Thirty years ago, on September 27, 1991, the norms of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child came into force as part of the legislation of our country.

"Ukraine was one of the first countries to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is called the "World Constitution on the Rights of the Child." Over these three decades, we have built a system of protection and ensuring of children's rights in our country, which today needs reformatting. After all, in connection with the decentralization reform, many powers are transferred to the level of territorial communities, including the creation of services for children," said Minister of Social Policy Maryna Lazebna.

Since the ratification of the Convention, Ukraine has adopted more than 15 strategies, concepts and programs aimed at improving legislation in the field of protection of children's rights.

"An important step was the adoption of the Law of Ukraine "On Bodies and Services for Children and Special Institutions for Children" in January 1995, which initiated the formation of a vertical structure of executive bodies for children. In 2001, the Law of Ukraine "On Child Protection" was adopted, which reflects one of the priority rights of the child to protection from all forms of physical and mental violence. At present, the norms of Ukrainian legislation in the field of protection of children's rights comply with the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as international standards and priorities on children's rights," said Ruslan Kolbasa, Director General of the Directorate for Social Services and Children's Rights.

According to him, the support of international partners, including UNICEF, the European Union, the World Bank, the United States Agency for International Development, UNDP and other UN agencies, the governments of Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Poland and other countries, plays an important role in implementing the provisions of the Convention.

Ruslan Kolbasa also said that with the support of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Adviser to the President of Ukraine on Children's Rights and Children's Rehabilitation Daria Gerasymchuk, the Ministry of Social Policy is developing a unified National Strategy for Children's Rights, which will become guidance at the national and local levels.

Background

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by Ukraine in February 1991, is a fundamental international document that defines the main vectors of the state's work in the field of child protection.

Since 2009 there have been constantly implemented relevant program documents: the National Program "National Action Plan for the Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child" until 2016, and the State Social Program "National Action Plan for the Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child" for the period up to 2021, adopted in 2017.

Strategic documents of the Council of Europe and the European Union for the next 5 years are currently being drafted with an aim to set priorities in the field of protection of children's rights for 2022-2027.