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Bulgaria - Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 44 of the Convention: Consolidated Report: Third, Fourth and Fifth Periodic Review [2012] UNCRCSPR 1; CRC/C/BGR/3-5 (1 January 2012)
Republic of Bulgaria
Consolidated Report: Third, Fourth
and Fifth Periodic Review
Republic of Bulgaria
2008-2012
Consolidated
third, fourth and fifth periodic report on the implementation of the commitments
under the UN Convention on the Rights
of the Child and its Optional Protocols
within the meaning of article 44, paragraph 1(b) of the
Convention
Period: 2008-2012
Republic of
Bulgaria
CONTENTS
|
Page
|
I.
Introduction...................................................................................
|
5
|
II. General measures of implementation (arts. 4, 42 and 44, para. 6 of the
Convention)............................................................................
|
6
|
А. Previous observations of the Committee and
legislation.
|
6
|
B.
Coordination.........................................................................
|
7
|
C. National Action
Plan............................................................
|
7
|
D. Independent
monitoring.......................................................
|
9
|
E. Allocation of
resources.........................................................
|
9
|
F. Data
collection......................................................................
|
10
|
G. Dissemination of the Convention and
training.....................
|
11
|
H. Cooperation with international organisations and civil
society................................................................................................
|
13
|
III. Definition of the
child.................................................................
|
13
|
IV. General
principles.......................................................................
|
15
|
A.
Non-discrimination.............................................................
|
15
|
B. Best interests of the
child....................................................
|
17
|
C. The right to life, survival and development
..................
|
21
|
D. Respect for the views of the
child........................................
|
22
|
V. Civil rights and
freedoms..........................................................
|
25
|
A. Torture or other cruel inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment........................................................................................
|
25
|
VI. Family environment and alternative
care....................................
|
26
|
A. Family
environment.............................................................
|
27
|
B. Alternative
care....................................................................
|
33
|
C.
Adoption...............................................................................
|
35
|
D. Children without parental care who are living in public care
institutions.................................................................................
|
36
|
E. Abuse and
neglect.................................................................
|
39
|
VII. Basic health and
welfare...........................................................
|
40
|
A. Children with
disabilities.....................................................
|
40
|
B. Health and health
services....................................................
|
45
|
C. Adolescent
health.................................................................
|
48
|
D. Drugs, cigarettes, alcohol and other harmful substance
abuse.................................................................................................
|
49
|
E.
HIV/AIDS.............................................................................
|
50
|
F. Mental
health........................................................................
|
52
|
G. Standards of
life...................................................................
|
53
|
VIII. Education, leisure and cultural
activities.................................
|
53
|
А.
Budget..................................................................................
|
54
|
B. Integration of Roma children and early childhood
development......................................................................................
|
55
|
C. School
dropout......................................................................
|
56
|
D. Children from small communities and rural
areas................
|
58
|
E. Children with disabilities and
education...............................
|
58
|
F. Quality of education and teacher
training..............................
|
59
|
G. Civic
education....................................................................
|
61
|
H. Access to
education...............................................................
|
61
|
I. School
violence.......................................................................
|
62
|
J. Leisure, recreation and cultural
activities...............................
|
63
|
IX. Special protection
measures......................................................
|
64
|
A. Economic exploitation of children, including child
labour................................................................................................
|
64
|
B. Children in street
situations..................................................
|
66
|
C. Sexual exploitation and
abuse..............................................
|
66
|
D. Trafficking and
abduction....................................................
|
67
|
E. Sale of children, child prostitution and
pornography...........
|
70
|
F. Children outside their country of origin seeking refugee
protection (art. 22), unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, migrant
children
and children affected by migration .................
|
71
|
G. The administration of juvenile
justice..................................
|
73
|
H. Roma
children..................................................................
|
74
|
I. Children in armed
conflict....................................................
|
76
|
....
I.
Introduction
- Pursuant
to article 44, paragraph 1(b) of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
(the Convention) and paragraph 76 of the Concluding
observations on the second
periodic report concerning the implementation of the Convention, Bulgaria hereby
submits its third, fourth
and fifth consolidated report. It covers the period
from January 2008 through December 2012 and reflects the measures taken with
respect to the Committee’s Observations on the implementation of the
Convention by Bulgaria, as well as the measures relevant
to the fulfilment of
the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict (OPAC)
and the Optional Protocol on the
sale of children, child prostitution and child
pornography (OPSC). The report has been prepared in accordance with the
guidelines
for developing periodic reports CRC/C/58/Rev.2.
- The
report has been drafted by the State Agency for Child Protection (SACP) in
cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA),
on the basis of
information submitted by other child protection authorities: the Minister of
Labour and Social Policy, the Minister
of Interior, the Minister of Education
and Science, the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the
Minister of Culture,
the Minister of Health and the mayors of municipalities.
- The
report is also based on information provided by all other government bodies,
institutions, ministries and organizations having
a bearing on the issues of
child and family welfare: Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC), Supreme
Prosecutor’s Office of Cassation
(SPOC), National Health Insurance Fund
(NHIF), National Center of Public Health and Analyses (NCPHA), National Centre
for Addictions,
Commission for Protection against Discrimination (CPD), Ministry
of Physical Education and Sports (MPES), Agency for Social Assistance
(ASA),
General Labour Inspectorate (GLI), National Statistical Institute (NSI),
Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works
(MRDPW), Ministry of Economy,
Energy and Tourism (MEET), Ministry of Defence (MoD).
- The
report includes aggregated statistical information, predominantly obtained from
the National Statistical Institute. It reflects
mainly the measures taken by the
state in the area of the rights of the child and only partially the contribution
of the civil sector,
such as examples of joint work or presentation of good
practices, since the representatives of the non-governmental sector are to
submit an alternative report to the Committee.
- The
report accounts for the Concluding Observations regarding the previous reports
on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,
namely CRC/C/15/Add.66 and
CRC/C/BGR/CO/2, as well as the Concluding Observations on the initial reports
under the above-mentioned
Optional Protocols CRC/C/OPAC/BGR/CO/1 and
CRC/C/OPSC/BGR/CO/1.
- The
Republic of Bulgaria attaches special attention to the Observations of the
Committee on the Rights of the Child (the Committee).
However, it should be
noted that so far not all of the Committee’s recommendations have been
implemented. The development of
three major pieces of legislation relating to
the rights of the child is underway: the Child Act, which seeks to replace the
currently
effective Child Protection Act; the Law on Preschool and School
Education, which should replace the currently effective Public Education Act, as
well as a new Law on Juvenile Justice that might substitute the Law on
Counteracting Anti-social Behaviour of Juveniles and Minors.
- The
consolidated report accounts for the progress achieved by Bulgaria after the
submission of the second periodic report and focuses
on the implementation of
the recommendations made in the Observations of the Committee, and the
respective measures undertaken. Prominence
has been given to the analytical
part, to the progress made, to compliance with the rights of the child, to the
challenges that have
emerged, as well as to their surmounting in accordance with
Observations CRC/C/118 (2002). The previous reports, all Observations,
as well
as answers to questions have been published and are accessible at http://sacp.government.bg/monitoring/.
- Prior
to the finalization of this report, consultations were held with
non-governmental organizations and with the Ombudsman of Bulgaria.
The report
was presented to the members of the National Council for Child Protection (NCCP)
during its 25th regular session. Certain
texts of the report were adjusted in a
child-friendly manner; a tailor-made questionnaire was applied to them and sent
to the members
of the Child Council to the NCCP. The children were made aware of
the voluntary nature of the consultations on the report, of the
purpose of the
consultation and of the results stemming from it. Apart from their written
feedback, the members of the Child Council
were also able to recount their final
view at a special session dedicated to the consultations on the report. These
views have been
duly included in the report.
- Statistics
and additional information are submitted as separate annexes to the report.
Relevant laws and other documents referred
to in the report can be found on the
web site of SACP at http://sacp.government.bg.
II. General measures of implementation (arts. 4, 42 and 44,
para. 6 of the Convention)
А. Previous Observations of the
Committee and legislation
- Bulgaria
has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Optional Protocol
on the involvement of children in armed
conflict, as well as the Optional
Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography
without reservations
or declarations. A discussion between government
institutions and non-governmental organizations on the signing of the Optional
Protocol
on a communications procedure is forthcoming. The signing and
ratification of the document could take place only after the adoption
of a new
Child Act, which should provide for legally liable persons and systems of bodies
that would guarantee the ensuring of every
right, including procedures and
financial mechanisms in support of children. There is still no operational
compensatory mechanism
for persons with respect to which there is an affirmative
decision by the UN control bodies. Only after the fulfilment of these two
conditions can the country consider signing and ratifying the third Optional
protocol to the Convention. The other international
agreements to which Bulgaria
became a party between 2008 and 2012 are specified in the annex to the
consolidated report, on the web
site of SACP, and in the new Common Core
Document submitted simultaneously with this report.
- With
a view to the fulfilment of the recommendations contained in the Observations on
Bulgaria’s initial report (CRC/15/Add.66),
as well as paragraphs 7 and 9
of the Concluding Observations on the second report CRC/C/BGR/CO/2, the internal
legislation has been
amended over the years, also taking into account the
relevant strategies, decisions and declarations adopted by the European Union
and the Council of Europe. An entirely new Family Code has been adopted in
Bulgaria; amendments have been introduced in the Child
Protection Act (CPA), in
the Public Education Act, the Health Act, the Civil Registration Act, the
Criminal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code,
etc[1]. The reforms launched in the
area of the rights of the child have laid the foundations of a new understanding
of the role of the
child in society: that of a right holder, and not only of an
object of protection. All bills, drafts of amendments to regulations,
strategies
and plans are prepared after broad public discussion and in cooperation with
civil society.
B. Coordination
- In
response to paragraph 11 of Concluding Observations CRC/C/BGR/CO/2 and in
conformity with general comment No. 5 of 2003 work on
the creation of a new
Child Act was initiated during this period. An interdepartmental working group
including representatives of
the child protection bodies and the Ombudsman of
Bulgaria developed, with broad NGO participation, a law covering all rights of
the
child. The rationale of the draft Child Act
is was based on
an inclusive approach of the rights of all children, and not only of children at
risk. The draft was subjected to extensive
public consultations (which happened
for the first time with respect to the legal framework pertaining to policies on
children) before
its submission to the National Assembly by the Council of
Ministers. It focused the sensitivity and considerations of the public,
of
parents and specialists, on the significance of the child and childhood, and as
an outcome of the broad discussions and debates
on various levels the awareness
on the rights of the child, on the child protection system and authorities was
raised.
- During
the public consultation process the right of the child to participate in any
decision-making affecting him/her appeared to
be the most disputed right
proclaimed in the Convention. This concept implies a radical change in the
mindset of many families and
communities. A large portion of the Bulgarian
society is not yet prepared to perceive children as personalities entitled to a
totally
independent opinion, which led to a negative response to the draft Child
Act on the part of parent organizations, mostly with respect
to the right of the
child to take part in various judicial and administrative
proceedings.
- The
draft provided for the establishment of a Commission on the Rights of the Child,
an independent specialized body under the authority
of the Council of Ministers
responsible for policy coordination, monitoring and control on the rights of the
child. The Commission
would be a first-level spender of budgetary appropriations
and it would monitor the respect for the rights of the child in compliance
with
the Convention and national legislation. Owing to the negative response of the
parent organizations to the draft, the latter
was not approved by the National
Assembly.
C. National Plan of Action
- In
relation to paragraph 13 of the Concluding Observations of 2008 Bulgaria adopted
a long-term National Strategy for Children (2008-2018)
which is in conformity
with the objectives and principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the
Child and the Child Protection
Act. The Strategy identifies priority areas and
actions needed to improve child welfare in Bulgaria over a period of ten years.
The
strategic goal of the document is to ensure conditions for the effective
exercise of the rights of children and for improving the
quality of their
life.
- This
strategic document was approved by the National Assembly, and was the first to
adopt a fundamentally new planning and integration
approach in the area of child
policies. It covers all spheres of social life of significance for child
welfare: family environment,
health services, education, recreation and leisure,
alternative care, standards of life and social assistance, action against
exploitation
and abuse of children, special protection measures, protection
against discrimination etc. Specific objectives for continuing the
process of
deinstitutionalization and development of alternative social services have also
been envisaged.
- In
implementation of the Strategy the Council of Ministers annually adopts a
National Programme for Child Protection (NPCP), on the
basis of a proposal by
the Minister of Labour and Social Policy and the Chairperson of the State Agency
for Child Protection. All
state institutions set therein annual activities in
accordance with their respective obligations and commitment to guarantee the
rights of children in Bulgaria.
- At
national level the monitoring of child policies and the implementation of the
Strategy are supervised by the Chairperson of the
State Agency for Child
Protection. The mechanism of monitoring and implementation evaluation of the
National Strategy for Children
2008–2018 is applied by yearly reporting on
the fulfilment of the annual national programmes. The evaluation of the results
achieved for each calendar year is presented in the form of a report on the
Implementation of NPCP.
- The
Strategy also provides for monitoring mechanisms via periodic reports (every
three years) by the line ministries and institutions,
as well as reports from
sociological surveys for assessment of the Strategy. Upon the expiry of the
third, sixth, and tenth year
of its implementation, the Chairperson of SACP
prepares a report including an analysis of the results attained compared to the
objectives
set. This report is presented to the National Council for Child
Protection (NCCP) for examination and to the Council of Ministers
for approval.
- In
2012 a thorough analysis was made of the implementation of the Strategy for
Children over the period 2008-2010. It resulted in
specific recommendations
being made for amendments to the Strategy, aimed at better coordination and
implementation of the annual
programmes. On this basis proposals have been made
for:
- Modifications to
the National Strategy for Children 2008–2018, to the structure of the
National Programme for Child Protection,
to the applicable regulations and to
the mode of operation of the competent institutions on national, regional and
local level.
- Introduction of
a system of indicators ensuring reliable information for the purpose of
enhancing the effectiveness of the policies
pursued; capacity-building within
the State Agency for Child Protection (SACP), the Ministry of Labour and Social
Policy (MLSP),
the Agency for Social Assistance (ASA) via upgrading methods and
skills to evaluate practical results and via ensuring a possibility
for better
evaluation of the performance and for development of policies and
legislation.
- Development of a
methodology for monitoring the activities for the sake of periodic evaluation of
the implementation and outcomes
of the enforcement of the National Strategy for
Children.
- The
evaluation of the Strategy implementation over the three-year period since its
adoption is also a manifestation of the clearly
recognized need that the
management process and decisions should be based on information that would allow
tracing of changes and
timely identification of weaknesses that require
corrective action, so as to come up with appropriate policies seeking to attain
adequate development of children by implementing the principles of the UN
Convention in all areas.
- In
2009, in an attempt to improve the coordination among child protection
authorities, amendments were made to CPA and to its Implementing
Regulations. The functions of all child protection authorities were laid out in
detail and the powers of the
SACP Chairperson were expanded. The amendments
referred to above provided for the establishment of a Coordination Mechanism for
interaction
between the SACP Chairperson and the rest of the protection
authorities.
- The
amendments to the Child Protection Act approved in 2009 enabled the local
authorities – mayors and municipal councils, to
exercise more powers and
responsibilities in the planning, management and control of the care and
services for children and families.
Each municipality has created a commission
on children with coordinating and advisory functions and with the participation
of representatives
of the various institutions and organizations. Thus municipal
authorities have a strategic role to play in planning and launching
of social
services. Every year each municipality approves a municipal programme for child
protection consistent with the local needs
and the annual National Programme for
Child Protection
(NPCP). The regional bodies of ASA are the
lead partner in the development of strategies and plans on regional and
municipal level.
D. Independent monitoring
- Bulgaria
has made considerable progress with regard to paragraph 15 of the 2008
Observations, as well as in achieving conformity with
the previous Observations.
