Montenegro’s child protection system reform, supported by UNICEF and EU, one of 6 good practices
Thanks to the joint efforts of UNICEF, EU Delegation to Montenegro, Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, other national and local authorities, the number of children placed in institutions in Montenegro decreased by 50 per cent
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PODGORICA, December 8, 2020 – Montenegro’s child protection system reform, supported by UNICEF and the European Union over the last decade, has been identified as one of 6 good practice models globally in the report by UNICEF and the Universal Rights Group to be launched at 3 pm today by Michelle Bachelet, High Commissioner for Human Rights; Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger, President of the Human Rights Council; Walter Stevens, Head of the EU Delegation to the UN; Luis Pedernera Reyna, Chair of the CRC Committee and Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director.
Montenegro`s delegate Veljko Milonjić, Ambassador for Multilateral Affairs within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will present today how UN treaty bodies together with partners in Montenegro have supported the country`s social and child protection system reform. His focus will be on the results achieved in the process of finding alternative solutions to placing children without parental care in institutions, such as fostering and adoption, and promoting equal rights and opportunities for children with disabilities.
The challenge before us is, first of all, the strengthening of biological families, providing even greater support to mothers and children and creating the conditions for their greater social and financial independence. We will continue with the further strengthening of foster care within the extended family and the development of professional-standard foster care, with special emphasis on children aged 0–3 years. Montenegro will work on providing all the necessary preconditions for full implementation of the new legislative and strategic framework, and continue with the strengthening of cooperation between all relevant sectors in order to prevent the placement of children in institutions.
The Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, added that they also planed to further promote the different types of foster care for children in need of special support, as well as to additionally improve the position of foster parents.
The global report Realizing rights, changing lives: The impact of the United Nations human rights system on the enjoyment of children’s rights shows that the UN human rights mechanisms, with the support of UNICEF and partners like the EU, have had and continue to have a clear and measurable impact on the realization of child rights.
The Report reminds us that in Montenegro, in 2010, 367 children were in institutional care, out of a population of just 620,000 people. This was one of the highest per capita rates of child institutionalization in Europe. According to the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child, every child should grow up in a safe family environment. For children who cannot be raised by their own families, an appropriate alternative family environment should be sought in preference to institutional care, which should be used only as a measure of last resort and as a temporary measure. Thanks to the joint efforts of UNICEF, EU Delegation to Montenegro, Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, other national and local authorities, Parliament, civil society, media, academia and international community, between 2010 and 2019, the number of children placed in institutions in Montenegro decreased by 50 per cent, while in 2017 the country achieved the important milestone of having no child under three years in institutional care.
Montenegro has made significant progress in decreasing the number of children growing up in institutions – yet important gaps remain. We need to redouble our efforts to ensure that every child can realize its right to grow up in a loving and safe family environment. We look forward to working with the new Government on closing these gaps.
The respect of the international human rights standards set up by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is at the heart of the EU Accession process. Therefore, further progress in child protection systems reform is necessary for Montenegro to become an EU member state.
Together with our partners from the UN agencies and the Montenegrin Government, the EU supported child protection system reform in Montenegro, and I’m happy to see that our joint initiative received international recognition, but more importantly, that it showed tangible results. Every child needs a family environment - love, protection, support and encouragement to achieve their full potential. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that all children grow up in such an environment and fully enjoy their rights. Despite advances in this area, Montenegro has still to make progress to ensure that kids and youth without parental care may enjoy the same rights, protection and possibilities in a loving and caring environment, as kids with parent(s) do. The EU will continue to provide continuous support to children’s rights in Montenegro.
This global report is a first-ever attempt to measure the impact of the international human rights system on children’s lives. It presents six country case studies which illustrate the positive impact that results from States’ cooperation with the UN human rights mechanisms and UNICEF offices and partners to reduce the gap between the words in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the lived reality of millions of children around the world. Apart from Montenegro, this report includes global good practice models of child protection system reforms in the UK, Uruguay, South Africa, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia. These country case studies were selected based on criteria including geographic/regional balance, coverage of different political and cultural backgrounds, levels of development, and degrees of UNICEF engagement with host States.
The global report Realizing rights, changing lives: The impact of the United Nations human rights system on the enjoyment of children’s rights is available at https://www.unicef.org/documents/realizing-rights-changing-lives-impact-united-nations-human-rights-system-enjoyment
