UN Special Representative for Violence Against Children Marta Santos Pais visited Slovenia, holding talks with several MPs and Human Rights Ombudsman Vlasta Nussdorfer on Tuesday. According to Santos Pais, Slovenia has a strong voice in children's rights, but it lacks a nation-wide survey on violence against children.
Santos Rios, who met MPs working in parliamentary bodies dealing with children's rights, stressed that Slovenia should take initiative in the area of implementation of human rights in the framework of the UN Development Agenda after 2015.
Slovenian legislation provides good groundwork for protecting children, as lawmakers included in it several initiatives voiced in sessions of the children's national parliament.
However interlocutors expressed hope that prohibition of all kinds of violence against children would be put in Slovenia's legislation as soon as possible.
The UN representative moreover pointed to the importance of ratification of Protocol III to the Convention on the Rights of the Child that determines procedures in case of convention violation.
Apart from that, Santos Pais and MPs agreed that special attention needs to be given to the poor and children in times of economic crisis, as it can lead to a higher risk of violence in families.
Nussdorfer moreover presented Santos Pais with her work in the area of children's rights, including the project of child advocate.