In 2011 the Ombudsman of Bulgaria and the Commission for Protection against
Discrimination acquired a
“B” mandate in accordance with the
“Paris Principles” as per General Assembly Resolution 48/134 of 20
December
1993 and General Comment No 2 of 2002. In 2012 the Ombudsman assumed a
new role expanding his activities in cases of advocacy for
the rights and
freedoms of citizens: to perform the functions of a National Preventive
Mechanism (NPM) in accordance with the Optional
Protocol to the UN Convention
against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
In 2012 the competences
of the Ombudsman were further expanded in terms of the
rights of the child: he/she acquired powers to protect the rights of children
by
applying the instruments provided for under the Law on the Ombudsman (LO), as
well as to make recommendations and provide opinions
on laws relevant to human
rights.
E. Allocation of resources
- Bulgaria’s
annual budget is allocated by sector and programme without explicit
specification of the amounts set aside for measures
to meet the obligations of
implementing the principles of the Convention in the different sectoral
policies. Each first level spender
of budgetary allocations prioritizes its
expenditures within the approved budget for the respective year, so as to
guarantee the
required resourcing for the execution of the policy for which it
is responsible.
- In
addition to budgetary allocations, institutions also work on various EU-funded
projects. Such is the case of the Action Plan under
the "Vision for the
Deinstitutionalization of Children in the Republic of Bulgaria" Strategy, as
well as of a number of measures
in the education system. World Bank funding is
also being used.
- Since
2012, the funds released from the capacity reduction of specialized child
institutions, as well as the resources generated due
to the closure of child
institutions are rechanneled for ensuring sustainability of social services
provided under completed projects
part of the Human Resources Development
Operational Programme (HRD OP).
F. Data
collection
- Bulgaria
has made considerable progress regarding the recommendation on data collection
(paragraph 19 of the 2008 Concluding observations).
The basic data currently
used by the institutions in Bulgaria are handled at and received from the
National Statistical Institute
(NSI). The National Statistical Institute
regularly publishes data disaggregated by individual components: for example,
children
born in wedlock and out of wedlock according to the age of the mothers;
education and enrolment rate; employment, health services,
etc. The collection
of disaggregated data according to ethnic origin takes place on a voluntary and
self-identification basis, in
line with the UN principles and recommendations on
studying the basis of ethnicity and religion. In 2011 there was a population and
housing census in Bulgaria in compliance with the EU regulations on the
technical format and quantity of the data, which provided
a full and
comprehensive picture according to multiple indicators. The NSI is currently
implementing a project that will enable the
creation of a detailed picture of
all groups of the population – gender, age, marital, health, educational
status, economic
situation, ethnic origin of the parents, etc.
- In
addition, the Chairperson of the State Agency for Child Protection has the
prerogative to create and maintain a National Information
System (NIS). NIS
collects information from the Child Protection Departments about children
victims of violence and about the cases
of children at risk on which they work.
The main information flows are reviewed and analyzed, supplemented and adjusted
every year,
taking into account the comparability of the indicators and indices
over the years, as well as to their comparability to those on
European and
international level (Eurostat, TransMONEE, UNICEF, UNICEF Innocenti Research
Centre).
- The
main information maintained at SACP via the National Information System contains
data on: children in need of special protection;
children at risk; the condition
of the specialized child institutions and special schools; children of prominent
talent; children
eligible for full adoption; information on applicant and
approved adoptive parents; information on applicant and approved foster
families, information on the performance of Child Protection Departments (CPDs):
signals, cases, measures taken, services, operational
issues, suggestions,
information about NGOs.
- On
the basis of the data obtained, SACP prepares an annual National Report on the
state of children in Bulgaria, which incorporates
data from the National
Statistical Institute (NSI), from NGOs, from research institutions and
ministries, etc., with which SACP has
signed agreements for the exchange of
general and specialized information for the purposes of the state policy in the
area of child
protection. Apart from that analyses are also developed as needed
for determining the strands of the government policy on child protection
(analyses of the effectiveness of the child protection system; of the state of
the children in the specialized institutions; of gifted
children; children with
disabilities, street children, of services for children at risk, etc). A part of
the analyses are uploaded
on the web site of the Agency.
- A
process of automation of NIS of SACP is underway. It will boost the
effectiveness in pursuing the policies of the Agency for Child
Protection by
better informing management and operational activities. The data bases of
various institutions involved in policies
and activities related to the rights
and welfare of children still “rest on” a multitude of diverse
indicators, insofar
as the collection of the data and their publication is done
according to different methods and for different purposes.
- The
project “Creation of a single system for managing the overall process of
implementation of the state policy for working
with people with disabilities in
Bulgaria", which is being implemented by the Agency for People with
Disabilities, envisages the
collection of data on people with disabilities and
in particular on children with disabilities. The system has been established and
a process of signing agreements for exchange of information is
underway.
- Information
reflecting the condition of and challenges in the lives of children and young
people and of their families is also obtained
from national and international
surveys: Situation Analysis (UNICEF); Global education survey (PISA); Gender
Education, Research
and Technologies (GERT) Foundation “Gender equality
– the perceptions and attitudes of children”, Applied Research
and
Communications Fund (ARC Fund) and "Schools without gender-based violence and
stereotypes”, and many more.
G. Dissemination of the
Convention and training
- Regarding
the recommendation in paragraph 21 of CRC/C/BGR/CO/2 on the dissemination of the
Convention and conducting trainings on
it in accordance with our commitments
under article 42, a comprehensive and systematic approach has not been developed
yet. SACP
is faced with the challenge to undertake systematic education and
introduce a training programme based on the principles of the Convention
and
targeting children, parents and all professional groups working for and with
children. The inclusion of the rights of the child
in various courses and
trainings for all target groups is a recognized but still unattained objective
due to the status and powers
of the Agency focused mostly on social work and
social policy. The efforts of the state to train specialists are described in
the
individual thematic areas and such courses are most comprehensively applied
by the Ministry of Defence, which trains all servicemen
undergoing preparation
for participation in operations and missions abroad on the main aspects of
international humanitarian law
and in particular on the rights of children in
areas of armed conflicts.
- Since
2012 MFA has trained individuals and technical staff in Bulgaria’s
consulates abroad on the topics of “Convention
on the Rights of the
Child” and „Child protection” as preparation of the employees
to work with children victims
of trafficking for the purposes of sexual or
labour exploitation. The training is conducted with the participation of experts
from
the State Agency for Child Protection, the National Commission for
Combating Trafficking in Human Beings under the Council of Ministers
and the
General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime of the Ministry of Interior.
Experts from the Ministry of Justice conduct
trainings of consular staff on the
topic of international abduction of children, on the Hague Convention on the
Civil Aspects of
International Child Abduction, on cases of international
abduction, etc.
- Measures
have been taken to promote the Convention on the Rights of the Child (the
Convention) and its Optional Protocols among the
staff of the Ministry of
Interior (MoI) by means of dissemination, trainings and integration in the
syllabus of the Academy of MoI.
All curricula for training police officers to
work with children incorporate the fundamental principle of respecting and
ensuring
the rights and freedoms of citizens, as well as their dignity. The
overall training is aimed at preventing violence against children,
including
such committed by police officers.
- According
to the curricular documentation of the Academy of MoI, the subjects
“Prevention of anti-social behaviour of juveniles
and minors” and
“Police work in schools” include topics for studying and
disseminating the UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child both in the
vocational training courses and in higher education for acquiring the academic
degree of Bachelor
majoring in “Combating crime and public order
protection”.
- Since
2012 the Academy of MoI has been conducting courses for updating the vocational
qualification “Specialized hearing of
children victims of violence”
as part of a programme developed jointly with the Social Activities and
Practices Institute under
the “Hear the Child” project. One of the
objectives of this training programme is the acquisition of theoretical
knowledge
and practical skills to apply Bulgarian and international standards
and best practices relating to the respect for the rights of
children victims of
crime.
- The
Ministry of Education and Science, in cooperation with non-governmental
organizations, social partners, etc., is developing a
state educational standard
of civil, intercultural and health education. Civil sector organizations,
jointly with schools, implement
projects aimed at increasing civic activism of
students and disseminating the Convention. Measures to promote the Convention by
using
the peer-to-peer training method have been included in
NPCP.
- Bulgaria
is making efforts to raise the awareness of the media on the rights of children.
Purposeful meetings and trainings on the
rights of the child targeting media
representatives are planned within the National Programme for Child Protection,
focusing annually
on certain topics. In 2009 such a topic was violence against
children and its coverage in the media, which provoked, apart from legislative
modifications[2], a series of meetings
and workshops with representatives of the media and resulted in greater
awareness and responsibility in covering
child-related subjects and information
about children.
- In
October 2011 the Council for Electronic Media adopted Criteria for assessing
content that is adverse or creates a risk of damaging
the physical, mental,
moral and/or social development of children. Providers of media services are
obliged to prevent participation
of children in programmes with such content.
Every year until 31 March the Council for Electronic Media, the providers of
media services
and the State Agency for Child Protection conclude an agreement
on the protection of children against content that is adverse or
creates a risk
of damaging their physical, mental, moral and/or social development. The
agreement is uploaded on the web sites of
the Council for Electronic Media and
the State Agency for Child Protection. A similar obligation to protect children
has also been
introduced with respect to parents, guardians, custodians or other
persons who care for children.
- Regarding
the commitment for dissemination of the Concluding observations on the second
periodic report, the State Agency for Child
Protection has undertaken prompt
measures to disseminate this document. It was translated and uploaded on the
official web site of
the Agency[3], as
well as on the specialized web site dedicated to the topic of commercial sexual
exploitation of children[4]. Measures
were taken to disseminate the Observations among all authorities and partners
involved in their implementation. The recommendations
from the Observations were
considered in detail during the sessions of the NCCP expert working groups with
the participation of all
institutions and the measures required for their
fulfilment were outlined.
H. Cooperation with International
organisations and civil society
- The
government cooperates actively with the representations of UNICEF and UNHCR in
Bulgaria. The 2013-2017 Country Programme Action
Plan for cooperation with
UNICEF is being implemented. The main areas of interaction include family care
for all children, child
participation, dissemination of the Convention and
upgrading the capacity for its implementation by professionals working with
children,
as well as monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the
arrangements under it.
- Representatives
of the civil sector have been included in NCCP. In 2011 the rules for admitting
members from the civil sector were
amended, thus guaranteeing a more transparent
and democratic process. A number of agreements have been signed with various
NGOs,
such as that in support of the activities related to
deinstitutionalization – with LUMOS Foundation, Know-How centre at the
New
Bulgarian University, etc.
- Another
example in this respect is the establishment, with an Order of the Minister of
Labour and Social Policy and in line with the
Operational Manual of the Social
Inclusion Project (SIP), of a Monitoring Committee (MC) of SIP with the
participation of two NGOs.
The civil sector has been included and takes an
active part in all working groups for preparing policies, laws, strategic
documents,
methods, etc. at all levels of governance. Representatives of NGOs
working with children were also included in the composition of
the National
Council on Social Inclusion under the Council of Ministers in 2009. This Council
performs coordination, cooperation
and consultations in the development,
conducting, monitoring and evaluation of the state policy on social inclusion.
The coordination
is manifested in discussing and making suggestions for drafting
strategies, programmes, action plans and other strategic social inclusion
documents.
III. Definition of the child
- The
legal definition of a child is contained in the CPA and is fully consistent with
article 1 of the Convention: “A child shall
be any natural person, who has
not reached the age of 18”. When the age of 18 is reached, civil capacity
is also acquired.
As stated in Bulgaria’s Initial Report, minors are
persons aged under 14 and juveniles are persons in the age bracket between
14
and 18.
- In
2009 a new Family Code was adopted by the National Assembly. Marriage is allowed
to persons above the age of eighteen. By way of
exception, where compelling
reasons warrant it, a person aged sixteen may also get married with the consent
of the district judge
at the place of permanent residence of this person. In
general, child labour is forbidden. A child aged over 16 could work only after
a
special permit of General Labour Inspectorate Executive Agency and under
specific conditions and a child over 15 could work only
as an exception, again
after receiving a permit.
- Regarding
the employment of children, two supplements have been made to the Labour Code
relating to the social protection of juveniles.
The provision of article 305,
paragraph 4 of the Labour Code (LC) specifies that factory and office workers,
who have not attained
the age of 18 shall be entitled to basic paid annual leave
in the amount of not less than 26 working days, including during the calendar
year, when they attain the age of 18; the rule of article 404, paragraph 1(5) of
LC provides for the power of the control authorities
of the General Labour
Inspectorate Executive Agency (GLI EA) to suspend from work factory and office
workers, who have not attained
the age of 18, in respect of whom the permission
for employment under article 302, paragraph 2 and article 303, paragraph 3 of
LC
has been withdrawn.
- Practice
derived from inspection activities shows that juveniles are offered jobs with
temporary, seasonal employment, which do not
require special education or
qualification. The insufficient level of education of a part of the juveniles
willing to work and the
low level of their training on occupational safety
matters require special attention for reasons of physiological and psychological
nature. The immaturity of the hired juveniles, the lack of experience and labour
skills, as well as their inability to recognize
and protect themselves against
existing or potential occupational risks, are further complicating conditions
affecting the health
of young people and their physical, mental and social
development. The majority of the economically active children work in the
private
sector and their labour is not coercive in nature. The largest number of
requests for authorizations to hire persons under the age
of 18 under employment
contracts has been filed by employers in the hotel and restaurant industry,
retail and other “personal
services”. There is a distinct trend
indicating that boys are more economically active than girls, and that the
relative share
of economically active children grows with age. GLI EA focuses
its controlling activity on compliance with the prohibitions and protection
regulations, when juveniles are hired by employers, by enhancing the inspection
capacity for prevention, protection and elimination
of the cases of unauthorized
forms of labour rendered by children.
- Pursuant
to article 31, paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code (CC), a juvenile, who has
completed 14 years of age, shall be penally responsible,
if that person was able
to understand the nature and meaning of the act perpetrated by him and to manage
his actions. CC contains
privilege provisions – special rules for handling
criminal responsibility of juveniles. The following penalties can be imposed
on
juveniles: imprisonment, probation and deprivation of rights. Many of the penal
provisions allow for replacement of the “imprisonment”
penalty with
another, less severe punishment. In the majority of cases the
“probation” penalty is imposed.
- Cohabitation
on conjugal principle with a person under the age of 16 has been
criminalized, and the penalties for cohabitation with
a juvenile individual are
even more severe. The sexual activity of persons, who have not reached majority,
is surveyed periodically.
The greatest concerns are caused by a trend in Roma
communities, where early marriage and cohabitation on conjugal principle with
juvenile and even minor girls is seen as a tradition rather than as a practice
detrimental to the health and development of the child.
The measures for
reducing and preventing this phenomenon are described in detail in the
“Health and welfare” section.
- Regarding
the prohibition for children to have access to pornographic materials, the
amendments to the Criminal Code (CC) of April
2009 have resulted in adding
“creation of pornographic materials” to such acts as
“fornication”, “copulation”,
“sexual
intercourse” and “prostitution”. Moreover, the 2007 amendments
to CC introduced a definition of the
concept of “pornographic
material”, which includes the definition of “child
pornography” within the meaning
of article 20, paragraph 2 оf the
Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against
Sexual Exploitation and
Sexual Abuse. Completely new provisions of a crime have
been included: “Article 155b. (New, SG No. 27/2009, amended, SG No.
26/2010) Anyone, who persuades a person who is under the age of fourteen to
participate in or to watch real, virtual or simulated
sexual intercourses
between individuals of the same or different sex, carnal display of human
genitals, sodomy, masturbation, sexual
sadism or masochism, shall be subjected
to a penalty of imprisonment for a term of up to three years or
probation.”
