1. The Defender’s Office receives complaints and calls from parents who are concerned with the safety of their children, as well as interrupted classes. Such complaints were also presented by parents having more than one child at school age. Examination of complaints revealed that because of these concerns parents prefer not to take or send their children to schools on these days. Media publications are also available with regard to this issue.
2. The Human Rights Defender received calls from principals and teachers of schools as well, stating that different people visit schools demanding access to schools aimed at engaging children in political demonstrations and marches. According to calls received these persons call children to come out, use offensive language towards teaching staff and principals, as well as call children not to obey the requirements of teachers and principals to participate in classes. In one cases teacher of a secondary school informed that persons who visited the school made an attempt to take children standing in the yard with them.
This information concerns both basic and high schools.
3. These worrying complaints and calls are examined with particular attention at the Human Rights Defender’s Office. In each possible case competent representatives of complainant, relevant school and the Ministry of Education and Science are contacted. Steps are undertaken to establish the circumstances of every situation and contribute to protection of children’s interests.
4. During recent days some clashes between demonstration participants and the police, as well as the cases of isolation or apprehension aggravate parents’ concern, before whom the State bears the responsibility to ensure children’s safety in the face of principal of the educational institution and teaching staff. The presence of juveniles at police divisions specifically complicates the situation of their rights protection. The Human Rights Defender stresses the importance to record that when dealing with juveniles we should be guided by the specific rules, considering their age and psychological peculiarities in specific cases and exclude violence against them. Particular attention is given to juveniles by the Defender’s Representatives.
5. The Human Rights Defender's Office also receives calls that for ensuring the safety of children police officers keep the doors of the schools closed during the time of classes. This creates obstacles for their parents, since often they are unable to take their children from schools.
6. Calls have also been received that police officers had questioned children about persons fostering them to participate in demonstrations without the presence or participation of a pedagogue or psychologist. Any such activity by police representatives is unacceptable since it does not fall into their mandate.
7.It should be emphasized that each parent, by sending his or her child to school, legitimately expects that child’s right to education and safety will be ensured. School principle and teaching staff bear the primary responsibility before the parent for the rights and safety of child while he or she is at school. However, the Defender’s Office received calls and complaints on the obstacles for undertaking their responsibilities.
8. There is a necessity to highlight once again that the Human Rights Defender recognizes the importance of ensuing the child’s rights guaranteed by international documents, including the right of child to freedom of association and to freedom of peaceful assembly stipulated in Article 15 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The guarantying child’s right to have an opinion and participate in decision-making is a priority for the Defender and his staff.
9. At the same time, when assessing the question of the exercise of the child's right, one should be guided by child’s best interest considering the circumstances of a particular situation.
In this connection, the same international documents also stipulate the necessary preconditions for the realization of child’s rights, such as the principle of child's informed participation, the realization of the rights in accordance with his or her age and maturity, the important role and responsibility of parents or persons legally responsible for the child to provide appropriate direction and guidance in the exercise by the child of the rights, etc.
The realization of child’s rights should be directed towards the full involvement of the child in social life.
10. According to the legal standards of the UN bodies, children have a right to participate in demonstrations, including in those of political nature. However, children should not be involved in those demonstrations without parental supervision.
11. All this proves that in the current situation, the issue of ensuring the safety of children and their protection, and a normal educational process become a priority.
12. Hence, all the participants involved in this process should clearly realize that the demands on letting children to leave classes without parents’ consent, as well as without considering warnings of principals and teachers, accompanied by the attempts to enter schools aimed at engaging children in demonstrations and marches of political nature are not a realization of a children’s right to participate in peaceful demonstration. The attempts of different groups to take children for participating with them in demonstrations are particularly concerning in this situation.
13. We reiteraitate that continuous activities aimed at engaging children in demonstrations and marches by illegal means are extremely unacceptable. Those who are involved in the organization and implementation of such activities should restrain from such actions, regardless of the fact which organization or group they represent.
14. Those persons, as well as school principals and teaching staff, representatives of police and other bodies while conducting their activities should to be guided exclusively by the principle of child's best interests, in a particular case, safety of children, supervision by the parents or representatives of educational institution and rights to education.