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Electronic Newsletter of The Children's Human Rights Centre of Albania - CRCA. Edition 109 - 21/09/2001

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Working together, all of us can bring a prosperous world to the children!

"HELP THE CHILDREN"

Electronic Newsletter of The Children's Human Rights Centre of Albania - CRCA

This Electronic Newsletter is prepared by the Information and Research Centre for Children's Rights in Albania - IRCCRA.

More than 400 Albanian, Kosovan and Foreign NGOs, international organisations and agencies, state bodies, donors, individuals, and other partners of CRCA receive this Electronic Newsletter. If you would like to publish your news, reports, announcements, invitations, or other documents concerning children's rights or issues, please contact with IRCCRA.

If you wish to subscribe or unsubscribe from the mailing list please e-mail to: albchild_irccra@msn.com

============================================== =============================== The Children's Human Rights Centre of Albania - CRCA is:

- Associate Member DEFENCE FOR CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL - DCI - Founding Member SOUTH EAST EUROPEAN CHILD RIGHTS ACTION NETWORK -SEECRAN - Funding Member EASTERN & CENTRAL EUROPEAN & BALTIC NETWORK OF NGOs ON MONITORING CHILDREN'S RIGHTS - Founding Member ALBANIAN CHILDREN'S RIGHTS NETWORK - ACRN ============================================== =============================== Edition 109 # 21/09/2001 # First edition - 19/05/1999 ============================================== ===============================

IN THIS ISSUE:

============================================== =============================== - PRESS RELEASE - FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF SEECRAN

- SECOND MEETING OF EASTERN & CENTRAL EUROPEAN & BALTIC NETWORK OF NGOs ON MONITORING CHILDREN'S RIGHTS

- DECLARATION AGAINST RACISM AND CHILD LABOUR

- Overview of the Electronic Newsletter ============================================== ===============================

PRESS RELEASE - FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF SEECRAN

PRESS RELEASE 18/09/2001

The South East European Child Rights Action Network (SEECRAN) holds first General Assembly in Sofia, Bulgaria

From 8-10 September 2001 the South East European Child Rights Action Network (SEECRAN) held its first ever General Assembly in Sofia (Bulgaria).

This Assembly was attended by more than 25 representatives from over 20 child-oriented organisations from Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia. At the Assembly, three priorities were identified for joint regional networking intitiatives: Children from minority groups, Children without parental care and Juvenile justice.

SEECRAN is a network of non-governmental organisations, agencies, institutions and individuals promoting the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in the South-East European region. It is currently funded by Save the Children Norway and Save the Children UK.

The main objectives of SEECRAN include: -Understanding and acceptance of the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child among children and adults in the South-East European region -Partnership, co-operation and joint strategies on national and regional (bilateral and multilateral) level as a practical model of strengthening the civil society - Improving the situation of children in the region through improvements in child policies and practices

SEECRAN is a direct result of the Balkan Child Rights Initiative (BCRI) project and active participation of NGOs from the South- East European region. SEECRAN is also an important meeting point and regional child rights stronghold in the South-East European region. The central focal point of the network is situated in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

The General Assembly is a unique opportunity for the member organisations to have direct contacts, to know each other and each other's projects better and to discover new areas and possibilities for networking. The main objective of this meeting was therefore to strengthen the existing cross-border co- operation and to share information on participant's successful projects and best practices that will form the basis of future regional initiatives.

At the conclusion of the debates and workshops, three main priorities were identified for joint regional networking initiatives. Being a creative network of children's rights based NGOs SEECRAN will engage in finding solutions and develop initiatives in these 3 spheres: 1.Children from minority groups 2.Children without parental care 3.Juvenile justice

The first programme on Children from minority groups aims to integrate minorities into the societies of the Balkan countries. The key objectives of this programme will therefore be to: improve the education level of minority children; increase the awareness about the importance of education; improve the image of Roma minority in the media and increase the active participation of the Roma community.

The second programme on Children withouth Parental Care will deal with regional assessment of good practices, exchange of information, providing alternatives, finding legal gaps and promoting community-based services.

Finally, the third programme on Juvenile Justice will mainly focus on the topics of child abuse and child trafficking, which are a growing problem throughout the region. These issues will be tackled through reform of the legislation, improvement of the procedures and direct help to young offenders.