- On
1 April 2012 a project supported and co-funded by the European Commission was
launched in Bulgaria. It is a continuation of the
previous projects under the
Safer Internet Programme of the Commission, which resulted in the establishment
and operation of a National
Safer Internet Centre and its functional
subdivisions: an Internet Hotline for receiving reports on illegal and harmful
for children
content and online behaviour and the Bulgarian helpline for online
safety (BLOB) – an advisory centre for rendering assistance
in case of
issues related to the online safety of children. The Internet Hotline handles
reports and helps limit child pornography
and detect and prosecute child abuse
via computer systems. Children themselves can file reports on pornographic
content with BLOB
(both by phone and electronically) or send alerts via the
National Child Helpline 116 111. If a child is faced with a genuine risk,
an immediate check is performed, at the time of filing of the report, by the
General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (GDCOC)
by virtue of an
agreement signed between the line operators and MoI.
- There
is an explicit prohibition in Bulgaria to sell tobacco products and alcohol to
persons under the age of 18. A total ban on indoor
smoking in public places
became effective in 2012.
IV. General principles
- Non-discrimination
- The
ban on discrimination has been incorporated in the Constitution of
Bulgaria[5], in the Law on Protection
against Discrimination and in the Law on the Integration of People with
Disabilities[6]. The state has
explicitly introduced special bans against discrimination in its legislation,
also in the Public Education Act. Any limitations or privileges on grounds of
race, nationality, sex, ethnic or social origin, religion or public status are
forbidden.
- The
Law on Protection against Discrimination introduces a general prohibition on
discrimination, also on grounds of “disability”.
A special section
of the Law on Protection against Discrimination is dedicated to protection in
cases of exercising the right to
education and training. The right of equal
access to education of children with disabilities is also guaranteed by the
general regulation
of the integrated education of children with special
educational needs. The Public Education Act contains an imperative provision
that children with special educational needs and/or chronic diseases shall be
offered integrated
education at mainstream kindergartens and schools. The same
act imposes an obligation on educational institutions to accept children
with
special educational needs and/or chronic diseases.
- The
Law on Protection against Discrimination, effective since 2004, applies to all
natural persons on the territory of the Republic
of Bulgaria. It refers to
disability as one of the grounds for discrimination. The effective legislation
provides for two alternative
ways to safeguard the right to equal treatment: 1)
judicially; and 2) via administrative proceedings before the Commission for
Protection
against Discrimination.
- An
Equal Treatment Handbook[7] was issued
in 2010 for the purpose of serving as guidelines in preventing and precluding
discrimination in the following three areas:
education, police and local
authorities. The Handbook identifies typical cases of discrimination, common
standards, good practices
and recommendations for their prevention. It targets
the key players in these three spheres, but it may be of benefit to a broader
audience as well.
- Another
body that assists the Council of Ministers in developing and implementing the
state policy on ethnic and integration issues
is the National Council for
Cooperation on Ethnic and Integration Issues (NCCEII).
- As
part of the measures taken against discrimination, the Council of Ministers
approved a National Roma Integration Strategy of the
Republic of Bulgaria 2012
– 2020 and adopted an Action Plan for its implementation, as well as one
on the Decade of Roma Inclusion
2005 – 2015 initiative. The National Roma
Integration Strategy was prepared in line with the EU Framework for National
Roma
Integration Strategies up to 2020 and in accordance with the National
Reform Programme of the Republic of Bulgaria (2011 –
2015).
- NCCEII
coordinates and controls the implementation and performs current monitoring of
the Action Plan for Implementation of the National
Roma Integration Strategy of
the Republic of Bulgaria (2012 – 2020) and the Decade of Roma Inclusion
(2005 – 2015), including
of the commitments of all state institutions
according to their functional competence. The main objectives of the Strategy
are accelerating
the progress on improving the welfare of the Roma by including
them in the process of decision-making and performing transparent
and
quantifiable reviews of progress achieved.
- Measures
targeting specifically Roma children are exclusively planned under the
“Education” priority. The “Healthcare”
section attaches
particular significance to children and motherhood. These are also addressed
under the “Culture and media”
priority and under “Rule of law
and non-discrimination”. The rest of the measures for ensuring employment
and living
conditions contribute to the improvement of the situation of children
in vulnerable Roma families.
- Best
interests of the child
- In
2009 certain amendments to the Child Protection Act and its Implementing
Regulation resulted in the establishment of a system of
rules designed to ensure
the best interests of the child. Thus, CPA explicitly states that securing the
best interests of the child
is a fundamental principle of child protection.
Further on it is explained that "Best interest of the child” is an
assessment
of:
-
the wishes and feelings of the child;
-
the physical, mental and emotional needs of the child;
-
the age, gender, history and other characteristics of the child;
-
the danger or harm caused or likely to be caused to the child;
-
the ability of the parents to care for the child;
-
the consequences for the child upon change in the circumstances;
-
other circumstances related to the child.
- The
amended regulations have defined and refined the responsibilities of all child
protection authorities. They have specified the
obligations and responsibilities
of all persons who care for the raising and upbringing of children – not
only parents, but
also guardians, custodians and all persons involved in child
care. The provisions on the grounds for placing a child to live out
of his or
her family have been supplemented by adding guardians and custodians to the
persons who, without a valid reason, continuously
fail to provide care for the
child and/or are in a position of permanent inability to rear the child. For the
purpose of guaranteeing
the best interest of the child, a statutory requirement
was established in 2009 that the placement of a child to live out of his
or her
family shall be undertaken as a protection measure after the exhaustion of all
options for protection in the family, except
in cases, where he or she has to be
urgently removed.
- In
2009 the quality standards codified in the Ordinance on the Criteria and
Standards of Social Services for Children, adopted by
the Council of Ministers
in 2003, were modified in line with the CPA amendments. The modifications have
refined the social services
standards, which mostly seek to ensure quality care
and guarantee the security and safety of the children, who use various types
of
services. In 2009 an obligation was imposed on service providers to inform the
child and the parent about the mode of provision
of the social service and to
develop, jointly with them, a care plan and a service provision plan.
Furthermore, the Ordinance guarantees
that the provider shall preclude
discrimination in the process of performing the social service and that all
actions of staff members
and volunteers shall be consistent with the rights of
the child guaranteed by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Certain
modifications of 2009 also regulate the ensuring of appropriate location and
conditions for the provision of the service in accordance
with the needs of the
clients and the aims of the service, and the performance of periodic assessment
of the risks ensuing from the
environment. The criteria for social services
targeting children are the indicators for measuring the conformity of the social
service
provided with the standards of social services for children established
by the Ordinance.
- The
best interest of the child underlies every decision concerning the child in
court or administrative proceedings. Even though this
phrase has not been
explicitly included in the Criminal Procedure Code, Criminal Code or Family
Code, the court has the right to
request additional information and a report
from the Social Assistance Directorate on any case with a view to taking a
decision that
is consistent with the best interest of the child. The property of
the child is also explicitly protected by law and parents should
treat it with
all due care and cannot dispose of it without an express court permission.
- The
state exerts particular efforts to coordinate and implement
programmes on children in sectoral policies. There is
still no common
understanding on the influence of the various measures and actions in different
sectors on children and there is
no preliminary assessment of the impact of a
certain policy on children. This is particularly valid for areas such as
environment,
transport, regional development and public works. In the sectors of
social policy, education and juvenile justice the best interest
of the child is
explicitly incorporated in the legislation, and it is best regulated in the
legislation in the social policy sphere.
The undertaking of any protection
measure always rests on an assessment of the situation. The Bulgarian state also
follows the guidelines
for providing alternative care to vulnerable children,
where it once again acts in the best interest of the child. The Social
Assistance
Directorate prepares a social assessment and an action plan for the
child. When children are placed in institutions, an individual
care plan is
drafted for each of them, which is reviewed every six months.
- Social
services in Bulgaria are implemented in compliance with uniform legislation and
standards both for public and private organizations.
When exercising their
functions and powers, child protection authorities are guided by the best
interests of the child in all their
actions pertaining to children and their
families. The law does not distinguish between public and private institutions
and the criteria
and standards are identical.
- According
to a statutory requirement in the social sphere, all providers of social
services for children should file an application
for a license with SACP. An
exception is only made for municipalities in their capacity of providers of
services for children, but
despite the efforts made by SACP over the years this
inequality continues to exist and this fact also affects the quality of services
rendered by them, as seen in the results of the subsequent checks on the quality
of the services. Licensing is a form of preliminary
control on services for
children. When such licenses are issued, all providers are informed about their
obligations as such and they
are subject to subsequent control. The criteria and
standards for social services for children seek to ensure safe and secure
environment
for raising and nurturing children and for protecting their rights
and interests, improving their general welfare, as well as guaranteeing
better
quality and accessibility of social services for children. After obtaining a
license from SACP, each provider of services
for children is obliged to register
with the Agency for Social Assistance. The Agency also exercises control
pursuant to the Law
on the Integration of People with Disabilities and the
Family Allowances for Children Act. Furthermore, SACP controls municipalities
in
their capacity of providers of social services for children.
- Child
welfare is enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria. The main
tool of child policy, the National Strategy for Children 2008 – 2018, has
placed child
welfare in the centre of attention of all sectors. The welfare of
children is the concern of their parents. According to the Family
Code, the
spouses shall be obliged, through mutual understanding and common efforts and
according to their abilities, property and
incomes, to provide the family
welfare and to take care of the upbringing, fostering and education and support
of the children. In
case it is not possible for the child to be raised by
his/her parents or this is not in his/her interest, measures are taken to place
the child with an extended family or special protection measures are imposed.
The state is obliged to provide the child with good
living conditions. According
to CPA “Every child has a right to protection with a view to his/her
normal physical, intellectual,
moral and social development and to protection of
his/her rights and interests. There shall be no limitation of rights, nor any
privilege,
on the grounds of race, nationality, ethnic background, sex, origin,
property status, religion, education and convictions or disability”.
According to the Implementing Regulation on CPA “Child protection bodies
shall grant the child the protection and care necessary
for his/her welfare duly
taking all necessary legislative and administrative measures”.
- That
is why the first objective of the National Strategy for Children is
“Decreasing child poverty and creating conditions for
children’s
social inclusion”. In the context of the Europe 2020 Strategy, in 2010 the
Government adopted Bulgaria’s
general national target on social inclusion
promotion, in particular through poverty reduction by 2020, which consists in
reducing
the number of people living in poverty by 260 000. Four specific
targets addressing specific target groups were defined under it.
One of the
specific targets seeks to reduce the number of children in the 0-18 age bracket
living in poverty by 78 000. The activities
and measures planned in the National
Strategy for Children 2008 – 2018 in the area of the standard of living
and social inclusion
encompass: ensuring of a standard of living corresponding
to the child’s needs for physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social
development; family social assistance; creation of conditions for reconciliation
of parents’ private and professional life
and for employment of women;
development day care – nursery schools, kindergartens.
- According
to data yielded by the 2008 Statistics on Income and Living Conditions
(EU-SILC)[8] the poverty rate in
Bulgaria for children under the age of 18 was 24.9%. In 2009 the value of this
indicator went up by 1.8 percentage
points to reach 26.7%, and in 2010 it was
28.9%. Slight increase was also observed in the rate of children living in
material deprivation
between 2008 and 2009: from 43.6% in 2008 to 46.5 % in 2009
[9]. In
2010[10] there was a drop by 0.9
percentage points, the magnitude of the indicator being 45.6%.
- Child
poverty stands out as a significant problem for Bulgaria. According to a 2012
research of the Innocenti
Centre[11], the child poverty rate
in Bulgaria was 17,8%, while the deprivation measure was 56.6%. The state takes
measures to support low-income
parents. Various kinds of benefits are granted
under the Family Allowances for Children Act, the Social Assistance Act, the Law
on
the Integration of People with Disabilities, the Child Protection Act and
their by-laws. In addition, there are incentives for employing
single (adoptive)
parents and/or (adoptive) mothers with children aged 3 to 5 for a period of 12
months. The subsidy period is not
longer than 6 months, and parallel with that
quality care is provided to children aged up to 3 both parents of whom are hired
under
employment or civil service contracts, or work as self-employed persons,
and employment is provided to unemployed individuals registered
with the Labour
Office Directorates. Additional incentives are provided for employers to hire
unemployed persons, who are single
(adoptive) parents and/or (adoptive) mothers
with children aged up to 3 (article 53 of the Employment Promotion Act).
- Families
are also supported through the social services system. Regarding the funding of
social services that constitute activities
mandated (delegated) by the state, a
system of uniform expenditure standards was introduced in 2008 for the purpose
of financing
of social services according to the budget capacity and the needs
in the sector. The introduction of the uniform standards for all
types of social
services virtually marked the beginning of a new stage in the development of the
social services system. Every year,
by virtue of a resolution of the Council of
Ministers, the activities funded via the municipal budgets are divided into
local activities
and such mandated by the state and uniform expenditure
standards are set for financing the state mandated activities. The uniform
expenditure standards not only create a formal option for the extensive
participation of non-governmental organizations and trade
companies in this
sector, but also allow efficient spending of the funds for the development of
social services.
- Income
support is also provided to families, whose children are at risk of social
exclusion, by means of: developing economic assistance,
or the so-called
“income support” for the sake of reducing poverty among vulnerable
families, such as single parents,
parents and children with disabilities, big
families, families with unemployed parents, etc.; updating of benefit
thresholds; applying
more favourable eligibility conditions for financial
support to children from low-income families and raising the level of the
monthly
allowance for children who attend school regularly; social assistance
driven by responsible parenthood, combining of financial support
and services in
a package of measures, offered by the Social Assistance Directorates, for the
purpose of successful social inclusion
of children; updating of the legislation
on the establishment and payment of upkeep for children by their parents in the
interest
of the child.
- Parents
are supported in reconciling their professional and family life by means of:
promoting the role of the father, also by creating
statutory incentives for
fathers to use parental leave; sustaining of the systematic policies for
guaranteeing gender equality in
the labour market, in political, social and
family life; development of flexible employment options (part-time arrangements,
job-sharing,
working from home, etc.) and occupational mobility of the
workforce; enhancing the effectiveness of monitoring compliance with labour
legislation.
- The
access to quality day care for children is being improved by means of:
systematic studying, needs-based planning by the municipalities
and supply of
day care; developing a system of incentives for the municipal authorities by the
government in cooperation with the
employer organizations as a manifestation of
their corporate social responsibility for day care development, including
alternatives
of nursery schools and kindergartens; development of a system of
incentives for parents to enroll their children in pre-school forms
of education
and for attending kindergartens, etc.; creating of options for early enrollment
of children with disabilities in childcare
facilities; increasing the investment
in the staff of childcare facilities – by training them to work with
children with disabilities,
with children from vulnerable ethnic minorities,
with gifted children, etc.; streamlining the ratio between the number of the
staff
and the number of the children in day care.
- Even
though these measures are applied to all children, there is a lower standard of
living in the case of Roma children. This is
conditioned by a multitude of
factors: low educational level of the parents, difficulty in finding a job and
respectively reliance
mostly on the social system. Roma children, particularly
girls, are exposed to the risk of early marriage and to a greater risk of
dropping out of the education system. Furthermore, such children often fail to
attend school because they are forced by their parents
to work. A part of the
Roma children have no access to health care. Even though the access to a GP is
free of charge for children,
a part of them remain out of the health system due
to the ignorance of their parents or due to the fact that there are no surgeries
in the areas of predominantly Roma population. Similar issues are encountered by
children in small and remote communities. Due to
their depopulation and to the
unfavourable demographic trends, schools are closed down and students are
redirected to central (focal)
schools. There are no trained medical
professionals in such areas, and mobile units are still rare. Social assistance
benefits are
frequently bound to other conditions: for example, family
allowances are linked to mandatory school attendance and regular medical
examinations, which, along with the requirement to file documents at one’s
place of permanent address, impede the actual receipt
of social assistance
benefits by some categories of people in need.
- Information
on child welfare is collected by NSI. Even though there is still no generally
recognized definition of the concept of
“child welfare” or agreement
on the indicators for its measurement, a common reference point is provided by
the criteria
released and used by UNICEF, Innocenti Research Centre, Florence.
