Children First, Spring 2006: Putting Children First

Impoverishment, exploitative labour, sexual abuse, harassment and exploitation are unfortunately typical gross child rights violations that millions of children face every day around the world. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was devised to protect children from such violations by ensuring that every action societies and families take on behalf of children is first and foremost in their best interests.

Commitment to the CRC obliges signatory states to ensure that policy, legislation and services for children reflect the principles of the Convention and contribute to the creation of a protective environment that will ensure the healthy growth and development of every child. As the official title Towards Good Governance, Protection and Justice for Children in Turkey demonstrates, Children First aims to help Turkey build a protective environment for her children. The seed of Children First was planted in Turkey when the Government commenced harmonisation with international standards through the Building upon progress made in the Upgrading the Juvenile Justice System project, Children First will focus on prevention by working to reintegrate children with their families with the support of the European Commission.

The Upgrading the Juvenile Justice System project contributed to changes for children that were reflected in a new child protection law in 2005 — an important year for legislation on children in contact with the law in Turkey. The new code, along with amendments to the penal law, raised the minimum age of criminal responsibility from eleven years to twelve and significantly accelerated the judicial process for juveniles.

Other important developments under the new legislation include:

• specialised treatment for children in contact with the law;
• numbers of courts specialised in handling cases involving children have been increased;
• the introduction of an alternative sanction allowing probation for children in place of detention;
• increased presence of social workers during the judicial process.

The project also increased the capacities of all ministries and agencies concerned with the judicial process to protect children from abuse, exploitation, neglect and violence. The project involved the Ministry of Justice, the Social Services and Child Protection Agency (SHÇEK), the Ministry of Interior, the Bar Association and the Youth Re–autonomy Foundation.

Activities under the mantle of the project enhanced the capacities of members of the Children’s Rights Commissions in fifty–two Provincial Bar Associations, roughly four hundred personnel in Ministry of Justice institutions, two hundred and fifty specialists in forensic medicine, forty probation officers and increased the awareness of parliamentarians on issues related to juvenile justice.

More legal assistance was provided to child victims of abuse and violence and also to children in contact with the law. Children’s Rights Commissions in fifty–two of the Provincial Bar Associations now provide legal aid to children who are victims of crime and who are otherwise in contact with the law. In general, the outreach capacity of the Children’s Rights Commissions was increased by 90 per cent. Regarding incidence of children in contact with the law since 2002:

• 67 per cent fewer children have been deprived of their liberty;
• 80 per cent fewer children are serving sentences in reformatories

Public awareness of the right of disadvantaged children to be protected from violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation — one of the cornerstones of Children First — has become more widespread and the media have begun to treat the issue with more sensitivity.

Work with the Children’s Rights Commissions surpassed the expected results. Apart from supplying legal services to disadvantaged children, the Commissions have adopted a much stronger role in monitoring respect for children’s rights and they are currently in the process of establishing independent monitoring units across Turkey that will be composed of inter–sectoral groups of child protection experts.

The current climate of political stability, economic growth and social and institutional change has created an unprecedented opportunity to fulfil the promise of projects such as Upgrading the Juvenile Justice System in Turkey and the Say Yes for Children campaign. Their success led to the Secretariat General for EU Affairs (SGEU), the European Commission Delegation (ECD) and the Government of Turkey initiating the Towards Good Governance, Justice and Protection for Children in Turkey project or Children First which the Government will implement with technical support from UNICEF. Throughout the development of the project, both the Secretariat and the ECD provided full support, guidance and commitment to the promotion and protection of children’s rights.

It is hoped that through Children First, Turkey will see a continuation of the work to improve juvenile justice and a change in child care and protection that should set the country firmly on the way to protecting and promoting the rights of boys and girls and bring the country closer to the standards of the CRC and the EU.

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Download the Children First Bulletin, Spring 2006 edition, in pdf format. [PDF 1.24MB]

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