Institutional care should only be used as a last resort, says the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child report in Serbia

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On 3 February 2017, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child published its verdict on the state of children’s rights in the Republic of Serbia. In the concluding observations regarding implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by the Government of the Republic of Serbia, the Committee commented on the progress achieved since the last reporting period, but also noted that some recommendations from 2008 have not been fully implemented.
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Bureaucracy should never get in the way of realising children’s rights

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At the beginning of November 2016, the new amendments in the Regulation for Implementation of Social Assistance Act were enacted. According to them, the name and the profile of the existing Family Type Placement Centers for children and youth with disabilities were changed. Following these amendments that differentiate the existing family-type placement centres for children and young people with disabilities to such being only for children and separately for adolescents, the Agency for Social Assistance has issued a letter to all Child Protection Departments in Bulgaria asking to prepare children and young people with disabilities for move due to the change of the service profiles by April 2017.  If acted upon, this normative change will require moving children from alternative care placements  in a way that runs counter to their best interests.

The Opening Doors campaign works to build the capacity of civil society organisations and ensure their involvement in legislative, policy and public spending decisions.  Civil society are closest to the children and young people involved and have a better understanding of how policies impact children directly.  They can also ensure that children and young people themselves are involved in decisions taken about their lives.
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