The disaggregation of the data by ethnic group is hindered by the
principle of
voluntary self-identification. In addition, it is not rare that the parents of
some children at risk cannot be found
and provided with the opportunity to
identify their own ethnicity and that of their child. When implementing certain
projects, NGOs,
the scientific community and SACP use a system of markers that
may allow the identification of the ethnicity of these children for
the purpose
of finding a suitable language and living environment that is close to the
child, but the official government authorities
do not apply such an approach
yet. SACP is planning to organize a joint meeting with representatives of
various competent institutions
and the scientific community, with the Commission
for Protection against Discrimination and the Commission for Personal Data
Protection,
with leaders and organizations of different ethnic communities, for
the purpose of passing a decision on the application of “positive
discrimination”.
- SACP
guides, coordinates and controls the implementation of child protection policies
in Bulgaria. Along with that, the powers of
SACP include control on the
observance of the rights of the child, as well as on the compliance with the
criteria and standards specified
in the Ordinance on the Criteria and Standards
of Social Services for Children by social service providers and by all
institutions
working with children (educational, medical, social).
- The
annual National Programmes for Child Protection envisage monitoring and control
of activities relevant to the respect for the
rights of children and conformity
with the quality standards for services targeting children. The annual reports
on the implementation
of those Programmes account for the results yielded by the
monitoring on the child protection system. The SACP annual reports for
the
period 2008 – 2012, which are published on the web site of the Agency,
contain detailed descriptions of the number and
type of inspected institutions
and providers of services for children, analyze the established omissions,
account for the specific
actions taken to modify policies and make proposals for
amending and supplementing regulations and measures with the aim of improving
social practices.
C. The right to life, survival and
development
- The
Constitution of Bulgaria guarantees the right to life, development and respect
for the dignity of each person, including children. An attempt
on a
person’s life is penalized as the gravest crime.
- Pursuant
to the Family Code, the parent shall have the right and obligation to take care
of the physical, mental, moral and social
development of the child, of his/her
education and his/her personal and property interests. The parent shall raise
the child, form
his/her views and provide for his/her education in accordance
with his/her possibilities and in accordance with the child’s
needs and
aptitudes, and in view to his/her growing up as an independent and responsible
personality. The parent shall not use force
or methods of education, which lower
the child’s dignity. The parent shall provide permanent supervision in
relation to his/her
under aged child and appropriate control of the under aged
child’s behaviour.
- Where
parents are not in a position to honour their obligations or their actions
threaten the life and the development of the child,
the state provides its
protection. Certain amendments to CPA of 2009 supplemented the protection
principles as follows:
- ensuring the
development of a child of prominent talents;
- encouragement of
responsible parenthood;
- support for the
family;
- preventive
measures for child security and protection.
- In
the past 10 years there has been a steady downtrend in child mortality in
Bulgaria. In 2008 its decline, compared to the level
from the beginning of the
century, was over 40% and its magnitude stood at 8.6 per thousand live births
– a record low for
the country. This indicator however is 2 to 3 times
higher compared to the rest of the Central European countries and the Baltic
republics and worse than the indicators of a number of Balkan countries, which
are not EU members, including Albania. Field
studies[12] reveal that one
of the risk factors is the existence of mothers, who belong to communities of
low daily living and health culture,
which are not covered even by the lowest
protection levels of the health system. A part of them do not appear in the
administrative
registers and most probably are not accounted for in health
statistics.
- Risk
factors are likely to affect the levels of yet another key indicator of the risk
of higher mortality rate in the neonatal period
– low weight. The data
yielded by the “Tranmone” monitoring system indicate that the number
of live births with
low birth weight (less than 2500 g) in 2010 was 8.7%, which
differs by 2,7% from Bulgaria’s Millennium target. After 2007 there
was an
upward trend in the proportion of live-born children weighing less than 1500 g,
and by 2010 a growth of over ¼ was achieved.
In this connection the
Ministry of Health has initiated a one-off free examination per pregnant
uninsured woman and maintains a network
of health mediators. In addition, there
are mobile gynaecological and paediatric units, described in detail in the
“Basic health
and standard of living” cluster.
- Respect
for the views of the child
- In
connection with the Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child
from the 48th Session, paragraph 27, regarding respect for the views
of the child as a right under article 12 of the Convention and in conformity
with General Comment No 12 of 2009, the situation has been analyzed and initial
measures have been taken. The state is aware that
the right to child
participation is not sufficiently addressed in the legislation and that such
participation takes place on a voluntary
principle rather than as a systematic
holistic approach.
- The
National Strategy for Children 2008 – 2018 includes a number of measures
for encouraging child participation, such as: creation
of mechanisms to account
for the views of children in developing and implementing policies affecting
them; introduction of specialization
on work with children for judges,
prosecutors and investigators, as well as for the staff in the administration of
the executive
branch authorities; the National Institute of Justice develops
programmes with the participation of lawyers in the area of family
and child
law, child psychologists and social workers, and regular trainings are organized
for judges, prosecutors and lawyers from
the legal aid system on the
peculiarities of child development and communication with children;
equipment/adjustment of special premises
for stay, hearing, interrogation of
children, including children with disabilities, as part of proceedings that
affect them; introduction,
in the Civil Procedure Code, of full guarantees for
child participation in the process, as well as introduction of procedural
capacity
of the social worker and social report, pursuant to the Child
Protection Act; ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on
the
Exercise of Children's Rights; introduction of provisions in the Family Code
obliging parents to consult the child on all matters
that concern him/her; the
Public Education Act provides for mandatory participation of representatives of
student councils in meetings discussing key issues related to the life
in
school, curricula, extracurricular activities, issues of discipline, the
imposition of penalties on individual students, the
internal rules and
regulations of the school; issuing, by municipal administrations and courts, in
cooperation with NGOs, of brochures
in child friendly language, that are to
inform children about their rights, about the implications of the decisions
pertaining to
them and about the consequences of the child’s view;
provision of an opinion by the Child Council to the National Council for
Child
Protection (NCCP) in the process of developing a child policy, also on Bills and
drafts of other regulatory acts; encouragement
of municipalities to create and
include in specific debates child (youth) councils, parliaments, etc.; the Child
Protection Act provides
for a mechanism via which child councils at
municipalities are to cooperate with commissions for child protection; creation
of mechanisms
and procedures to account for the views, participation and
empowerment of children in the protection system; capacity building, including
resources, support and mechanisms for facilitating the participation of children
in the development and implementation of the strategy.
- In
its endeavour to encourage child participation, SACP accepted without any
observations the draft recommendation of the Committee
of Ministers of the
Council of Europe to member states on child and youth participation. This served
as an impetus for a number of
NGOs to initiate advocacy projects seeking
modification of the legislation on the individual aspects in spheres such as
family life,
health and social care, institutional care, child protection,
adoption, education, public life, administration, legal procedures,
as well as
in the implementation of the public policy and democratic decision-making at
local, regional, national and international
levels. The Child Council to SACP
also developed a four-level mechanism for child participation. It is designed to
encourage collective
child participation in the decision-making processes at
school, municipal, regional and national level. Currently the mechanism is
being
piloted with the cooperation of UNICEF, the Ministry of Education and Science
(MES) and the local authorities in three districts
in Bulgaria. The project is
expected to end up with analysis and recommendations for modifications in the
legislation. In addition,
the Ministry of Education and Science started the
project “I participate and change”, which also includes training of
children on the topic of active citizenship and their participation right. A
Youth Law was adopted in 2011, which provides, inter alia, for the
establishment of a register of youth organizations, as well as of such
represented at national level, that are to participate
in the formation of the
decisions pertaining to youth policies.
- Bulgaria
attaches great significance to the opportunity for the opinions and views of
children to be heard in judicial and administrative
proceedings. That is why the
views of each child aged 10 and above are mandatorily heard in case of
participation in any administrative
or judicial proceedings, which affect his or
her rights or interests, and the views of a child under the age of 10 may be
heard depending
on their development level. Judicial and administrative bodies
are obliged to ensure appropriate surrounding for the hearing, to
provide to the
child the entire necessary information and to warn him or her about the
consequences of their participation in the
procedure (article15 CPA). The child
has a right to legal aid and appeal in all proceedings, affecting his or her
rights or interests.
In cases of divorce procedures the court may request an
additional opinion from the Social Assistance Directorate, for the purpose
of
preventing parental alienation and reducing the negative consequences for the
child, particularly in situations of severe parental
conflict. An unaccompanied
juvenile or minor alien, who is seeking or has received protection, and who has
no appointed guardian,
respectively custodian, is represented in the proceedings
by the Social Assistance Directorate. The process of adoption allows hearing
of
the adoptee as well: if the child has reached the age of 14, his consent is
required, and if he or she is younger than 14, the
hearing takes place in court.
- The
reform in the system of juvenile justice envisages the construction of
specialized premises for child hearings (at the end of
2012 there were 11
hearing rooms, made operational mostly under NGO projects and supported by the
state), training of judges, prosecutors,
defence attorneys and MoI officers
working with children (in 2012 SPOC announced a list of prosecutors, who have
undergone specialized
training for work with children). Standards for child
interrogation were developed – in 2011 and 2012 experts from SACP, SPOC,
the Ministry of Justice and the Academy of MoI approved a working version of
standards and good practices, simpler and non-traumatic
procedures for
participation of children in pre-trial and court proceedings. In 2010 a special
article was included in the Criminal
Procedure Code (CPC), according to which
“A juvenile witness, who has been questioned in criminal proceedings,
shall be interrogated
again only if his testimony cannot be read under the
conditions and the procedure as per article 281 or if the new interrogation
is
crucial for uncovering the truth”. Interrogation of a juvenile or minor
witness in Bulgaria can take place, where necessary,
by videoconference as well.
Such actions are taken in regard with the best interests of the
child.
- In
the social services area providers are obliged to create conditions for free
expression of views and independent decision-making
on the part of the child,
according to the Ordinance on the Criteria and the Standards of the Social
Services for Children, as well
as for participation in the discussion of issues
related to the in-house rules and regulations of the specialized institution and
to the residential service, while providing an opportunity for unimpeded filing
of petitions and complaints by the users and developing
a written procedure for
protection against violence, abuse and discrimination. At present there is no
statutory option for a child
to take independent decisions on his or her medical
treatment until they reach majority and the recent surveys among children show
that children don’t want to take these decisions. An opportunity has been
created in the field of education for each school
to set up student councils,
whereby children participate in the creation of school rules, express opinions
and make suggestions regarding
the organization and performance of the overall
school activities[13]. School rules
of operation specify students’ rights, including those, associated with
their participation in the creation of
school rules.
V. Civil
rights and freedoms
- Torture
or other cruel inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Corporal
punishment is prohibited by the legislation of the Republic of Bulgaria. Article
11 (2) of the Child Protection Act (2000)
stipulates that: “Every child
has a right to protection against all methods of upbringing that undermine his
or her dignity;
against physical, psychical or other types of violence; against
all forms of influence, which go against his or her interests”.
The
Implementing Regulation on the Child Protection Act defines child abuse as "any
act of physical, mental or sexual abuse, neglect,
commercial or other
exploitation resulting in actual or potential damage to the child’s
health, life, development or dignity
that may be performed in a family, school
and social environment”. Physical abuse is described as “causing of
bodily
harm, including causing of pain or suffering, harm caused to health". The
prohibition is confirmed in the legislation relevant to
schools and the other
institutions.
- Despite
the ban, a 2009 survey involving 1000 adults revealed public attitudes in favour
of corporal punishment in raising children:
in some cases over 45% or 46% of the
202 respondent teachers expressed the opinion that more than half of the
children in Bulgaria
were smacked (hit).
- Statistics
indicate that the Bulgarian society is becoming increasingly intolerant to the
forms of violence targeting children, which
is also the reason for the growing
number of reports from citizens about cases of child abuse and failure to
provide due care to
a child. Measures have been taken to guarantee the
enforcement of the prohibition by introducing specific mechanisms and
changes:
- Legislative
changes in the area of child protection against violence;
- Implementation
of standards for the participation of children in legal proceedings, when they
are victims of abuse – 2012;
- Establishment of
a national mechanism for early warning of the public in cases of missing or
abducted children;
- A harmonized
pan-European telephone hotline for missing children, 116 000, was
introduced – 2012;
- Ensuring the
operation of a Bulgarian hotline for online safety with access number
124 123 – 2010;
- Introduction of
a mechanism for the prevention of school bullying – 2012;
- Introduction of
a “Coordination mechanism for operational interaction in cases of children
victims or at risk of abuse and for
interaction in case of emergency
intervention” – 2010.
- Corporal
punishment is prohibited in Bulgaria with respect to all citizens. Death penalty
has been abolished. There are no Bulgarian
customs or traditions associated with
child abuse or maiming.
- The
legal ban on the use of corporal punishment as a method of upbringing of
children was introduced in Bulgaria in 2000.
- The
new Family Code (FC) was the first to stipulate such a ban vis-à-vis the
parent: “The parent shall not use force,
as well as methods of education,
which lower the child’s dignity”. The text prohibits not only the
physical punishment
of the child, but also the use of educational methods,
either verbal or psychological, that are inappropriate in view of the
preservation
of his or her dignity.
- Police
violence against children is inadmissible. In case of an incident timely and
relentless measures are taken. Such is the case
of January 2012, when physical
force was inappropriately used with respect to a child detained at the Botevgrad
District Police Department
(DPD) under the Regional Directorate of the Ministry
of Interior, Sofia. Disciplinary proceedings were initiated against the police
officer, who had exercised the violence and later on he was dismissed. The
disciplinary penalty “censure” was imposed
on the Chief of the DPD
for failing to exercise control on his subordinated officers, and the immediate
superior of the dismissed
officer was relocated to another district police
department.
VI. Family environment and alternative care
- In
connection with Observations CRC/C/BGR/CO/2, paragraphs 33-42, and in addition
to the information provided in its first and second
reports, Bulgaria has taken
further action.
- A
new Family Code was passed in 2009. It regulates in a fundamentally new way the
relationship between parents and children and reflects
the present-day needs and
values of society with respect to children and their rights. FC established the
principle of special protection
of children and along with that introduced the
principle of protection of the envolving capacity of the child in line with the
Child
Protection Act and the UN Convention on the Rights of the
Child.
- Unlike
the revoked FC, the new one offers detailed regulation of the relations between
parents and children, especially in the part
concerning the exercising of
parental rights. A new principle of the law is the expansion of self-regulation
when exercising parental
rights and obligations, in combination with retention
of the public monitoring of the interests of the child, particularly in
situations
of disputes between the parents, as well as in cases of restriction
and deprivation of parental rights.
- The
new elements of FC include:
- FC regulates in
detail parental rights and obligations without differentiating between rights,
on the one hand, and obligations, on
the other hand. A minimum standard of
parental care is provided for.
- FC is the first
act containing text on the rights of the child vis-à-vis the parents: for
example, to be raised and educated
in a way, which should secure his/her normal
physical, mental, moral and social development. The legislator’s
well-established
approach so far has been to assign mostly obligations to the
child: to live with his or her parents, to accord respect to his or
her parents
and grandparents, to help them.
- There is a
change in the approach to the right to personal relations. So far traditionally
the matter of the personal relations between
parents and children has been
regulated in the context of the divorce or separation of the parents, not as a
subjective right but
as a measure stemming from the rearrangement of custody in
this context. The new piece of legislation explicitly provides for the
right to
personal relations (contact) as a separate fundamental human right of the child.
It is indeed as such that it is protected
by international conventions such as
ECHR and the Convention.
- A
new aspect in the Bulgarian legislation is the empowerment of third persons,
other than the parents and in addition to them, to
perform legal actions part of
the content of parental rights and obligations. Persons, to whom care for a
child has been assigned,
do not acquire parental rights and obligations. Along
with that they may, without the consent of the parents, take decisions and
undertake action for guarding the life and health of the children, to whom they
provide care. The persons, with whom the child has
been placed by a court
procedure, shall have the right and obligation to live with him/her, as well as
the obligation of realizing
factual acts.
