News Release
21.01.2010
Dear citizens!
Among the most important tasks set for government agencies, including the Ministry of the Interior of the Russian Federation, a priority status is given to securing rights and freedoms of minors and, first and foremost, to protecting children from criminal assault and involvement into unlawful activity.
Per the Convention on the Rights of the Child approved by the UN General Assembly, children have the right for special care and assistance. For the protection and harmonious development of children, cultural traditions and values of their nation are especially important; and the state must ensure that its education system cultivates respect to cultural identity and values of the child, as well as to national values of the country where the child lives.
The importance of these tasks for any state is obvious. Implementation of a dedicated policy on protection of children's rights and freedoms affects our most critical aspects: the future of the state, its vitality, its economic and social well-being and prosperity.
In the Russian Federation, protection of the rights of the child is especially important. The number of street children increases every year. It is estimated that there are over 700 thousand orphans in Russia, 2 million teenagers are illiterate, and over 6 million minors live in socially unfavorable conditions.
These numbers mean damaged lives of millions of teenagers. We see them at railway stations, in underpasses, in troubled families. There, instead of warmth and care that children need so much, they see only humiliation, violation, instability; they face such sins as alcohol and drug addiction. There are many examples when parents who had already gone the wrong way simply bully and haze their own children causing injuries and even deaths of minors.
This is what feeds the continuing growth of unlawful acts by teenagers. Young people, increasingly, cross the "line of law" as members of organized criminal groups. Last year, minors committed about 11% of all crimes.
Today problems related to minors are on the agenda of a number of ministries and agencies in Russia, including MOI of Russia, which now heads the State Commission on Juvenile Affairs and Protection of the Rights of Minors.
Among the priority tasks set for offices of the interior are prevention of criminal acts by minors and education of students and their parents on legal matters. Introduction of an office of school precinct officers helped improve effectiveness of these prevention actions.
Currently, offices of the interior effectively collaborate with departments of education, healthcare, social protection, and public on providing state-sponsored assistance to minors and their parents who find themselves in challenging life situation. There are rehabilitation facilities for minors returning from educational clinics; children also receive help with finding jobs and going through social adaptation.
Militiamen of the Republic of Tatarstan organized fundraising events for the benefit of children's homes and orphanages. The action also included sports festivals, art contests and concerts by and for children.
In Krasnodar region, militiamen, together with representatives of thirty companies and public organizations, carried out similar actions of help to particular children institutions.
In Sverdlovsk region, there are about 80 social institutions for children where almost 3 thousand minors live. Therefore, a proposal, put forward at an officers' meeting of the regional GUVD, to become a patron for each of these institutions was supported unanimously.
Currently, MOI of Russia is carrying out a charity action "Time for Good Deeds" aimed to provide dedicated help to orphanages and other institutions for children and orphans left without parental care.
These examples demonstrate that practical help to street children is the priority task for MOI of Russia. Still, to accomplish this task of the state-level importance, we need the support of the entire society.
Because of its strategic importance, the problem of protection of children was discussed in detail at the very first meeting of the Public Council at MOI. The discussion covered all aspects of the current situation in this area, as well as results of activities by offices of the interior.
It is commonly known that the key problem with street children is the lack of normal family conditions.
On the other hand, current system of state-sponsored children's homes is of low effectiveness and needs new ideas and approaches.
Also, there is a need to make changes to the current legislation that makes the process of adoption extremely complicated.
Every child in our country, whether they live in a family or in a state institution, must have both, material and non-material, spiritual protection.
It is now time to consider mandatory children insurance by parents and by the state, effective from the childbirth.
We call all branches of power and relevant government structures to introduce a separate budget item for funding social work with youth and street children, in order to make this a dedicated work and protect it by law from possible refocusing.
We also call those who work in the areas of academia, literature, culture, electronic and print media to write interesting educational books and fairy tales, make movies for children and teenagers, created TV programs promoting healthy life style.
Among primary tasks of the Public Council is creation of a positive image of a militiaman, so that people, including children, would not be afraid to approach him; would know that he would always help. Then, every child who found him/herself in dire straits could dial a trust line number and call militia for help.
We must put all our efforts into protection of those who will soon become adults and full members of our society.
We need to expand and boost up our work on fostering minors, providing them with ongoing dedicated assistance. We need to become patrons of children's homes, boarding homes, provide these children with much needed care. Only then can we expect positive results and, therefore, confidently look into the tomorrow of Russia. .
Minister of the Interior of
Russian Federation
Army General Rashid Nurgaliev,
Head of the Public Council at
MOI of Russia
Ilya Reznik