The right to peace is the first condition for children to live and develop. There are invisible wars happening around us every day, speakers said at the legal discussion forum Lex Talks 2022. The event, an initiative of National Network for Children and its Legal Aid Network was held on December 8 at the Kliment Ohridski University in Sofia.
The theme was “Children and War”. 17 prominent speakers participated, as well as many experts, lawyers, judges, civil activists, representatives of institutions, young people.
“We created Lex Talks to give a platform to jurists, lawyers, judges, human rights defenders, activists and volunteers from the civil sector, representatives of state institutions, students and young people for a common dialogue on important legal issues and public causes,” said Georgi Bogdanov, executive director of National Network for Children.
“Every war is a war against children, in every war children are the most vulnerable,” said Mariana Tosheva, head of the State Agency for Refugees. She explained that there are currently 1,200 children in reception centers, 437 of them unaccompanied. “During all these years, one legal imperfection – guardianship of refugee children – has not been addressed,” she stressed.
Velina Todorova, member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, former Deputy Minister of Justice, presented the topic “Rhetoric against children’s rights. The view from the UN”. She emphasized that there is a risk of normalizing the rejection of children’s rights in Bulgaria. The status of children as bearers of rights is publicly contested and attacked under the guise of party traditions and the traditional family. Children’s activity, their autonomy and right to participate are underestimated and contested, and their rights are belittled and systematically ignored.
Watch the forum HERE