- The
institute of the “parents-children” relations reflects the general
philosophy of the 2009 FC regarding the protection
of the rights and interests
of children. This conclusion has been prompted by the numerous provisions that
take into account the
interest of the child:
- A condition for
approval of the agreement on the consequences of the divorce;
- Detailed and
clear arrangements on the personal relations of both parents with the child,
regardless of their actual separation;
- Simplified
conditions and procedure for entering children in the register for full
adoption;
- Establishment of
a minimum level of the support, without a cap. The payment of the child support
is provided for in the Family Code,
Civil Procedure Code and Criminal Code.
There are also provisions on the option that the adjudicated support should be
paid via
the municipalities – in the cases, where it is established that
the debtor has no property
- In cases of
disagreement with the parents the child can turn to the Social Assistance
Directorate for cooperation, and when the child
has reached the age of 14 and
the disagreement is on a substantive matter, he or she may turn, via the Social
Assistance Directorate,
to the regional court at his or her place of current
residence for settling the dispute.
-
As an EU Member State Bulgaria applies Regulation No 4/2009 on jurisdiction,
applicable law, recognition and enforcement of decisions
and cooperation in
matters relating to maintenance obligations. As part of the procedures provided
for by the Regulation, Bulgaria
receives requests from other states for
recognition and enforcement of judgments, agreements and other documents, which
entail an
obligation for payment of support. The Regulation seeks to introduce
uniform rules and fast-track procedures for receipt of support
in EU member
States, regardless of where the maintenance obligation has arisen.
Family environment
- For
the purpose of improving the capacity of families to take care of their children
in family setting, MLSP/ASA implement a number
of programmes: “Provision
of social assistance benefits by applying a differentiated approach”,
“Integration of
persons with disabilities”, “Child protection
via a transition from institutional care to alternative care in family
environment”, “Support for families with children”, etc. The
programmes seek to render financial support to the
vulnerable groups of the
population, including children, in line with one of the leading protection
principles: raising children
in family environment. The amount of the granted
funds is tied to the number of the genuinely needy children and persons, as well
as to eligibility criteria, stated in the regulations.
- The
Social Assistance Act (SAA) regulates the types of social assistance benefits
intended as support for people and families in need
living on an income, which
is lower than a certain protected threshold, for meeting their basic living
needs. Social assistance benefits
are resources provided in cash and/or in kind,
which supplement or substitute the own income up to an amount sufficient to meet
the
basic necessities of life or to meet incidental needs of the beneficiary
persons and families. The aim in granting social assistance
benefits is to
channel resources, via a differentiated approach, to the most vulnerable groups:
single elderly people, persons with
disabilities and single
parents.
- In
the period 2008 – 2012 a number of amendments were made in SSA and its
Implementing Regulations for the purpose of improving
the legal framework on the
provision of social assistance benefits, the major of them relevant to the
policies on the child and his/her
family being:
- – the
provision for determining the differentiated minimum income for children shall
apply to children, who have been granted
refugee status and humanitarian status
and who have been included in certain integration programmes (2009);
- – the
12-month period of continuous assistance was abolished (starting on 1 January
2011);
- – facilitation
of the access to monthly and ear-marked heating benefits for persons, who have
transferred residential, cottage,
farm or forest property and/or parts of them
in return for payment made over the past five years, along with identification
of a
maximum amount of the income received from such transactions (2010);
- – binding
the granted benefits with the performed mandatory immunizations and screening of
the child, which is a way to prioritize
responsible parenthood (2011);
- – reduction
of the period for mandatory registration with the labour offices of unemployed
people of working age, who apply
for social assistance benefits, from 9 to 6
months, which is a strong protective measure in a situation of crisis and a
condition
for better coordination with ongoing policies in the labour market
(2011);
- – The
income threshold serving as an eligibility criterion for receiving monthly
earmarked benefits for paying municipal housing
money was increased (2011).
- Financial
support granted under the Law on Family Allowances for Children reaches more
than 80% of the children in Bulgaria. The main
purpose for providing family
benefits is raising children in a family setting, in accordance with article 18
of the Convention. Nine
categories of benefits are provided under the Law on
Family Allowances for Children and a distinguishing criterion has been
identified
for each of them in accordance with the intended purpose of the
specific family benefit. Most of the family benefits are granted
to families
regardless of their income. Such are the lump sum benefit at childbirth; the
lump sum allowance for raising twins up
to the age of 1; the lump sum allowance
for raising a child up to the age of 1, where the mother is a university student
attending
a regular form of education; the monthly allowance for children with
permanent disabilities up to the age of 18 and until the completion
of secondary
education, but not after reaching the age of 20; as well as the ear-marked
benefit for free public railway and bus trips
in the country for mothers with
three and more children.
- Specific
criteria have been introduced for another part of the family benefits for
children, according to their orientation or the
income of a family member as
defined in the State Budget Act of the Republic of Bulgaria for the respective
year. Such are: the lump
sum pregnancy benefit; the monthly allowance for
children until the completion of secondary education, but not after reaching the
age of 20; the monthly allowance for raising a child up to the age of 1 and the
ear-marked benefit for schoolchildren. The reporting
period was marked by
considerable dynamics in the modification of the eligibility criteria for
granting benefits. Two types of new
benefits were introduced in the Law on
Family Allowances for Children as of 1 January 2009: a lump sum cash benefit for
raising twins
up to the age of 1 and a lump sum cash benefit for raising a child
up to the age of 1, where the mother is a university student attending
a regular
form of education. Starting on 1 January 2008 the level of the monthly
allowances for children until the completion of
secondary education, but not
after reaching the age of 20, was no more differentiated according to the
sequential number of all children
raised in the family and was the same for all
children.
- As
a result of a modification in the legal framework of February 2010 the
ear-marked benefit for free public railway and bus trips
in the country for
mothers with three and more children, which used to be granted under the
Implementing Regulations of the Social
Assistance Act, is already granted under
the conditions and procedure of the Law on Family Allowances for Children. Due
to another
change in the legal framework in March 2010 the monthly allowance for
children with permanent disabilities up to the age of 18, which
used to be
granted under the Law on the Integration of People with Disabilities, was
transferred to the Law on Family Allowances
for Children.
- The
period under review saw the introduction of new eligibility criteria for the
monthly allowances for children until the completion
of secondary education, but
not after reaching the age of 20 and for the monthly allowances for raising a
child up to the age of
1, the purpose being to encourage responsible parenthood
and to ensure health care for children. The modifications of 2010 regulate
the
provision of these two types of benefits under the condition that the mandatory
immunizations and screening of the child have
been performed, which is evidenced
by an official note issued by the child’s GP. This requirement does not
apply to children
with permanent disabilities.
- A
significant change and supplement from the beginning of 2011 was the provision
for the statutory option to grant the monthly supplement
for a child with a
permanent disability from the first day of the month, in which the disability
date is set and entered in the expert
decision of the Territorial Expert Medical
Panel / National Expert Medical Panel.
- With
a view to ensuring better and more focused support for children raised by one
living parent, amendments and supplements were
introduced in the Law on Family
Allowances and in its Implementing Regulations in 2012 with an effective date 1
January 2013. Due
to the changes referred to above, the monthly allowances for
children until the completion of secondary education, but not after
reaching the
age of 20, as well as the monthly allowances for raising a child up to the age
of 1, for this group of children, will
be granted under a simplified procedure
without an income test. These changes have achieved yet another effect regarding
the monthly
allowance for a child until the completion of secondary education,
but not after reaching the age of 20, namely, that this benefit
will also be
granted to a child that has completed his or her secondary education before
reaching the age of 18, if the other eligibility
criteria are met. In this case
the monthly benefits will be paid until the child reaches majority, without any
need for submitting
a certificate from the educational establishment that the
child has been enrolled as a student, which is required as a mandatory
document
for studying children when granting the benefit.
- One
of the forms of specific support targeting solely the parents of children with
disabilities is the possibility, regulated in 2009
in the Social Insurance Code,
for recognition of contributory service in cases, where the parents do not work,
because they care
for a permanently incapacitated child/person, who needs
constant attendance.
- A
monthly supplement for social integration is provided to children and persons
with disabilities for the purpose of improving their
social status. It is
differentiated and takes the form of cash that supplements the own income of
people with disabilities, its intended
purpose being to cover their additional
expenditures for transportation, information and telecommunication services, for
education,
skilling, accessible information, training, medicinal drugs, dietetic
food, balneological treatment, rehabilitation, etc.
- A
National Programme on Guaranteeing the Rights of Children with Disabilities 2010
– 2013 was adopted in June 2010. The recommendations
addressed by the
European Committee of Social Rights to the Bulgarian government have been taken
into consideration and have been
included as part of the leading priorities in
the Programme. It encompasses measures and activities associated with the right
to
education, health care and adequate social services, in support of children
and their families, the right to sport and other leisure
activities, the
creation of an accessible architectural environment, etc.
- Some
of the most successful social services in support of children with disabilities
and their families are the services "personal
assistant", "social assistant" and
"domestic assistant”, which are aimed, on the one hand, at improving the
quality of life
of people with disabilities and, on the other hand, at
preventing placement in specialized institutions. These social services are
provided in family environment under different programmes and projects, over
various periods and with diverse employers and financial
resources, as well as
under different terms and procedures for appointment of the assistants. In this
context, a National Programme
“Assistants to People with
Disabilities” (NP APD) was implemented in 2012 to provide the social
service "personal assistant".
The analysis of the results yielded by the
Programme indicates that it has a powerful social effect toward improving the
quality
of life of people with disabilities and that it is of great importance,
particularly for the small towns and villages in the country,
where no other
community-based social services are provided and persons with disabilities rely
solely on their relatives. Moreover,
the programme provides employment to
unemployed persons, who render quality care in family environment to persons and
children with
disabilities.
- The
country is faced with insufficient and unevenly distributed family counseling
services, parent training programmes, as well as
trained professionals, who are
to identify the problems and work on their surmounting jointly with the family.
Due to this finding
the competent institutions – MLSP and in particular
ASA, continue their deliberate efforts to support the regional and municipal
administrations in assessing adequately the needs for services in the community,
in planning and managing the universal services
network and social services
network for children and their families. An amendment and supplement of the
Implementing Regulations
of the Social Assistance Act (IR SAA), effective since
2011, streamlines and refines the procedure of social service provision with
the
aim of performing a more precise social assessment consistent with the needs of
the children/persons.
- The
“community support centre” (CSC) service is a universal advisory
service supporting the child and the family. CSC
provides a set of social
services related to abandonment prevention, prevention of abuse and school
dropout, deinstitutionalization
and reintegration of children, training in
independent living skills and social integration of children from institutions,
counseling
and support to families at risk, evaluation and training of
prospective foster parents and adoptive parents, counseling and support
to
children with antisocial behaviour. The CSC service is operational in all
districts in Bulgaria and develops at a good pace: 62
centers were opened and
operated as state mandated activities in the period 2008-2012. In 2008 there
were 26 CSCs with a total capacity
of 1 382 users. As of 31 December 2012
their number reached 88. The total capacity of the operational centres at the
end of 2012
was 3 839.
- Bulgaria's
efforts to develop and implement integrated policies for early child development
– for children in the 0 to 7 age
group, are in line with General Comment
No 7 of 2005 of the Committee. A social inclusion project worth EUR 40 million
was launched
in 2010. The project seeks to prevent social exclusion and reduce
child poverty through investments in early childhood development.
The
improvement of children’s readiness to join the education system and the
support for cultivating parenting skills among
vulnerable groups of parents are
also aimed at limiting the intergenerational transmission of poverty. The
projects of 58 municipalities
were launched in 2011 and in 2012 the number of
the projects was 69. By implementing the project the municipalities will
initiate
the provision of new types of services for children and families: for
early child development, for preventing risks in early childhood,
for better
coverage and improvement of the readiness of children for inclusion in the
education system, for improving the family
environment. One of the project
activities is advising parents on the network of support services (social,
health, employment and
others) and on their role for the development of the
child, as well as on the role of community support.
- A
good example of cooperation between the state and NGOs is the project "From
planning to effective provision of community based social
services for people
with intellectual disabilities in Bulgaria” realized jointly with the
Dutch organization De Passerel, which
was completed at the end of 2011. One of
the outcomes of the project was the developed methodology for achieving basic
social infrastructure
of the social services, the establishment of central
offices for local level services and the optimization of the access to social
services through early detection of problems.
- Regulatory
modifications were approved in 2010 with the aim of creating conditions for the
participation of civil society organizations
in shaping municipal policy on
planning social services and the functions of public councils in this process
were stipulated. Public
councils are created in municipalities, following a
decision of the Municipal Council. Apart from having the right to exercise
control
on the quality of social services in line with the established criteria
and standards, these councils also provide opinions on the
opening and closing
down of specialized institutions for provision of social services on the
territory of the municipality and render
assistance for coordination of the
activities for social service provision.
- Another
form of civil control, provided for in the Implementing Regulations of the
Social Assistance Act, are the councils of the
users of social services, of
their guardians or custodians. They are created to protect the interests of the
users of social services
and to exercise public control. The councils have
advisory functions in the implementation of the activities of providing social
services and monitor their quality.
- Regarding
the financing of social services that constitute state delegated activities, a
system of uniform expenditure standards was
introduced in 2008 for the purpose
of financing of social services in accordance with the budget capacity and the
needs in the sector.
As of the end of 2008 the number of the social services for
children were 128 with a total capacity of 4 081 positions, while as
of 31
December 2012 their number had gone up to 338 with a total capacity of
8 769 positions. In 2008 the amount of the funds allocated
from the
national budget for social services for children and persons was BGN
143 032 900, and in 2012 it reached BGN 159 226 600.
Funding is also
secured by implementing projects in the social services area via operations of
the Human Resources Development Operational
Programme, namely: “Better
future for children” with a budget of BGN 17, 8 million, “Chance for
a happy future”
with a budget of BGN 16,5 million, “Living in the
Community”, with a budget of BGN 29,3 million. The social service
providers
under the “Better future for children” operation are
candidates, and the provider under the other two operations is a
partner. In
2012 certain changes in the Methodology for determining the positions of the
staff in the specialized institutions and
the community-based social services in
relation to the percentage of the budgetary allocations made it possible for the
providers
themselves to allocate the budget approved for the respective year.
For the sake of improving the care of children and better satisfying
their
needs, in 2013 the uniform expenditure standards for the maintenance of social
services constituting state mandated activities
were increased by 10% as
compared to 2012.
- Changes
have been introduced for the purpose of improving motivation and reducing
turnover in the field of social work with children
and families: the new
Classification of positions in the
administration[14] grades the
position of a “social worker” in 3 groups, respectively, in
descending order: “Chief Social Worker”,
“Senior Social
Worker” and “Social Worker”. The required mechanisms –
basic and upgrading training
for acquiring the respective levels of competence,
have been identified.
- A
Law Amending and Supplementing the Social Assistance Act became effective on 24
April 2012 and introduced changes allowing the adoption
of an ordinance on the
career development of the social workers employed by the Agency for Social
Assistance, which is subject to
approval by the Minister of Labour and Social
Policy. Ordinance No. RD-07-6 of 10 October 2012 on the career development of
the social
workers at the Agency for Social Assistance, issued by the Minister
of Labour and Social Policy has been adopted. It is consistent
with the recent
changes in the regulations concerning the application of the new Classification
of positions in the administration.
The Ordinance specifies requirements for
holding the positions as graded in the new Classification of positions in the
administration,
which include specific knowledge, skills and competencies for
social work with children and families. In addition, the Ordinance
provides for
the organizational forms for skilling social workers, which include basic and
upgrading training.
- The
project "Strengthening the capacity of ASA to improve the quality and
effectiveness of social work", funded under HRD OP, concerns
the elevation of
the professional andadministrative capacity, as well as the staff
motivation in the bodies of the Agency
for Social Assistance. The workload of
the social workers during the fulfillment of the first five activities in the
period from
the launching of the project until 31 December 2012 was analyzed and
a mechanism for workload assessment and management was created.
