Speech by Ambassador Traian Hristea at the practical workshop "Development and sustainability of the social services for children in contact with the law"

Right honourable Members of the Parliament,

Your Excellencies,

Dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,

I am pleased to welcome you today at the practical workshop dedicated to development and sustainability of the social services for children in contact with the law based on the principles of the protection of children’s rights, that has been the core of the joint EU-UNICEF programme “System for Justice for Children and Child rights improved.”

Let me briefly recall that our three years Joint Programme with budget of EUR 2 million of EU funding and EUR 0.4 million from UNICEF started nearly 4 years ago, at a time when the Kazakh Government committed itself to a complex and large scale reform of the criminal justice system.

The Council of Europe has created various standards and guidelines in the field of child-friendly justice. These standards aim at creating a justice system which guarantees respect for and the effective implementation of all children’s rights.

Child-friendly justice is justice that is: accessible; age appropriate; speedy; diligent; adapted to and focused on the needs of the child; respecting the right to due process; respecting the right to participate in and to understand the proceedings; respecting the right to private and family life; respecting the right to integrity and dignity.

The European Union maintains 10 Principles for integrated child protection systems, including principle of support to families in their role as primary caregiver through prevention measures; principle no child is discriminated against and every child is recognised, respected and protected as a right holder with non-negotiable rights to protection; principle of societies supportive of child's right to freedom from all forms of violence; principle of well-publicised, confidential and accessible reporting mechanisms and aspects of a child protection system.

When crafting the joint works we’ve tried to select the best European practices of providing social services for children in conflict and in contact with the law and adapt them into local realities. That’s where commitment of the government of Kazakhstan led to introduction of Probation services, to the opening of rehabilitation centres, to provision of social services for children in conflict and in contact with the law. The models implemented in three regions of Kazakhstan are the good examples of effective joint works of the of juvenile court, juvenile police and social services aiming at rehabilitation of children. Social and economical benefits of these models cannot be underestimated. The cost of the provision of social services are 10 times less than placing children in closed institutions. (this information is based on the latest calculations of the budget of closed institutions against centres functioning in the regions within the joint programme). These models – divergence, alternatives to imprisonment, rehabilitation –help create safer society in the long term.

I am here today to support the scaling up and replication of the piloted models within the joint programme, not only because they have demonstrated social and economic benefits, but also because they strive to act for the best interests of children. Let’s face it, children are children and when they are in difficult situations all they need is proper guidance and support, especially when they are in justice system. 

Children can be involved in judicial proceedings in various settings, either directly as a defendant, victim or witness, or indirectly when judicial decisions may have a considerable impact on their lives such as in divorce or custody proceedings. When faced with the justice system, children are thrown into an intimidating adult world which they cannot understand. Adapting justice to their needs is therefore necessary.

And due to the good relations of the joint programme with state authorities playing key role in the justice for children system in Kazakhstan, such as line ministries, the Parliament, Child rights and human rights ombudsmen offices, local Akimats,  Academia and the civil society it was possible to achieve set results of the programme.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to thank the national partners of the Joint Programme and the Experts for your commitment and for making this programme a success.

Thank you for your attention.