24 Apr 2012
19 April, 2012, Tirana, Albania: In the framework of the project Mario, partners in Albania, Terre des hommes (Tdh) and Save the Children, the Albania State Agency for the Protection of Children’s Rights at the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities (MoLSAEO) organized a national conference with an aim to promote the role and emphasize the responsibility that local government units have in building an effective child protection system in the country, with preventative and responsive mechanisms to all forms of violence against children. In Albania, local governments are responsible for local arrangements for protecting children and young people. They have a decision-making power to set up structures and mechanisms, as well as to allocate budgets. Their responsibilities and obligations extend towards securing local prevention, integration, rehabilitation and protection measures for children.
In an effort to focus the attention of local government leaders’ on children’s issues, a panel of influential actors, consisting of the Chairs of organizing agencies and others, such as UNICEF, MoLSAEO, the Child Protection Unit of Berat and the Municipality of Tirana, addressed participants with strong messages. They called for an increased commitment of local government towards ensuring accessible, child sensitive, preventative and responsive services; for the allocation of appropriate and adequate resources for established and new structures providing support and care to children, and their families; and for increased investment in social services.
Many participants agreed that Child Protection Units (CPUs) serve as one of the few best practices of local preventative and protective measures for children victims of trafficking or those belonging to vulnerable groups at risk. They have made significant efforts to protect children, and their work has had meaningful impact in their communities. The Child Protection Workers have worked to identify children who require support, and have liaised with various stakeholders to ensure a basic safety net bringing all the partners together to manage cases, to find adequate responses and solutions using existing resources and the few services that are available at the local level. Emphasizing also the role that CPUs play in community mobilization and empowerment, Ms. Sendrine Constant, Delegate of Tdh in Albania, urged local government leaders to initiate requests for establishing Child Protection Units in their districts and be willing to accept offers to extend protection of children. “CPUs provide real social services to vulnerable families and not just ‘cash benefit’ support. Because there are no doubts about the concrete measurable changes that the work of CPUs has had on families who have directly benefited from their services, there is a need to replicate this model in all communes and municipalities of Albania,” she said.
Since local governments in Albania face limited budget resources and depend heavily on the support of central governments, the Head of Save of the Children, Ms. Helen l’Anson appealed to central government to increase their efforts and support regarding child protection concerns. “The local government has a crucial role to sustain the already established structures and central government has an important responsibility to provide guidance and support to local government so they may fulfil their obligations towards their communities and children,” marked Ms. l’Anson. In harmony with this perspective, as an opportunity to further extend the child protection safety net, Ms. Anne Savary, representative of the Swiss Development Cooperation noted the social service reform currently ongoing in Albania.“This reform is an excellent opportunity and must be used to encourage and enable further local authorities to establish structures which provide for the protection of children in a more sustainable way,” she addressed. Meanwhile through his speech Mr. Detlef Palm, representative of UNICEF in Albania, wished to remind councillors and mayors that child protection cannot be fully accomplished without investment in social services. “Social protection of families and children in need has to be seen not only as a basic right to be observed or a service to be rendered, but also as an investment for the country. Social services are not a burden to your budgets!” he added.
Albania has made great progress in terms of legislation and policy in the social field. The legal framework guaranteeing the protection of children and their rights was completed last week, with the passing of the last remaining 5 bylaws by the Council of Ministers. The establishment of the State Agency will help monitor and coordinate the implementation of the legal framework and of the Nation Strategy for Children. Nevertheless much remains to be achieved. There is a need for better access to available social services, and for proper adaptation of services rendered with the range of problems facing children and their families. Local governments must help put into practice set policies and laws, while the central government must increase their role in supporting, monitoring, supervising and coordinating social services. Budgets must be increased; quality performance of staff must be demanded, while training, certification, supervisions and complaint mechanisms must also be established. The road to accomplishing a social and institutional basis that will address issues of rights and protection is long and difficult, but objectives will be achieved also with continuous support from civil society actors and donors. [FG]