New Accreditation Proposal for Child-Friendly Municipalities
Santo Domingo.- The Inter-institutional Technical Committee for Decentralisation, with the support of UNICEF, recently held a workshop to review an initiative known as the Child-Friendly Municipalities (CFMs).
At the event, a new proposal was submitted to accredit municipalities that have shown an improvement in the quality of life of their children and adolescents. The strategy consists of recognising municipalities that fulfil a municipal work plan for children and adolescents, by striving to achieve pre-set objectives in areas such as young people and children’s health, education, protection and participation. Recognition and prizes will be awarded for achievements such as a reduction in infant mortality, an increase in school attendance rates, the existence of Local Protection Directories and Boards, establishing Municipal Youth Councils and the inclusion of children and adolescents in participative budgeting, as well as other indicators. The objectives are based on Law 136-03 that established the Children and Adolescent Rights Protection System and Law 176-07 on municipalities. They are also rooted in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Millennium Development Goals. The initiative will be accompanied by a monitoring and evaluation system that will provide local actors with self-evaluation tools that will help guide their work in favour of children and adolescents. The new accreditation criterion is aimed at strengthening and empowering local actors so that they work for the fulfilment of Children and Adolescent Rights within their jurisdiction. UNICEF will provide technical and financial assistance, and will support the Technical Committee and municipal actors in their commitment towards achieving their objectives. Ms. Kirsys Fernández, President of the Children and Adolescents Council (CONANI) and Ms. Françoise Gruloos-Ackermans, UNICEF’s Representative in the country, attended the launch. Ms. Gruloos stressed the importance of involving local actors in improving conditions for children and adolescents in the Dominican Republic. She said that “it is hugely important that decision makers at central level, in the framework of the modernisation process of the Dominican State, should value the pertinence of launching a decentralisation process for skills and financial resources in order to provide a greater stimulus towards guaranteeing children’s rights in these areas”. She also reiterated UNICEF’s commitment to continue supporting initiatives aimed at guaranteeing children’s rights. Participative Validation of the CFM Accreditation Strategy The presentation of the proposal of the New Accreditation Strategy by consultant Elsie Doñé Molina was followed by a round of questions and queries from participants in the event, which generated valuable contributions that served as input for the review and validation of the proposal. More workshops are planned with the participation of local bodies and members of Youth and Children’s Municipalities, to continue working on a Municipal Accreditation Strategy whose basic aim will be to ensure the implementation of public policies that ensure the rights of children and adolescents. By: Moira Tamés
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