The completed
analysis of the workload of the social workers served as a basis to distribute
400 social workers to Child Protection
Departments (CPDs) and Persons with
Disabilities and Social Services (PDSS) Departments in all Social Assistance
Directorates (SADs)
in the country; selection has been conducted for recruitment
of 400 social workers distributed among all Child Protection Departments
and
Persons with Disabilities and Social Services Departments at all the 147 SADs in
the country. As of 31 December 2012 there were
217 social workers appointed at
CPDs; an analysis had been made of the needs to train and monitor the experts
and social workers
occupied at CPDs and PDSS departments of SADs. The key
components and the topics on which trainings would be organized had been
identified.
B. Alternative care
- Alternative
care in Bulgaria is based on the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children
annexed to General Assembly resolution
64/142 of 18 December 2009 – return
to the biological family (where possible), accommodation with extended family,
provision
of foster care, adoption or placement in a social service facility
– residential or specialized institution. When undertaking
such protective
measures with respect to children at risk, the staff of CPDs at SADs is guided
by the best interest of the child.
When the proposed protection measure is
placement outside of the biological family, it must be considered by a court.
The court is
the independent body which confirms or rejects the protection
measure proposed by SADs, i.e. there is judicial control in Bulgaria
regarding
the placement of children to live out of the family: with friends and relatives,
with foster families, adoptions and placements
in specialized institutions, or
in facilities with residential social services. According to the national
regulations, the social
workers at CPDs develop an Action Plan for each child at
risk on a case by case basis, and in the event of children placed in specialized
institutions and residential facilities with social services the social workers
participate in the development of a Care Plan jointly
with representatives of
the institution and the child. This plan is updated at periods not longer than 6
months. Children placed
with families of friends and relatives are actively
monitored and the family is supported, and in the case of children placed with
foster families, the service providers are obliged to monitor the quality of the
service provided.
- In
2009 new forms of community-based social services were introduced –
residential services, where placement is also subject
to judicial control. Since
the same year two types of residential social services: transitional housing and
monitored housing intended
for young people leaving the specialized institutions
have been financed as state mandated activities. In such facilities the young
people get ready to leave the institution and get support in their professional
fulfillment, as well as a dwelling that enables their
independent living. In
2010 a definition of “a social service of a residential type” was
introduced in the Implementing
Regulations of the Social Assistance Act,
according to which it is a form of a social service designed to meet the daily
needs of
a limited number of persons – not more than 15, providing them
with an opportunity to live in a family-like environment.
- Foster
care is one of the priorities in state and social policy and a primary
alternative and tool in the ongoing process of child
deinstitutionalization in
the Republic of Bulgaria. Foster care is implemented via placement with the
families of relatives or friends
or placement with a foster family. It is both a
social service and a child protection measure.
- A
Methodology on the conditions and modalities of provision of the social service
“foster care” was approved in 2008.
The reform in the child
protection area conducted in 2009 involved refinement of the social service
standards mostly aimed at ensuring
quality care and guaranteeing the security
and safety of children using different types of services, including the
provision of foster
care.
- Certain
amendments to the Child Protection Act of 2012 refined and regulated in detail
the provision of the service “foster
care”. A change was introduced
in the form of the employment relationship between the professional foster
family and the provider
of the social service “foster care”: the
arrangement with the professional foster family is not in the form of an
employment
contract any more. Hence, there is no limitation that this care
should be provided within an 8-hour working day by virtue of an employment
relationship. These amendments stipulate that foster family applicants should be
endorsed by a Foster Care Commission established
at each Regional Directorate
for Social Assistance. The same amendments stipulate that the families of
relatives or friends, the
applicant foster families and the approved foster
families may be supported via the social service “foster care”.
- There
are also provisions on the types of activities included in the social service
“foster care”, namely, activities
involving recruitment and
evaluation of applicant foster families, training, mutual adaptation, support
and monitoring of the child
rearing. The amendments stipulate that spouses or
persons belonging to the foster family shall not be holders of parental rights
and obligations.
- For
the purpose of aligning the regulatory framework with the amendments introduced
in 2012, amendments and supplements were also
introduced to the Ordinance on the
conditions and procedure for application, selection and approval of foster
families and placement
of children with them, as well as in the Implementing
Regulation of the Child Protection Act (IR CPA). These amendments provide for
a
possibility for the monthly allowances for children placed for nurture with
relatives or friends and for children placed for nurture
with a foster family to
be awarded by the municipality or by the licensed provider of the social service
“foster care”
that is to be identified in accordance with the
child’s age.
- Professional
foster families receive remuneration. All foster families undergo training
– preliminary training and evaluation,
subsequent support and
consultations, and the manner in which they care for the children is monitored
on a regular basis. In 2012
the remuneration of foster families was increased by
20 %. The remuneration stated in the contracts of professional foster families,
entered into after 4 September 2012, is determined in relation to the minimum
salary established for the country, and after 1 January
2013 it is updated in
line with the increased minimum salary.
- A
major instrument for promoting foster care is the project “I Have a
Family, Too”, which is being implemented by the
Agency for Social
Assistance. Over a period of just one year ending on 31 December 2012 a total of
838 applications from prospective
foster families were filed solely under this
project on the territory of all the 83 municipalities covered by it and for a
total
of 115 of the applicants the assessment has already been terminated. As of
31 December 2012 the number of the approved foster families
was 276 and there
were 100 children placed with foster families.
- Priority
target groups under the project are children from specialized institutions,
children in the 0 to 3 age group and children
with disabilities. The continuous
information campaigns conducted by the foster care teams (FCTs) at local level
focus on the recruitment
and approval of a growing number of foster families to
be trained for the provision of quality foster care to babies. The objective
is
that in case of unsuccessful abandonment prevention at a maternity hospital
level children should be immediately placed with foster
families.
- All
locations where social services for children are provided –
community-based social services, social services of a residential
type and
specialized institutions for children, are subject to monitoring by authorized
controlling bodies – coming from the
inspectorate under the Executive
Director of ASA, Directorate General “Control on the Rights of the
Child” of SACP and
the municipality. Inspections can be alert-triggered,
planned and thematic.
C. Adoption
- The
Committee has made a recommendation for improving the procedures for adoption
and guaranteeing equal rights and the best interests
of all children in adoption
procedures, as well as for conducting trainings for specialists and raising
public awareness on the adoption
process. This recommendation was taken into
account during the adoption of the Family Code in 2009. Each Regional
Directorate for
Social Assistance establishes an Adoption Council, which is a
collective body that guarantees the participation of more representatives
of the
institutions in the adoption process, as well as transparency of the procedure.
The amendments to the Family Code have abolished
the complex and long judicial
procedure of registering children that can be adopted under the conditions of
full adoption. There
has been a reduction in the number of children in
specialized institutions, the number of the children that have been reintegrated
in a family environment has increased, and so has that of the children placed in
the care of relatives, friends and foster families.
The number of adopted
children is also on the rise. The Ordinance on the Conditions and Procedure for
Keeping and Maintenance of
the Registers for Full Adoption (the Ordinance),
approved in 2010, envisaged that the Regional Directorates for Social Assistance
should keep registers of children that can be adopted under full adoption
conditions and a register of adoptive parents under full
adoption conditions.
According to the provisions of the Family Code and the Ordinance, the Agency for
Social Assistance (ASA) keeps
a National Register of adoptive parents under full
adoption conditions and maintains a National Electronic System of children that
can be adopted under full adoption conditions.
- The
abovementioned provisions make it possible to take adequate and timely action
regarding children, for whom, within the 6-month
period after their entry in the
register, the Adoption Council has not identified an appropriate adoptive parent
or none of the identified
ones (not less than three adopters) has submitted a
request for adopting the particular child, as well as in the cases, where
despite
the efforts it has not been possible to find a suitable adopter of the
child.
- In
2011, following an order of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy, a
Programme for Training Adopters under the Conditions of
Full Adoption was
established.
- In
2011 the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, the Ministry of Justice, the
State Agency for Child Protection and the Agency for
Social Assistance adopted
Methodological Guidelines for Cooperation and Coordination in conducting
administrative procedures for
national and inter-country adoption. The purpose
of these guidelines is to coordinate the activities of the institutions engaged
in the process of national and inter-country adoption.
- 2012
saw the start of a process of improving the actions and aligning the foster care
and adoption procedures due to problems in the
adoption of a child placed with
and raised by a foster family. To this end, following an order by the Minister
of Labour and Social
Policy, a task force was established with the participation
of representatives of the institutions involved.
- The
new Family Code creates special rules for inter-country adoption, thus aligning
procedures even further with the requirements
of article 21 of the Convention on
the Rights of the Child and the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children
and Co-operation
in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. The criterion adopted by
the Hague Convention for distinguishing between intercountry and domestic
adoption was introduced, i.e. separation according to the habitual residence of
the adopted child and the adoptive parents, rather
than according to their
citizenship, as well as the relocation of the adopted individual from the
country of origin to the country
of habitual residence of the adoptive parent.
The special rules relevant to intercountry adoption highlight its subsidiary
nature,
as they establish additional requirements for entering a child in the
Intercountry Adoption Register – when the possibilities
for adoption in
the country have been exhausted.
- Ordinance
No. 13 of 30 September 2009, issued by the Minister of Justice, established the
conditions and procedure for consenting
to intercountry adoption and for
maintaining the Intercountry Adoption Registers and repealed Ordinane No. 3 of
2003 on the conditions
and procedure for the adoption of a Bulgarian citizen by
an alien. The ordinance of 2009 also contains the provisions on the special
adoption measures taken when the register contains no entries of suitable
adoptive parents, the Intercountry Adoption Council cannot
identify suitable
adoptive parents from the registered persons or the identified adoptive parents
have refused to adopt a child with
a health problem, with special needs or aged
over 7.
- Ordinance
No. 12 of 30 September 2009 issued by the Minister of Justice established the
conditions and procedure for granting and
withdrawal of a license for mediation
in intercountry adoption and for performance and suspension of the activities of
accredited
organizations. The ordinance introduced a new procedure for issuing a
license for intermediation, including a limit for intermediation
for no more
than 10 countries, and the provisions for exercising control on the activities
of the accredited organizations have been
supplemented and
elaborated.
- In
accordance with the competencies of the Intercountry Adoption Council
established in the Family Code, the Minister of Justice issued
its new
Operational Rules effective since 10 October 2009. For the purpose of raising
the awareness of the public and the institutions
on the activities of the
Council, a provision has been introduced obliging it to publish information on
its decisions on the official
web site of the Ministry of Justice within one
month after the session that has adopted them. The publishing takes place on a
monthly
basis, along with the uploading of information on the number of the
children, whose files have been considered at the respective
session.
- Children
without parental care who are living in public care
institutions.
- The
main purpose of the national strategy “Vision for Deinstitutionalization
of the Children in the Republic of Bulgaria”,
which was adopted in the
beginning of 2010, is to close down all child institutions within 15 years. The
strategy envisages the closure
of the classic type of specialized institutions
and a change in the quality of the policies in support of families, which would
lead
to the prevention of risks, including the risk of abandonment of the child.
In the recent five years the policy of providing support
to children and
families has been aimed at introducing a completely new approach in child care
for the purpose of prevention, early
intervention, support to families and
securing of a family or near-family environment for each Bulgarian
child.
- At
the end of 2010 an Action Plan for implementing the National Strategy
“Vision for Deinstitutionalization of the Children
in the Republic of
Bulgaria” was adopted. It specified the activities, tasks,
responsibilities and resources for its implementation.
The Action Plan includes
the development and implementation of five projects:
- for
deinstitutionalization from facilities for children with disabilities;
- for
deinstitutionalization from facilities for medical and social childcare;
- for
deinstitutionalization from facilities for children deprived of parental care;
- for development
of foster care; and
- for career
development of social workers[15].
The projects contain specific indicators and measures for
reporting progress. They are funded under the operational programmes Human
Resources Development, Regional Development and the EU Rural Development
Programme, and their total value is over EUR 100 million.
- Every
year, by means of the “Support”
project[16], monitoring reports are
developed for reporting the implementation of the Action Plan for implementation
of the National Strategy
“Vision for Deinstitutionalization of the
Children in the Republic of Bulgaria”. The projects in the Action Plan are
interrelated and parallel efforts are made to improve the child protection
system, to develop community-based services and amend
the
legislation.
- The
reform in the area of child protection, an essential part of which is also the
deinstitutionalization process, entails a lasting
tendency of a declining number
of children raised in specialized institutions. Purposeful work is performed
toward closing the child
facilities and, along with that, for developing new
social services (see the data in the Annex).
- There
is a qualitative change in the system for rendering care to children and their
families. The ongoing activities are aimed at
the social inclusion and
involvement of all children, as well as at replacing the institutional care with
community-based care, care
in a family or near-family environment. In this
context, a number of alternative forms and services are launched in the
community
in support of children and families at risk. The most successful
measures leading to a significant reduction in the number of children
raised in
specialized institutions are measures for abandonment prevention, reintegration
of children in their biological families,
placing them with families of
relatives and friends, with foster families or for adoption.
- A
number of actions have been taken in support of the deinstitutionalization:
dedicated efforts of the Child Protection Departments
for abandonment
prevention, for reintegration in the biological family, in the cases where this
is possible, referral to suitable
community-based social services, working with
children placed in specialized institutions, restriction of the placement of
children
in specialized institutions in line with the regional principle,
reduction of capacities in specialized institutions with a steady
downtrend in
the number of the accommodated children, provision of new residential services
to children, for whom it is not possible
to be raised in a family, closing down
of specialized institutions.
- The
ongoing national projects, which are part of the Action Plan for the
implementation of the National Strategy “Vision for
Deinstitutionalization
of the Children in the Republic of Bulgaria”, include activities for
training the staff of the specialized
institutions for children –
“Childhood for All” project, “DIRECTION: family”
project, “Development
of the Planning System and Provision of Social
Services at Regional Level” project.
- The
Action Plan for implementing the National Strategy “Vision for
Deinstitutionalization of the Children in the Republic of
Bulgaria”
foresees the establishment of basic structures for managing the
process:
• Interdepartmental task force;
• Steering Monitoring Committee (expert group);
•
Technical unit for managing each of the projects;
• Regional
bodies in support of the process.
- The
main mechanism for management, coordination, planning and decision-making
vis-à-vis the overall implementation of the Action
Plan under the
National Strategy “Vision for Deinstitutionalization of the Children in
the Republic of Bulgaria”, including
planning, launching and modes of
implementation of the projects included in the Plan, is via the established
interdepartmental task
force at high political level (the chairperson being the
Deputy Prime Minister in charge of economic development). Furthermore, the
interdepartmental task force became the main counterpart of the European
Commission for coordination of the envisaged solutions and
for participation of
the European Commission in the processes in Bulgaria.
- In
addition, the Action Plan envisages the establishment of a Steering Monitoring
Committee (expert group), which would be a collective
interdepartmental body
dealing with the coordination of its implementation. It is planned that the
members will be representatives
of the different competent institutions, of the
National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria, of UNICEF,
of
non-governmental organizations, and the managers of all projects included in
the Action Plan. The intended functions are direct monitoring
of the
implementation of the activities envisaged in the plan, provision of
coordination between the state institutions and the other
involved organizations
and coordination of all projects.
- So
far the Steering Committee has acted as a task force, whose first assignment was
to develop the Action Plan. Its second assignment
was the preparation of annual
monitoring reports accounting for the implementation of the Action Plan, also
covering projects, activities,
initiatives, as well as main results,
conclusions, challenges and recommendations for future decisions.
- Technical
units ensuring the implementation of each specific project were created in the
course of the implementation of the Action
Plan. The technical units are bodies
made up of experts that coordinate and organize the implementation of the
projects in accordance
with the activities envisaged and a timetable. Currently
the technical units for managing the five projects are
operational.
- After
the successful work and support regarding the process of deinstitutionalization
on a regional level, the period of operation
of the regional
deinstitutionalization teams has been extended as part of the project of the
State Agency under Operational Programme
Technical Assistance. 28 regional teams
including representatives of three regional bodies – regional directorates
for social
assistance, regional health inspectorates and regional educational
inspectorates – have been engaged, which makes a total of
84 participants
in the teams. This body continues to operate in close interaction with the
regional structures for coordination and
monitoring of the implementation of the
regional strategies on social services and to guarantee the development of the
projects on
local and regional level, as well as to ensure monitoring on the new
services and the connection with the educational, health and
social agencies.
