Parliament Put Children's Issues on the AgendaWorking Group on Children Established November 7, 2006 - The Parliamentary Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men today official established a Working Group on Children following a call from UNICEF to sharply increase its support to social sector development and to children. During her address to the Committee, Ms. Hongwei Gao, UNICEF Country Representative, highlighted the deteriorating situation in the countries health, education and child protection sectors and the need for commitment and leadership to ensure that legal and systematic frameworks support children’s development. While the committee voted unanimously to establish the Working Group, they also added Children’s Well-being as a priority for the Commission on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men. “The issues raised by UNICEF are distressing and we need to take these issues as a priority of the Committee,” said Lilijana Popovska, Chairman of the Commission. The main role of the working group will be to ensure that: adequate public budget is allocated to support children’s development; legal and systematic frameworks support children’s development; actions and progress are monitored and assessed regularly and effectively; and government commitment and public support are mobilised and translated into effective actions. “Today’s discussion and decision to establish the Working Group for Children is a good start and an important step forward. I believe that with the commitment and leadership of the Group, together with the support of the Government and the whole society, Children will enjoy better access to quality health care, education and social protection,” said Ms. Gao
|
