The Commission’s line-up includes human rights commissioners and representatives of specialised agencies from Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Russia. Their main objective is to exchange practices in the sphere of protecting children’s rights and developing interstate cooperation mechanisms.
Deputy Secretary General of the CIS Executive Committee Nurlan Seigimov noted that an effective system of interstate collaboration in the field of child protection has evolved over the years of the Commonwealth’s work. The establishment of the Commission of Children’s Rights Commissioners from the CIS Member States became a practical step towards strengthening humanitarian cooperation.
Russia’s Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova pointed out that the Commission has become an effective tool for coordinating assistance for children and families in the CIS countries. Commissioners for children’s rights share various methods, projects and practices for supporting families.
The report by Russia’s Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights focused on children’s leisure, wellness and health improvement. Maria Lvova-Belova also shared the experience of implementing the Day After Tomorrow and Strength of Russia projects, and expressed her readiness to provide time-tested methods for introducing similar programmes in the CIS countries.
The meeting participants discussed a wide range of issues, including measures to address child begging and vagrancy, to accommodate orphans within families, to support juvenile delinquents in conflict with the law, as well as issues of inclusive education and psychological support.
They also discussed the establishment of the Children’s Council, affiliated with the Commission of Children’s Rights Commissioners from the CIS Member States. Russian representative Alexandra Chernova was appointed its Secretary.
The establishment of the Council aims to involve children more actively in decision-making related to their rights and interests.