PRESS
RELEASE
Children’s rights
among the most jeopardized human rights
The observance of the 10th
December as the International Human Rights Day provides the
Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in BiH with a suitable
opportunity to draw the attention of the authorities and
public in Bosnia and Herzegovina to the widespread violations
of children’s rights.
Bosnia
and Herzegovina has undertaken the obligation to comply with
and apply the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of
the Child, which stipulates that the interests of children
shall be crucial in the process of decision making and
promulgation of laws related to the child. The Convention also
prohibits any form of discrimination of children on any
grounds, and guarantees every child the right to educational,
emotional, mental, physical, cultural and social development.
Children
in Bosnia and Herzegovina make one third of the total
population. Of that number, every second child does not have
health insurance, while 60% of the children belong to the
categories entitled to some form of social protection. 5-6% of
the children are not receiving even the compulsory primary
education, while 18% of children are engaged on hard physical
jobs.
Every
fourth child is a victim of some form of violence; at the same
time, children are also the most frequent victims of mines
that pose a threat in almost all the parts of Bosnia and
Herzegovina.
The
Helsinki Committee welcomes the activities of non-governmental
organisations in the field of children’s rights and deems
that the situation would be even worse were it not for their
enthusiasm and committed work. However, it is not possible to
make any substantial improvement until the authorities at all
levels become aware of the extent to which the children’s
rights are being violated and realise how grave the
consequences of this might be for the future of Bosnia and
Herzegovina. Therefore, we urge the authorities to take most
seriously the alarming situation in this field and to mobilise
all the resources necessary in order to guarantee to all
children in Bosnia and Herzegovina the protection of their
rights and interests.
Srðan Dizdareviæ
President of the Helsinki Committee in BiH
No:
01-12/2004
Sarajevo, 9 December 2004
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