22 December: The possibility of joining the UNICEF Global Intiative “Child-Friendly Cities” is being discussed in the city of SalekhardThe City of Salekhard hosted a joint session attended by UNICEF officials and representatives of the Public Council and the Public Expert Council operating under the Child Rights Ombudsperson in the Yamal-Nenetsk Autonomous District. The session focused on the regional implementation of the UNICEF Global Initiative “Child-Friendly Cities”. The initiative envisages the possibility for each participating city to identify its own priorities, taking into account its specific character and needs, in order to make life for urban children more comfortable and secure. However, all the participating cities are expected to devise mid- and long-term programmes to ensure effective implementation of children’s rights with clear-cut goals, criteria and indicators, adequate financing, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms as well as relevant advocacy activities. All the activities in the city that has joined the UNICEF Global Initiative should involve children as active participants. All the actions for children undertaken by local municipalities to attend to the issue of children’s rights should engage NGOs, civil society and the public at large. The participants of the session in Salekhard pointed out that the goal to build a child-friendly city could not be achieved exclusively through the efforts of the local authorities. Partnerships must be established and promoted with children, their parents and all those whose decisions affect children. Summarizing the results of the discussions, the participants agreed to propose that the leaders of children’s and youth organizations in the Yamal-Nenetsk Autonomous District should get involved in the activities promoting the CRC provisions and the UNICEF Global Initiative in the region. Besides, Olga Besedina, the Child Rights Ombudsperson in the Yamal-Nenetsk Autonomous District, should review and summarize the relevant international and regional experience and draft proposals on the prospects for the implementation of the initiative in the region to be forwarded for consideration to the legislative and executive authorities of the Yamal-Nenetsk Autonomous District.
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