Children’s Rights Monitoring Platform launched on Children’s Day

Prishtina, 1^st of June 2024 – In celebration of Children's Day, the Office of Good Governance, chaired the meeting of the Inter-ministerial Committee for Children's Rights. This committee coordinate and communicate policies, programmes, and processes related to children's rights, ensuring equal opportunities for active participation in society.

Attending the meeting were children, who had the opportunity to share their key requests for the realization of their rights with the deputy ministers of the line ministries, representatives from UNICEF Kosovo, Acting Head, Mr. Benjamin Fisher, KOMF Director, Ms. Donjeta Kelmendi, and various child protection organizations.

The Children’s Day was an occasion to celebrate the significant progress that has been made in enhancing municipal mechanisms for children's rights. Thirty-four municipalities have established Children’s Rights Teams led by municipal mayors, a collaborative effort initiated by the Office for Good Governance within the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Local Government Administration. Additionally, with the support of UNICEF, in eight municipalities the Children’s Rights Team Action Plans have been developed and endorsed by the Municipal Assemblies. These plans provide strategic guidance, interventions, and resources for quality, inclusive municipal services that support child protection and development.

Another important milestone for this year was the launch of the Children's Rights Monitoring Platform. The platform is part of the government efforts to strengthen child rights monitoring system in tracking progress made for children and providing a holistic picture of the situation of children and youth in Kosovo. To this end, the platform provides data on key indicators for children's rights in Kosovo and  descriptions of institutional engagement to improve children's lives.

Much has been achieved with regards to realization of children’s rights in Kosovo, but it is critical that the government sustains its attention and commitments made to the most vulnerable and excluded children, especially children with disabilities. On the Children’s day, UNICEF called on the Government to finalize and approve the draft Law on Evaluation, Status Recognition, Benefits, and Services for Persons with Disabilities. This law has UNICEF’s full support, the support of all UN agencies, and the support of the majority of civil society organizations working with people with disabilities.

On the international children’s day, it is also important to emphasize the need to address the planetary crisis caused by climate change, environmental pollution, and biodiversity loss as children are the most vulnerable and deserve to be supported by a global movement focused on preventing further global warming and mitigating its worst effects.