The regional team for deinstitutionalization (RTD) has the opportunity to
participate in a number of meetings and
to ensure a continuous coordination on
regional level, as well as to submit timely information about the stages of
implementation
of the projects, including specific expert requests.
- The
implementation of the Roadmap for State Policy in the Area of Juvenile Justice
2013-2014 includes options for creating specialized
services for children in
conflict with the law. The purpose of these services is to preclude the joint
raising of children deprived
of parental care and children found to be guilty or
accused of criminal acts.
E. Abuse and Neglect
- In
addition to the provisions of the Child Protection Act (CPA) and its
Implementing Regulation, the new Family Code prohibits, for
the first time in
family law, the use of force by the parent or of methods of education, which
lower the child’s dignity.
- An
Agreement for Cooperation and Coordination of the Work of the Territorial
Structures of the Child Protection Bodies in applying
a coordination mechanism
for interaction when working on cases involving children who are victims of or
at risk of abuse and for
interaction during emergency intervention was signed in
March 2010, and it listed the specific commitments and obligations for
interaction
of the involved parties. The application of the Coordination
Mechanism helps achieve quick response, cooperation and coordination
of the
actions of the responsible institutions in case of a child at risk and/or a
child victim of violence.
- In
May 2012, following a decision of the Council of Ministers, a 2012 – 2014
National Plan for Child Violence Prevention was
adopted. The Plan is consistent
with the Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, and more
specifically with the
recommendation that the country should include
institutional action plans in the National Strategy for Children 2008 –
2018.
- The
National Plan for Child Violence Prevention is in line with the requirements and
recommendations of the Council of Europe Strategy
for the Rights of the Child
(2012-2015), adopted at the Monaco conference of the Council of Europe held on
20 – 21 November
2011, which supported the adoption and implementation, by
the state parties, of integrated national strategies for child abuse protection,
requiring legislative, political and institutional reforms and focusing on
prevention. The National Plan for Child Abuse Prevention
is also consistent with
the activities envisaged in the National Strategy for Children 2008 –
2018, which seek to achieve higher
effectiveness of the work in response to
reports on child abuse, to introduce procedures and principles of work with the
partners
from the different institutions when handling cases, as well as to
introduce standardized methods for collecting information.
- The
operational goals set in the National Plan for Child Abuse Prevention are as
follows:
- Increasing the
effectiveness of the measures for protecting children against abuse;
- Improving the
access and the types of services for work with children in cases of abuse and
rehabilitation of the children and the
families;
- Upgrading the
professional capacity of the specialists working with children;
- Prevention of
the child abuse phenomenon.
- The
territorial divisions of the Agency for Social Assistance – the Social
Assistance Directorates and in particular the Child
Protection departments, work
actively with children victims of abuse, and their families – they take
protection measures, guide
them to social services, provide counseling, support
and assist them to overcome the adverse consequences of the experienced abuse.
Large portions of the child victims of abuse placed in a specialized institution
or in a social service facility have been placed
under “police
protection” as an initial measure. If it is found that there is an
immediate risk to the life and health
of the children, they are immediately
taken away from the dangerous environment and placed in Crisis Centers for
Children Victims
of Abuse and Trafficking, in specialized institutions or in
other social services of residential type, depending on the specifics
of the
case.
- In
accordance with the recommendation of the Committee for establishing a 24-hour
hotline and in compliance with the EU requirements
for establishing and
maintaining a hotline for children (published in the Official Journal of the
European Community of 15 February
2007 and 29 October 2007), SACP has been
provided with the pan-European harmonized number 116 111 for establishing
and managing a
telephone line with national coverage for informing, counseling
and helping children. The national hotline for children 116 111 operated
by
SACP was opened on 5 November 2009. It provides children with 24-hour free
access for sharing a problem or receiving information
about their problems from
a professional.
- One
of the powers of the Chairperson of SACP, according to the Child Protection Act,
is to “establish and maintain a harmonized
telephone number with national
coverage for informing, counseling and helping children”. The Implementing
Regulation of the
Act provides for the functions and interaction of the team,
which supports the hotline for children, with the child protection bodies,
as
well as with the single emergency number 112.
VII. Basic
Health and Welfare
A. Children with Disabilities
- The
Committee recommends that the State party provide children with disabilities and
their families with adequate support, while taking
into account the United
Nations Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with
Disabilities (General Assembly
resolution 48/96) and General Comment No. 9
(CRC/C/GC/9) on the rights of children with disabilities.
- In
2012 Bulgaria demonstrated its intention to improve state care for persons with
disabilities by signing and ratifying the Convention
on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities. Currently, the issue of signing the Annex to it is being
considered. Strategic documents
and plans for supporting children with
disabilities were adopted during the reporting period including, inter alia,
the Strategy for Providing Equal Opportunities to Persons with Disabilities
2008 – 2015, the National Strategy for Children
2008 – 2018, the
National Programme for Guaranteeing the Rights of Children with Disabilities
2010 – 2013, the National
Programme for Developing School Education and
Pre-school Upbringing and Training (2006 – 2015) and the National Plan for
Integration
of Children with Special Educational Needs and/or with Chronic
Diseases in the National Education System.
- The
following objectives have been set in the Strategy for Providing Equal
Opportunities to Persons with Disabilities 2008 –
2015: creation of
conditions ensuring accessible environment for people with disabilities,
shifting from the model of rendering care
to children with disabilities from the
moment of their placement in specialized institutions to provision of care in a
family environment,
creation of conditions for access to quality education,
ensuring of combined medical and social rehabilitation, aids, devices and
facilities and medical products, priority development of community-based social
services, development of alternative forms of services,
etc.;
- The
National Programme for Guaranteeing the Rights of Children with Disabilities
2010 – 2013 was created after a thorough analysis
of the gathered
information on the situation of children with disabilities and the problems
identified in this context. This act
was used by the state as a vehicle for
planning specific steps that would lead to improvement in the living conditions
of children
with disabilities, as well as for ensuring the respect for their
rights. The implementation of this programme is aimed at:
- Increasing the
number of kindergartens, schools and support units that ensure accessible
environment for children with special educational
needs;
- Providing
opportunities for children with special educational needs to be integrated in
the mainstream educational environment;
- Individual
approach consistent with the child’s abilities for integration and
learning, for the purpose of ensuring special
and social preparation for
school;
- procurement and
introduction of a modern methodology for comprehensive evaluation of children
with disabilities;
- Increasing the
number of the professionals trained to work with children with special
educational needs;
- Provision of
support to the families of children with disabilities;
- Tracing the
process of integration of children with special educational needs in mainstream
kindergartens and schools;
- Provision of
opportunities for professional fulfilment of young people with special
educational needs;
- Securing of
early diagnostics and reduction of the risk of giving birth to a child with
disabilities;
- Supporting
parents and securing early diagnostics and rehabilitation for children with
disabilities;
- Increasing of
the social services for children with disabilities;
- Possibility to
monitor, analyze and design policies for children with
disabilities.
- The
main activities for improving the situation of children with disabilities are
aimed at creating an accessible environment (in
2009 the Ministry of Regional
Development and Public Works adopted an Ordinance on the Design, Implementation
and Maintenance of
Buildings in Accordance with the Requirements for Public
Accessible, Including People with Disabilities), financial and intangible
support (described in detail in the family environment and alternative care
cluster), expansion of social and medical services, improved
access to
education.
- Over
the period January – December 2012 the average monthly number of children
with disabilities, who received an additional
monthly supplement for children
with permanent disabilities up to the age of 18 and until completing their
secondary education, but
not after reaching the age 20 was 22 549. The amount
paid out was BGN 63 481 573. In 2011 the supplement was paid out to an average
monthly number of 21 205 children, and the total amount disbursed was BGN
59 607 186.
- Regarding
the number of the children recipients of the benefit, an increase of 1 344
from the 2011 level was reported in 2012. Compared
to that in 2008, the average
monthly number of the supported children was 19 569, and the total amount
paid out was 40 329 520; in
2009 the average monthly number of the
supported children was 19 490 and the amount paid out was BGN 45 559
237.
- The
social services regulated by the Implementing Regulations of the Social
Assistance Act occupy an important position in the system
for protecting
children with disabilities. Currently the following social services are
regulated and accessible for children with
disabilities: daycare center for
children with disabilities, daycare center for children and adults with
disabilities, center for
social rehabilitation and integration, family type
accommodation center, public support centre, personal assistant, social
assistant.
Currently there are ongoing projects, whose activities include the
creation of innovative services in support of the child and the
families. The
design of early intervention services is forthcoming: assistance and support for
children and their families; family
counseling; family centers for children,
services for cultivating and developing parental skills, etc. The listed
services are part
of the “Social Inclusion” project implemented by
the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy. Integrated health and social
services
are also planned. In the past 2012 a total of 25 new social services for
children were launched: 17 centers for public support
with a total capacity of
508 positions; 5 daycare centers for children with disabilities with a total
capacity of 82 positions; 3
centers for social rehabilitation and integration
with a total capacity of 75 positions.
- Each
of the projects in the Action Plan for implementing the National Strategy
“Vision for Deinstitutionalization of the Child
Care in the Republic of
Bulgaria” invariably envisages obligatory training of the staff and
supervision. In respect of the
teams working with children/youths with
disabilities, there were trainings for the social workers on the assessment of
children and
young people placed in facilities for children with mental
disabilities, facilities for children with physical disabilities and facilities
for medical and social care for children, and training courses for applying the
toolkit for studying the desires and abilities of
parents to keep in contact
with their child placed in a specialized institution.
- Measures
are being taken to boost the professional and administrative capacity, as well
as the motivation of the staff in the bodies
of the Agency for Social
Assistance. An analysis was made on the needs to train and supervise the experts
and the social workers
employed at Child Protection Departments and the People
with Disabilities and Social Services Departments of the Social Assistance
directorates. The key competences and the topics on which the trainings will be
conducted have been identified. Questionnaires were
developed and used in a
survey, among the social workers to examine their needs for education and
supervision.
- In
2011 training was conducted in 21 facilities for children with mental
disabilities on the practical implementation of the method
of intensive
communication and change in the meal pattern of children with severe multiple
disabilities. 449 members of the staff
of the homes for children with
disabilities took the trainings and received support and consultations from
outside consultants.
- The
data yielded by the 2012 annual survey of SACP indicated that a total of 355
staff members directly involved in caring for children
from the specialized
institutions of the Ministry of Health participated in training programmes and
skilling courses in the calendar
2012. The topics included training on the new
developments in the diagnostics and treatment of underlying diseases in early
childhood
and feeding of nursing infants and children.
- In
September and October 2012 eighty-seven staff members from Child Protection
Departments and People with Disabilities and Social
Services departments took a
training on the preparation of detailed assessment of each child/young person
from facilities for children
with mental disabilities and facilities for
children with physical disabilities, as well as of the children with
disabilities over
the age of 3 from facilities for medical and social care for
children for the purpose of updating the information about their needs.
- Effective
January 2012 an external contractor was selected for conducting regular
supervision of the staff in all facilities for children
with mental disabilities
in order to reduce the tension and insecurity and to avoid deterioration of the
care for institutionalized
children. At the end of 2012 a total of 168 group
monitoring sessions were carried out (one session per month at each of the
facilities
for children with mental disabilities) and a total of 69 individual
monitoring sessions were held on request with different professionals
from
facilities for children with mental disabilities.
- A
training of the professional rehabilitators and occupational therapists from
facilities for children with mental disabilities and
facilities for medical and
social care for children was conducted jointly with the
“Lumos-Bulgaria” Foundation. The training
was aimed at upgrading and
expanding the knowledge of the professionals (physiotherapists, occupational
therapists, rehabilitators)
on therapeutic interventions in cases of children
with multiple disabilities; identifying the needs for future trainings on
therapeutic
interventions in cases of children with multiple disabilities;
improving the skills of catching, positioning and therapeutic interventions
with
the aim of facilitating the functional activities of children with multiple
disabilities.
- In
the period 2009 – 2013 the Ministry of Education and Science organized
intensive skilling activities aimed at improving the
educational results. The
qualification plans of the kindergartens and schools are focused on skilling
courses and subjects, the priority
ones among them being those on cultivating
competences for working in an intercultural environment, with children at risk
etc. Training
of 400 elementary school teachers from mainstream schools on
dealing with children with special educational needs in a general education
environment was conducted under different projects of the Ministry of Education
and Science.
- Following
the adoption of a 2009 MES Ordinance on the education of children and students
with special educational needs and/or with
chronic diseases, the emphasis was
laid on integrated education and on the inclusion of children and students with
special educational
needs in a general educational environment.
- An
amendment to the Child Protection Act of 2009 regulated the rights and
obligations of the governing bodies of specialized institutions,
of social
services of residential type, and of community-based social services in respect
of the children using social services,
when placing a child in an institution
due to a long-term inability of the parents, guardians or custodians to raise
the child. These
governing bodies have an imposed obligation to notify in
writing the parents, guardians or custodians of each child about the upcoming
evaluations of his or her educational needs and about his/her referral for
education in a special school or for integrated education.
On the other hand,
they have the obligation to ensure the execution of the decision of the teams
for comprehensive pedagogical evaluation
for referring the children or students
for a certain type of education in the cases, where the parents, guardians or
custodians of
the child fail to fulfil their obligations in accordance with the
Public Education Act and the Implementing Regulations of the Public Education
Act.
- The
providers of social services for children in specialized institutions are
obliged to ensure the participation of the children
in the educational process
and to assist them in their preparation. The provider makes an evaluation of the
needs of the child, including
of the needs for education, and drafts an
individual care plan. The fulfilment of these obligations is controlled as part
of checks
performed by the experts of SACP on the basis on an order issued by
the Chairperson.
- Pursuant
to the Public Education Act, the municipalities are mandated to ensure and
control the obligatory pre-school training of children and the obligatory school
education
of students up to the age of 16. This power applies also to children
with mental and other disabilities that have been placed in
specialized
institutions on the territory of the municipality.
- During
the implementation of the “Childhood for All” project the project
team maintained information on every child and
young person from the target
group from the moment of the initial examination and analysis of the needs
evaluations of the children
over the age of 3 and of the young people with
disabilities from facilities for medical and social care for children and
facilities
for children with mental disabilities (10 September – 15
October 2010). The implementation of the project will ensure possible
access of
the children to a package of the necessary services in accordance with their
individual needs. The possibility for integrated
education of the child will
also be accessed by means of an integrated approach for removing the children
out of the specialized
institutions and taking into account the individual
interest of each child.
- As
part of the project “Establishing a Single System for Management of the
Overall Process of Implementation of the State Policy
on Working with the People
with Disabilities in Bulgaria”, pursued by the Agency for People with
Disabilities, a information
system on persons with disabilities has been
established, which is intended to collect data about people with disabilities
and in
particular about children with disabilities. The deadline for completing
all the activities under the project is August 2013. Currently
a Register of the
Specialized Enterprises and Cooperatives of the People with Disabilities is
being kept.
- As
of the time of preparing the consolidated report SACP and the Agency for Social
Assistance are gathering aggregated statistics
on the children with disabilities
currently raised in specialized institutions, at facilities with a residential
type of services,
as well as on those who attend a daily or weekly form of
services. Reporting sets about the child protection activities are prepared
(on
a monthly bases) and a report is drafted on the locations in the specialized
institutions providing community-based social services,
which are
responsibility of the state (on a monthly bases), a card for collecting
systematic information about children using social
services provided at
facilities for children, deprived of parental care, facilities for children with
mental disabilities and facilities
for children with physical disabilities
(semi-annually), a report on the number of the children with disabilities, for
which benefits
have been granted under different legal acts.
