“The protection and promotion of children's rights require a multi-stakeholder approach, involving different levels of government, civil society organisations, parents, educators, and the children themselves” stated Brigitte van den Berg, rapporteur on children and sustainable cities at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, at the event on “Promoting participation and protecting the rights of the child at local level”. The event, co-organised with the National Association of Local Authorities, took place online on 17 May 2023 with 65 participants, including central and local authorities.
Local authorities exchanged on challenges and good practices for the localisation of children’s rights, the role of human rights in their everyday work, and the establishment of effective child-sensitive policies based on human rights data in dialogue with the Public Defender’s Office representatives. Local authorities from Georgia, the Netherlands, and Germany shared innovative practices to promote children’s participation in local policy making and for the protection of the rights of the child.
Children’s rights were identified as a priority area by the Georgian Forum of Exchange on human rights at the local level, a unique platform which aims to improve social inclusion, promote equal opportunities, and incorporate a gender perspective in local political action.
The workshop is aimed at strengthening local authorities’ and their association’s advocacy towards the effective localisation of the new Code on the Rights of the Child. Its content will be included in a capacity development curriculum for local authorities for further dissemination and sustainability.
This event was organised in the framework of the project “Strengthening Participatory Democracy and Human Rights at Local Level in Georgia”, implemented by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities and the Directorate General of Democracy and Human Dignity, Division of Elections and Participatory Democracy, within the Council of Europe Action Plan for Georgia 2020-2023 with the financial contribution of the Austrian Development Cooperation. The project aims to strengthen institutional frameworks for citizen participation, support local authorities and their national association in their efforts to protect and promote human rights and ensure that civil society organisations have real impact on local decision making.