Underlying all 3 programmes, the importance of local NGO development was also once again stressed.

The new SEECRAN Governing Board which was elected at the Assembly consists of Ivanka Ganozova (European Children's Trust, Bulgaria), Aurela Pano (Children's Human Rights Centre of Albania), Adina Ploaie (Save the Children Romania) and Nevena Serafimova (Save the Children Macedonia). Antonia Haga (Partners Hungary) was elected president of the Governing Board. Also the first steps were taken to install the SEECRAN Steering Committee, which consists of the coordinators of the network at a national level.

The General Assembly of SEECRAN was followed by a two-day training on the Separated Children in Europe programme. This programme was established in 1997 as a response to the situation of separated children in European countries. It seeks to improve the situation of separated children through research, policy analysis and advocacy at the national and regional levels. It is a joint initiative of UNHCR and Save the Children and is based on the complementary mandates and areas of expertise of the two organisations

The training focused mainly on introducing the Separated Children in Europe programme and the Separated Children Statement of Good Practice. The participants could also share their national experience with regard to Separated Children.

For more information, please contact:

Kris Vanhemelryck SEECRAN Information Officer Tel.: +386 1 438 52 50 E-mail: kris@seecran.org

SECOND MEETING OF EASTERN & CENTRAL EUROPEAN & BALTIC NETWORK OF NGOs ON MONITORING CHILDREN'S RIGHTS

The second meeting of the "Eastern and Central European and Baltic Network of NGOs on Monitoring Children's Rights" will take place in Mangalia, Romania on 23rd- 26th of September 2001.

The main objective of this meeting is to evaluate the activity of the network since November 2000. Also, the meeting will adopt a strategy for the next year and time schedule for the regional research on child participation. The conference will bring together NGOs in the field of child protection in Eastern and Central Europe and Baltic Countries.

For more information please contact:

Adina Ploaie Salvati Copiii E-mail: office@infodoc.eunet website http://www.mcrnet.ro

DECLARATION AGAINST RACISM AND CHILD LABOUR

4 September 2001

Every day children are born into a world where racism and discrimination limit their future choices. Children from minority and indigenous groups and from lower castes are denied the right to an adequate quality education and a happy childhood, solely due to their race, ethnicity, colour, caste, or social origin. Instead many have to work under atrocious conditions as bonded labourers, child servants and child prostitutes. These unfortunate children are caught behind invisible walls of ignorance, discrimination and hatred.

Racial discrimination and child labour perpetuate each other. The children of minority and indigenous communities are born into a vicious cycle of poverty in which they are forced to work since their parents cannot afford their education and depend on their extra income. Denied their right to education, these children are bound to stay illiterate and vulnerable unless we take action to break the cycle of poverty and provide them with an empowering education. These children, and in turn their own children, will all be victims of discrimination unless we face this challenge now.

The Global March Against Child Labour represents over 2,000 partners in 140 countries. We strongly feel that quality education for all children without discrimination is an essential way to eliminate racism and other forms of discrimination. Moreover, special emphasis should be given to the situation of minority children within the broader efforts to end child labour.

Therefore, the Global March Against Child Labour calls for:

· The world community to recognise that child labour and denial of education are vital links in the chain that perpetuates racism and discrimination

· Civil society to eradicate the belief among majority social, ethnic and racial groups that minority children are born to work

· ILO, UNICEF, UNHCHR and other UN Agencies to make the elimination of child labour of minority children one of their top priorities for action

· National commissions against racism and other forms of discrimination to address child labour among minority children as one of their key issues

· National programmes for the elimination of child labour to pay particular attention to protecting minority children from child labour and providing them with quality education

· Organisations fighting against racism and other forms of discrimination to make special efforts to prevent child labour and the denial of education to children of minority groups

· Governments and communities to make all possible efforts to ensure that the children of minority groups fully enjoy their right to quality education, including:

* addressing inequalities in funding, training, and support for schools in areas dominated by minority groups * addressing the issue of high drop-out rates among students from minorities * ending the use of corporal punishment in school, noting that it has been selectively used to suppress children of minority groups * ensuring the full enforcement of compulsory education laws, noting that the non-compliance with these laws leaves minority children outside the education system * providing anti-racism training for teachers to ensure that no child is discriminated against at school * teaching all students to understand and respect racial, social, ethnic and religious differences * providing scholarships and financial assistance as needed to support the education of children from minority groups

