Appeal to the Political partiesThe First Children’s Embassy in the World- Megjashi on the occasion of the forthcoming parliament elections in Republic of Macedonia and the electoral campaigns, points out the necessity to protect the children of abuse and manipulation in achieving political goals.  

The Law of Child Protection says: “The abuse of children for political or religious organizing and agency is prohibited” (art.9/2). There are numerous examples in the past years where children which political conscience hadn’t developed yet, were politically indoctrinated by some political parties’ ideologies, and thus, used as means for political goals. At the past elections the children were present at the political parties’ meetings, in the electoral headquarters, in media propaganda, or they were even disguised as advertising objects wearing T-shirts with the parties’ mottos or the politicians’ images. Also, there were fights and hostility or even hate between groups of children being sympathizers of certain political party… The parties engaged the children for distributing the parties’ propaganda material, pamphlets, posters, etc.

For those reasons, we remind that the responsibility for these events is to be taken by the political parties and the parents who often take their children with them at the political meetings where children’s safety can be imperiled. 
 
The First Children’s Embassy in the World- Megjashi reminds on the necessity of the media to refuse the emitting of the political messages if there’s a content abusing the children for political goals. In TV commercials, there can not be any content injuring the children’s best interest (art. 3 and 36 from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child) 
 
The First Children’s Embassy in the World- Megjashi encourages all political parties in the forthcoming electoral period to challenge each other with contents and activities announcing a better and safer childhood where there will be no children- victims of violence; children excluded from the compulsory primary education; children living on the streets or handicapped children having problems because of their special needs; but for the children to live in welfare and have a better future. 

The First Children’s Embassy in the World- Megjashi expects a promise from all political parties to guarantee the respect of the child’s rights envisaged by the UN Convention on the rights of the child in practice and to obstruct the violation of the child’s rights.

Dragi Zmijanac MA.Sc
Executive Director and Founder of the
The First Children’s Embassy in the World- Megjashi