Black Sea Trust for Children Heralded by Region’s Leaders as Essential

Members of national parliaments throughout the wider Black Sea Region came together at the annual Black Sea NGO Forum to support the implementation of the PABSEC Recommendation, in particular the creation of a Black Sea Trust for Children. The panel of parliamentarians, hosted by the region’s child protection coalition ChildPact, issued a call to all countries within the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) to build a Black Sea Fund for Children that stimulates collaboration and innovation on child protection in a region that shares much of the same history and current trends of child vulnerability.

Earlier this year the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (PABSEC) issued Recommendation on Child Protection in the BSEC Member States that calls for a regional trust for children. The Recommendation now needs to be put in practice.

Zhalya Aliyeva, member of Azerbaijan’s parliament, stated that “all things said and all decisions taken should not remain only on paper.” BSEC’s Deputy Secretary General, Traian Chebeleu confirmed that governmental cooperation on child protection within BSEC might be difficult, but it is possible, stating that as a platform of regional engagement BSEC is well-positioned to include child protection as an area of cooperation.

Mira Antonyan, ChildPact Vice-President, stressed the importance of having such an initiative: “Why spend so much time to do the same mistakes, to start from zero, when you can just ask (your partners) how did you do the same process in your country, was it successful or not? ”

In pursuit of implementation, in particular of a Black Sea Fund for Children, a political decision needs to be made by the BSEC’s Council of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs. To ensure this decision, it is important that a ‘champion’ or a group of ‘champions’ of BSEC government/s brings the initiative to the Council.

ChildPact is a regional coalition for child protection that unites more than 500 NGOs from Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldavia, Romania, and Serbia. ChildPact represents the interests of the most vulnerable children in the Wider Black Sea Region, in policy debates at national, regional and international levels.
Mirela Oprea, ChildPact Secretary General, stated that the event in Bucharest “was an historical meeting. It was the first time when PABSEC members and representatives of civil society organizations came together at a regional level to discuss these issues. The meeting was successful, participants agreed that next steps to implement the Recommendation must become tangible tasks, and this conversation started a new level of engagement toward collective impact for children throughout the region’’. Participating parliamentarians and regional leaders included: Zhalya ALIYEVA, President of the PABSEC Cultural, Educational and Social Affairs Committee, Member of the Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan; Namik DOKLE, Member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Albania; Aram MANUKYAN, Member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia; Elvira KOVACS, Member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia; Traian CHEBELEU, Deputy Secretary General, Permanent International Secretariat, Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation; Mira Antonyan, ChildPact Vice-President, representatives of the diplomatic community, civil society and academia.

Please watch this video feature about the event here. 
Please find attached a more detailed report of the outcomes of the event.
For more information about ChildPact, please visit our website www.childpact.org or contact Mirela Oprea at mirela_oprea@wvi.org

Information provided by Mirela Oprea, ChildPact