The European Union and UNICEF have launched a new program that aims to reinforce efforts to protect children in Southeast Europe from violence.
The €1.65 million ($2.4 million), two-year joint initiative will seek to strengthen public services designed to identify, monitor and address violence against children in Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Turkey, by analyzing gaps in the accountability and responsiveness of these services.
“Public services must have a clear role in supporting and protecting children from violence,” said Steven Allen, UNICEF’s regional director for Central, Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, in a June 30 news release. “UNICEF continues to develop a compact between civil society, policy makers and communities to support families and provide a nurturing and protective environment for children.”
The project will engage and train national civil society networks and formal independent monitoring bodies such as ombudspersons or child rights observatories to raise awareness on the issue.
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