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UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund |
The first All-Russia Conference of non-governmental organizations acting in the interests of children, "A Civil Society – for the Children of Russia", was held in Moscow in March 2001.
The Conference was initiated by the Russian public organizations
and UNICEF on the eve of a Special Session of the UN 
General
Assembly. The Special Session is to be held in September 2001, eleven years
after the World Summit for Children. The Special Session will be devoted to
summing up the results of the past decade from the perspective of protecting
children’s interests and formating Global agenda for the next International
Decade for the Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the World.
1060 representatives of more than 500 non-governmental organizations from 80 regions of Russia participated in the Conference. Within the framework of the meeting, they exchanged their experiences at an interregional seminar and plenary session. Valentina Matvienko, Vice-Premier of the Government of the Russian Federation responsible for social policy, Ella Pamfilova, Chairperson of the Conference Organizing Committee, leader of the Movement "For Civil Dignity", Rosemary McCreery, UNICEF Representative in the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Belarus, and officials of the Ministries of Labour and Social Development, Education, and Health took part in the Conference.
The
participants discussed such themes as "1990-2000: Decade of the Convention on
the Rights of the Child", "Children of Russia in 21th Century: the Current Priorities",
"Society on Protection of the Rights of Children: Openness, Participation and
Succession". Other themes under review were "Health and Development in Early
Childhood", 
"Qualitative
Education for All Children", "Development Potential of Teenagers and Youth",
"Children and Teenagers in Need of Special Protection".
The Conference concluded its work by adopting a program document. The document is aimed at consolidating the activities of Russian public organizations and establishing sustainable and effective cooperation between NGOs and state committees for the benefit of Russia’s children.
Within the framework of the Global Movement for Children initiated by UNICEF on the threshold of the new millennium, the international campaign "Say Yes" was launched at the Conference. The objective of the campaign is to draw the attention of political leaders, the general public, and civil society to the essential problems of children and to ensure children an opportunity to grow in health, peace and decent conditions.
Valentina Matvienko, Vice-Premier of the Government of the Russian Federation, was the first in the country to sign the ballot "Say Yes".
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Say "Yes" |
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I,______________________________________________________________, (First Name, Middle Initial, Last Name) consider that all children should have an opportunity to grow up healthy, in conditions of peace and respect for their dignity. For this purpose we must: 1. Not disregard any child 2. Think first of all about children ‘s good 3. Care for each child 4. Fight HIV/AIDS 5. Stop causing children harm and exploiting them 6. Listen to the opinion of children 7. Give an education to each child 8. Protect children from war 9. Preserve the Earth for children 10. Fight poverty: invest in the development of children
I live in _________________________________________________ For us the following three problems are the most essential (color in only three circles): :
_________________________________ ABOUT MYSELF Age: younger 11 years 12–17 18–24 25 years and more Gender: Man Female |
Please send your answers to the following address:
Anna Chernyakhovskaya, UNICEF Office in the Russian Federation,
4/17, building 1, Of. 20, Pokrovsky Blvd, Moscow, Russia, 101000
or by fax 7 095 933 8819
or by e-mail at web site: 195.68.179.50
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More than 200 people participated in the first scientific practical conference "Conceptual Approaches to Protecting the Rights of the Child at the Regional Level" in Volgograd. What were the reasons for this representative forum?
When a child feels cold and hungry at home, and his/her parents are alcoholics, when the tutors at the shelter humiliate him/her, or he/she loses his/her birth certificate, or he/she has no place to sleep – where can the child go? There are many official ministries and committies responsible for these and similar problems, but in real life everything is much more complicated. Moreover, children who find themselves in difficult situations are often lost, frightened, and desperate. The child can not knock at the door of every department, and not every official is eager to help him…
An idea about special people, acting in the interests of children,
independent commissioners for the rights of the child, was 
formulated
and expressed for the first time at a high level in Norway. Today, there is
a number of ombudsmen working in practically every European country. In Russia,
commissioners for the rights of the child work in St.Petersburg, Novgorod, Kaluga,
Volgograd, Ekaterinburg, Arzamas, and Ivanovo, thus implementing the UNICEF
joint project in coordination with the Ministry of Labour and Social Development
of the Russian Federation.
Up to 1000 people come to each of these ombudsmen with their troubles and problems every year. Unfortunately, these troubles are very common…
Ombudsmen for the rights of the child, as well as representatives of state agencies and non-governmental organizations, gathered in the city on the Volga to discuss their urgent problems and the most effective ways to solve them. The two-day Conference was held with the support of the Ministry of Labour and Social Development of the Russian Federation, the Administration of the Volgograd region, the Volgograd State Pedagogical University, and UNICEF.