· Governments to enact and enforce strict penalties to deter employers from using children of minority groups as a source of cheap labour

· Governments to take effective action to remove racism and bias among labour inspectors, and to appoint and empower representatives of minority groups as child protection officers to prevent the exploitation of minority children

· Governments and civil society to eradicate the practice of using children from minority groups as domestic servants, noting that it perpetuates a belief of superiority among children and adults of the majority group and feelings of subservience among children of the minority group

· Governments and civil society to inform all children of minority groups of their rights as children and human beings, and to establish effective mechanisms for them to defend those rights

· Governments to uphold their promise to provide rehabilitation, education and financial assistance as needed for children from minority groups removed from the worst forms of child labour

· ILO and UNHCHR to research and publish a report on the exploitation of children of minority groups as child labourers

· National census surveys and other research efforts to report on the exploitation of minority children as child labourers

· Media to investigate the economic exploitation of minority children and bring this issue to the attention of the public

· IMF and World Bank to be held accountable for their policies and actions that perpetuate child labour and lead to the exploitation of minority children

· Governments to give priority to promoting employment opportunities and the economic development of families of minority groups

· Governments to report annually on the per capita amount spent on education and social services for minority children, and to ensure that this is no less than the amount spent on children of the majority groups

· All governments and people to pledge that children from minority groups will enjoy their full rights as the children of one united human race °´°*ø,¸¸,ø*°´°*ø,¸¸,ø*°´°*ø,¸¸,ø*°´°*ø,¸¸,ø*°´°*ø,¸¸,ø*°´° *ø°´°*ø,¸¸,ø*°´°*ø ,¸¸,ø*°´°*ø,¸¸,ø*°´°*ø,¸¸,ø*°´°*ø,¸¸,ø*°´°*ø°´°*ø Overview of Electronic Newsletter °´°*ø,¸¸,ø*°´°*ø,¸¸,ø*°´°*ø,¸¸,ø*°´°*ø,¸¸,ø*°´°*ø,¸¸,ø*°´° *ø°´°*ø,¸¸,ø*°´°*ø ,¸¸,ø*°´°*ø,¸¸,ø*°´°*ø,¸¸,ø*°´°*ø,¸¸,ø*°´°*ø°´°*ø

This Electronic Newsletter is prepared by the Information and Research Centre for Children's Rights in Albania (IRCCRA), a unit managed by CRCA.

The opinions expressed in this electronic publication do not necessarily represent the policies or opinions of the Children's Human Rights Centre of Albania - CRCA or those of IRCCRA.

All readers are permitted and encouraged to copy and distribute all or any part of this electronic publication, provided that proper attribution is given to the Information & Research Centre for Children's Rights in Albania

- IRCCRA. No part of this electronic publication may be sold in any form.

Information & Research Centre for Children's Rights in Albania - IRCCRA Address: Kutia Postare 1738, Tirana / Albania Phone: ++ 355 4 26 30 10 E-mail: albchild_irccra@msn.com http://www.crca.tsx.org °´°*ø,¸¸,ø*°´°*ø,¸¸,ø*°´°*ø,¸¸,ø*°´°*ø,¸¸,ø*°´°*ø,¸¸,ø*°´° *ø°´°*ø,¸¸,ø*°´°*ø ,¸¸,ø*°´°*ø,¸¸,ø*°´°*ø,¸¸,ø*°´°*ø,¸¸,ø*°´°*ø°´°*ø

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Organisation Contact Details:

Children's Human Rights Centre of Albania / Defence for Children International - Albania
P. O. Box 1738, Tirana

Tel: + 355 4 242264
Email: crca@crca.org.al
Website: www.crca.org.al

Last updated 25/09/2001 07:47:05

Please note that these reports are hosted by CRIN as a resource for Child Rights campaigners, researchers and other interested parties. Unless otherwise stated, they are not the work of CRIN and their inclusion in our database does not necessarily signify endorsement or agreement with their content by CRIN.

Electronic Newsletter of The Children's Human Rights Centre of Albania - CRCA. Edition 109 - 21/09/2001

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