Children First: Towards Good Governance, Justice and Protection for Children in Turkey

What is Children First?

Children First is the realisation of children’s rights in Turkey and the fulfilment of our responsibilities towards them.

In order to achieve this, the Government will work together with the European Union (EU), UNICEF and various NGOs.

What will Children First achieve?

Through Children First, Turkey is committed to ensuring that the protective rights of all boys and girls are fully met.

Children First will reinforce institutional responses to the increasing incidence of child abuse, neglect and deprivation of parental care with systematic research, monitoring and data collection, preventive measures and more policies and legislation in favour of child protection by:

• increasing the capacity of professionals working in child justice and protection to promote and protect children’s rights;
• establishing alternative mechanisms of dispute resolution for children in contact with the law;
• giving children who are outside of the education system a second chance to catch up;
• promoting gender equality at all levels of society;
• reducing the worst forms of child labour;
• establishing preventive mechanisms, including family mediation and alternative models of care and protection;
• promoting caring, family environments rather than institutional placements for children who are not living with their parents or caregivers;
• establishing minimum standards of care and protection for children who are living in institutions and in foster care;
• increasing the life–skills capacity of adolescents so that they enjoy their rights and are aware of how to protect themselves.

The success of Children First will contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), especially the goal of section VI of the Millennium Declaration (MD) on protecting the vulnerable, and also support implementation of reforms in the area of children’s rights that will bring Turkey closer to full compliance with the standards of the CRC and the EU.

For more information and resources related to the project, see the list of links under Children First Resources.

This project is implemented by the Government of Turkey with financial support from the European Union and technical support from UNICEF.

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