Bulgaria Reports on the Convention on Child Rights to the UN
On 17.01.2024, during a session of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva, Bulgaria presented its progress and problems in the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Bulgarian State was represented by a high-level delegation including all institutions involved and headed by Ms. Ivanka Shalapatova, Minister of Labour and Social Policy.
The VI and VII Consolidated Periodic Report of the Republic of Bulgaria on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child were presented, as well as the progress of our country related to the implementation of the Convention and the measures taken to improve the well-being of children and their families.
Prof. Velina Todorova, Vice-Chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and volunteer at the Legal Aid Network of the CND, shared the following personal impressions from the hearing of the Bulgarian delegation:
“The dialogue was at a very high level. Alas, the delegation had difficulty speaking in the present and past tense because of all the problems inherited from the crises, propaganda and the inability of the institutions so far to offer the public clear arguments and real measures to protect children and their rights. Minister Shalapatova and the delegation presented convincingly the plans and strategies that are currently being implemented and will be implemented in the future.”
The full recording of Bulgaria’s hearing before the Committee is available from the following link.
We would like to remind you that in May 2023, two Bulgarian young people from Megafon, as well as two representatives of the National Network for Children and our Legal Aid Network, participated in a preliminary session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva, where they presented their experiences and observations on various challenges at the level of legislation, policies and practices related to the rights and well-being of children and families in Bulgaria.