia, Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Srpska, Bulgaria and Slovenia, along with those of local civic and international organizations dealing with children, such as UNICEF and Save the Children International.

The Children's Ombudsmen Network in South-East Europe (CRONSEE) was founded in Novi Sad in 2006 on the initiative of the latter organization and the Provincial Protector of Citizens - Ombudsman institution, which coordinated the network during the first three years.