To the Mass MediaSubject: Request for parental right’s deprivation and criminal prosecution for sexual abuse of a child ( 14 years old) by a parent M.A. ( 32) from Dolno Gjugjanci,St.Nikola  

On the occasion of the last cases of commercial sexual abuse of a child, THE FIRST CHILDREN’S EMBASSY IN THE WORLD-MEGJASHI asks for parental right’s deprivation and criminal prosecution for sexual abuse of a child, child trafficking and child’s pimping.

We remind again the state institutions that Republic of Macedonia ratified the Convention on the rights of the child (1993) and the Convention against the worst forms of child labour (2001) regarding the cases of sexual abuse which have lately turned into frequent example of child’s rights violation, and abuse of their physical, mental and moral integrity. 

We point out that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention which refers to the prohibition of the worst forms of child labour, they both oblige Macedonia to protect the children form all kind of violence, abuse and neglect of their parents or guardian/s.

According to article 1 of the Convention against the worst forms of child labour, Republic of Macedonia is obliged to undertake urgent measures in order to prohibit and eliminate the worst forms of child labour.

The article 3 of this Convention explains that the worst forms of child labour are exactly the slavery, child trafficking, forced work, child prostitution, offering child for illegal activity, drugs production and distribution; or any work which is dangerous by nature for child’s health, safety and moral.  This article explains that in all activities which concern the child, his best interests are of priority meaning, no matter if the state or private institutions for social care, the courts or the administrative bodies are involved. 

The state should protect the children from all kinds of sexual abuse, physical and emotional abuse and neglect, from all forms of exploitation; to undertake measures for psychological and physical treatment of healing and social reintegration of the child victim (article 19, 34, 36, 39 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child).

We request:

-         That the deprivation of the parental right is necessary in these cases. The children need not only biological parents, but responsible parents who will perform correctly their parental duty and enable good grounds for development to their children.

-         The state institutions to undertake more severe measures regarding the child abuse and the schools, the social services centres, the health institutions as well as the citizens and the parents to be more active in the domain of their responsibilities and to report the cases of child abuse immediately and to encourage their children to report all kind of sexual or other assault.

-          For the social services to take more active roll in the prevention and supervision of the dysfunctional families. The state should invest in razing new capacities for the social services in order to be more effective in the children’s protection activities. The social services should be more mobile, more effective and continuously to observe the situation in order to detect possible abuse in the risk families. They could give a major contribution in the prevention of children’s abuse because they are in direct contact (or they should be) with the families in crisis. They should play significant roll in detection, prevention, reintegration and rehabilitation of the children in order to help them to outrun the consequences.

-         The parents to undertake special responsibility and attention to their child’s education and care, in order to provide them a safety childhood and to protect them from all kinds of abuse. The responsible parenthood is the best preventive from child abuse.

The First Children’s Embassy in the World-Megjashi is open for cooperation with the citizens, the state institutions, the schools, the Head Prosecutor, the Ombudsman, the Social Services Centres, the Police and the civil society sector in the goal of providing mutual and continuous action of child prevention and child protection from all kind of abuse. In that direction, our SOS phone line for children and young people and the Free Legal Service function actively in order to offer psychosocial and legal support to the children and the young people.