- At
the end of the process the different registers will be integrated and, through
agreements for data exchange, the institutions responsible
for children with
disabilities will have a certain level of access to the data, classified by
gender, age, type of disability, family,
educational and social status of the
family and of the child etc., so that the measures for ensuring the best
interest of the child
should be envisaged.
- Effective
March 2011, regional teams for deinstitutionalization have been set up in
implementation of the activities under the “Childhood
for All”
project for the purpose of creating better living and development conditions for
the children with disabilities placed
in specialized institutions. The regional
teams for deinstitutionalization are made up of representatives of the selected
(targeted)
municipalities, professionals from regional directorates for social
assistance, regional health inspectorates and regional education
inspectorates,
and the local coordinators of the projects in the respective regions. The
regional teams for deinstitutionalization
have three major tasks:
- To initiate the
update of the regional strategies and municipal development plans in their part
concerning child services;
- To assist and
render methodological support to the municipal authorities in the design and
development of the new social services,
according to the specific local
situation;
- To contribute,
with their professional competences, to the integration of the children in the
new environment and to their access
to the necessary health and educational
services.
- Currently,
various forms of services concerning early childhood development are unfolded in
the country, including intersectoral services.
At this stage they are provided
by NGOs – for example the Center for Early Intervention, the For Our
Children Foundation, the
Priateli 2006 Foundation
- The
non-governmental sector plays a significant role for the full integration of
people with disabilities, and particularly of the
children with disabilities, in
social life, and it affects the change in the public attitudes and for the
inclusion of persons with
disabilities. Taking into account this important role
of the non-governmental sector in the process of social inclusion of people
with
disabilities, the Agency for People with Disabilities funds, on an annual basis,
projects for rehabilitation and social integration
of people with disabilities,
developed by non-governmental organizations. The application is project-based
and the funds are distributed
on a competitive basis. To this end a methodology
has been developed and approved by the Executive Director of the Agency for
People
with Disabilities, which sets out the requirements that the projects
should meet, the mechanism for their evaluation and ranking,
as well as the
procedure for receiving and accounting for of the received subsidy.
B. Health and Health Services
- All
children in the Republic of Bulgaria have free unrestricted access to primary
and specialized medical care – both in-patient
and out-patient, due to
their health insurance from the national budget. The state provides health
insurance for all children up
to the age of 18 and after reaching this age, if
they study as regular students – until finishing secondary education,
regular
education in universities for students until reaching the age of 26, as
well as regular education for the PhD students within the
state
quota.
- The
care for children’s health is a priority in the state policy for child
protection, and the regulation and control of the
medical activities are carried
out by the Ministry of Health. During the reporting period a couple of long-term
strategic documents
were adopted in the area of healthcare, which were
identified as problematic and requiring special attention on the part of the
state and the non-governmental sector: National Health Strategy 2008 –
2013 and an Action Plan for its implementation, National
Program for Prevention
of HIV and Sexually Transmitted Diseases in the Republic of Bulgaria 2008
– 2015, National Program for
Prevention of Oral Diseases of Children aged
0 – 18 in the Republic of Bulgaria, National Programme for Health and
Environmental
Action 2008 – 2013, Second Community Action Programme in the
Area of Health, National Programme for rare diseases 2009 –
2013 (genetic,
congenital malformations and non-hereditary diseases), National Anti-Drug
Program 2009 – 2013 and an Action
Plan for its implementation, National
Programme for Primary Prevention of Cervical Cancer in the Republic of
Bulgaria
2012 – 2016, National Programme for Prevention and Control of
Tuberculosis in the Republic of Bulgaria for the Period 2012 –
2015.
- Ordinance
No. 40 of the Ministry of Health for establishing a basic package of health
activities, guaranteed by the budget of the
Bulgarian National Health Insurance
Fund and the Child Health Program, established a wide range of medical
activities to which children
have free access. The Ministry of Health implements
health protection measures under the National Child Protection Programme,
related
to the prevention of abandonment of children in maternity hospitals,
early prenatal diagnostics, combined medical rehabilitation
of children with
disabilities, preventive measures vis-a-vis children with risky behaviors for
precluding the use of drugs and narcotics,
etc.
- The
Ministry of Health provides, beyond the scope of the obligatory health
insurance, one screening during the pregnancy of each uninsured
woman. This
became possible due to the latest 2013 modifications in the Ordinance of the
Ministry of Health for providing obstetric
care to uninsured women and for
conducting tests outside of the range of the obligatory health insurance for
children and pregnant
women. The National Health Insurance Fund provides
in-patient care to all pregnant women in Bulgaria through 11 clinical pathways.
Intensive treatment of newborn children is conducted under the clinical
procedure “Intensive Treatment of Children with Assisted
Breathing with or
without Applying of Surfactant”.
- The
work of the health mediators continues in response to the recommendation for
improving of provision of health care among Roma
children. The profession of a
“health mediator” is included in the National Classification of the
Professions and Job
Positions in the Republic of Bulgaria. A programme has been
developed for training health mediators and the Sofia Medical University
and the
Plovdiv Medical University are accredited to train them. In accordance with the
needs of the municipalities with considerable
Roma populations, the mayors of
the respective municipalities plan and organize the training of health
mediators. Health mediators
support both the densely populated Roma
neighborhoods and the medical professionals who provide services of this
population. A Ministry
of Health priority in the area of Roma healthcare is the
enhancement and expansion of the network of health mediators. The introduction
of the new profession contributes to the overcoming of the cultural barriers in
the communications between the Roma population and
local medical staff.
- The
number of health mediators in 2008 was 111, in 2009 it was 106, in 2010 - 105,
in 2011 - 105, in 2012 it was 109, and it is expected
that in 2013 their number
will go up to 130. Health mediators have experience in working with families at
risk of abandoning their
children. The knowledge of the medical professionals on
the specific health problems of the Roma population is periodically expanded
by
improving of the medical education curricular at the medical universities and
colleges.
- A
National Health Roadmap was adopted in 2011, its purpose being to overcome the
disproportionate access to basic medical services.
In the period 2010-2012 there
were regulatory changes for the purpose of reorganizing the primary out-patient
medical care and for
establishing “on-duty surgeries” also in
municipalities, located in rural or mountainous regions. Reorganization was
also
performed in the in-patient care by implementing quality criteria and
introducing levels of competence. All hospitals have re-registered
on that
basis, the map of the in-patient care has changed, and plans are also made to
fund hospitals in hard to reach regions.
- The
early marriages of children from some ethnic groups in the Republic of Bulgaria
are a prerequisite for their social isolation.
As children enter into matrimony
and cohabitate on a conjugal principle at an early age, their rights to free
choice, education and
normal mental and physical development are at risk.
According to the National Statistical Institute in 2010 there were 350 children
born by girls under the age of 16. At the same time, the abortions in the same
age group were 146. This situation has deteriorated
and there is also an
increase in the cases of couples cohabitating on a conjugal principle where one
of the partners is a female
minor or juvenile, the so called “early
marriages”, where the normal mental and physical development of the mother
is
threatened and the minor/juvenile mother and her newborn child are at risk.
- In
2009 the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Bulgaria was seized with regard
to the increased number of cases where regional
prosecutors refuse to prosecute
persons cohabitating on a conjugal principal with minor or juvenile girls,
stating as a reason the
ethnic origin of the persons, also in cases of Roma
population, where traditions and customs are quoted as reasons. As a result of
the actions taken by SACP in December 2010 the Prosecutor General issued
Methodological Guidelines for improving the prosecutorial
activity in the
institution and termination of criminal proceedings pursuant to article 151,
paragraph 1 and article 191, paragraph
3 of the Criminal Code addressed to the
administrative heads of the district prosecutor’s offices in the country,
who were
to organize the examination and of and compliance with the methodical
guidelines and to perform periodic checks and audits of the
district
prosecutor’s offices.
- In
March 2001 the Executive Director of the Agency for Social Assistance issued
methodical guidelines addressed to all social assistance
directorates/departments for child protection in the country with the
instructions to report all cases of such cohabitation on a
conjugal principal to
the respective district prosecutor’s office. The undertaking of quick and
adequate actions for protecting
the best interest of these minor or juvenile
girls is part of the competences and powers of the departments for child
protection
under the directorates for social assistance. In support of the
efforts of the social workers on cases of children, who have entered
in early
cohabitation with adults and in view of the subsequent early births, the
Executive Director of the Agency for Social Assistance
issued
Guidelines.
- Measures
were taken for early reporting of minors and juvenile pregnant girls and mothers
by GP’s and health institutions.
- On
this matter the country is cooperating with non-governmental organizations,
which work with Roma communities. In 2010 the Center
for Interethnic Dialogue
“Amalipe” realized the project “Prevention of Early/Forced
Marriages”, funded by
the European Commission under the 2007 – 2013
DAPHNE III Programme. The goal of the project was prevention and decreasing the
number of early and forced marriages among some traditional Roma groups in
Bulgaria, Romania and Greece by researching the issue,
developing a
multisectoral network and partnership between the state institutions,
non-governmental organizations and informal Roma
leaders, campaigns for
increasing the public sensitivity and work with the Roma families. The project
was realized in partnership
with the main interested institutions in Bulgaria
– the Ministry of Transport and Social Policy, the Ministry of Education,
Youth and Science, SACP, the National Council for Cooperation on Ethnic and
Integration Issues, the general directorates and others.
The achieved results
are related to increasing the social work in the traditional and marginalized
Roma communities, imposing administrative
penalties, as well as a realized, by
the educational representatives in these communities, program for prevention.
The Regional Strategies
for Development of Social Services 2010 – 2015
include activities for prevention of early marriages.
- The
possibility for reducing the minimum lawful age for medical treatment without
the parents’ consent was widely discussed
during the debates of the draft
Child Act. The parents’ organizations, the inquired children as well as a
large part of the
professionals, were strongly against this
possibility.
C. Adolescent Health
- In
2008 the National Health Strategy 2008 – 2013 was adopted and according to
it the reproductive health is one of the directions
for work within the Third
Strategic Goal of the document. In accordance with General Comment No. 4 on the
Health and Development
of Adolescents (CRC/GC/2003/4), the tasks set in the area
of reproductive health are related to the prevention of sexually transmitted
deceases and HIV, in view of prevention of infertility. The Ministry of Health
developed a project under the National Programme for
Sexual and Reproductive
Health (2013-2017). The project foresees development and application of programs
for sexual education in
1 – 12 grades, as well as training teachers for
conducting health and sexual education in schools. It is foreseen to create
and
develop a national network of peer educators, as well as to equip and maintain
20 pilot specialized cabinets in 10 municipalities,
for which there will be
training materials and programs for training of the specialists, working in the
cabinets. Health education
is foreseen in the draft law for the pre-school
education.
- The
project “Improvement of the Sexual and Reproductive Health of the Young
People in Bulgaria”, which was initiated by
the Ministry of Education and
Science and the UN Population Fund, ended in 2009. 25 pilot primary and
professional high-schools from
the regions of Vratsa, Lovech and Targovishte
participated in the project. Its main goal was to improve the sexual and
reproductive
health of the young people through a wide range of quality services
in the area of sexual and reproductive health, as well as via
improved
opportunities for education, in view of developing knowledge, skills and
attitude for responsible sexual behaviour. The
realized activities are in two
directions: provision of services, appropriate for young people and promotion of
health for prevention
of sexually transmitted infections HIV/AIDS and unwanted
pregnancy. Nearly 1 500 young people have attended the classes for sexual
and
reproductive health within the project. Four modern information and educational
centres for reproductive health have been equipped
for conducting consultations,
debates and training of young people, both in groups and individually. These
centers have established
themselves as attractive locations for young people who
want to find information on topics, in which they are interested –
pubertal development, friendship, sexuality, risky sexual behaviour, sexual
violence, physical, mental and social consequences of
unwanted pregnancy,
contraception, sexually transmitted infections. In May 2012 there was a Final
National Conference on issues related
to reproductive health of young people in
Bulgaria.
- The
regional health inspectorates are working on the problems related to the
protection of the sexual and reproductive health by using
different ways for
raising the awareness of the adolescents, as well as for improving the
professional competence of the medical
specialists, working in institutions for
children. In 2011 there were 102 seminars, 6 courses, 1072 lectures and debates,
898 video
showings, 1924 individual trainings, 173 mass events and 994 media
events. 187 587 people were involved. 15 educational health materials
were
issued in 56 283 editions and 269 342 informational materials were disseminated.
The Bulgarian Red Cross has a voluntary network
which successfully disseminates
information and knowledge, especially through the “peer-to-peer”
method.
- The
action plan for the Health Strategy for Disadvantaged People Belonging to Ethnic
Minorities (2005-2015), provides for funds for
buying intrauterine spirals for
free use by anyone who wants, belonging to the socially disadvantaged group
during the medical exams
performed in the mobile cabinets.
- In
2007 – 2008 under the PHARE project “Health Promotion and Prevention
of Healthcare for Mothers and Children”,
the Ministry of Health received
three mobile gynaecological cabinets and two mobile mammography devices. The
goal of the project
is to improve the healthcare for mothers and children by
implementing the pilot program for conducting preventive gynaecological
and
paediatric exams with mobile equipment and to provide training sessions for
women, children and young people, belonging to disadvantaged
groups from ethnic
minorities.
- In
recent years the Ministry of Health annually provides funds for conducting
preventive exams and tests in towns or villages with
predominant Roma population
by using the mobile units received under the PHARE programme. A total of 13 230
exams were conducted
in the four gynaecological cabinets during the 2008 –
2012 period. The conducting of medical exams in the targeted regions
is preceded
or followed by lectures, debates, on-site conversations, during which the
specially designed educational health materials
are provided and presented by
the specialists from the regional health inspectorates. The debated topics and
developed materials
are in the areas of contraception, sexually transmitted
infections, reproductive health, breast cancer, cervical cancer and
others.
- There
are debates with adolescents and their parents about the methods for prevention
of unwanted and early pregnancy, the risks for
the mother and the baby related
to the unwanted pregnancy; about the risk of giving birth to children with
congenital anomalies and
hereditary diseases and the prevention
methods.
D. Drugs, Cigarettes, Alcohol and Other Harmful
Substances Abuse
- A
number of measures are taken through the National Anti-drug Strategy –
preventive ones, increasing the awareness, improved
access to treatment,
reintegration, enhancing the control and coordination efforts. The purpose is to
reduce the offering of narcotic
substances via comprehensive customs control,
fight against organized crime, etc.
- Specific
activities, aimed at children and students, for preventing the use of tobacco
and alcohol abuse, are envisaged. A study entitled
“Researching the
Factors of the Risk of Chronic and Infectious Diseases among Students Aged 14
– 18 was conducted in
the areas covered by the 2008 SINDI-Bulgaria
Programme. Behavioural risk health factors were researched (unhealthy diet, low
physical
activity, use of alcohol and smoking); as well as biological factors
(increased arterial pressure, overweight/obesity); the knowledge
and habits of
the students about healthy lifestyle. An intervention program for reducing the
risk factors to the health of students
was developed.
- Activities
aimed at improving the awareness of children regarding the use of tobacco
products are annually carried out by conducting
national campaign for marking
the World Anti-tobacco Day in May and the International Anti-tobacco Day in
October; a media campaign
entitled “Dangers of Smoking” broadcasted
in the national and regional network through an audio and video clip, provided
by the World Lung Foundation in 2011; a campaign entitled “The First Seven
Years of the Cabinets for Consultations for Giving
up Smoking in 2012. A number
of other informational health campaigns were conducted.
- Upon
the initiative of the Ministry of Health, annual National School Contests
“The Project of Our Class – for a Life
without Tobacco”
started in 2008. The projects are implemented by students and the purpose is to
show that the human life is
healthier and more nature-oriented when living in an
environment without tobacco smoke.
- The
Ministry of Health, the National Center of Public Health and Analyses (NCPHA)
and the National Italian Association for Fighting
Cancer Diseases are organizing
annual children’s drawing contest, which involves children aged 5 –
11. The contest is
carried out with the cooperation of the Ministry of Education
and Science and the Ministry of Physical Education and Sports (MFES).
All
campaigns and activities are realized with the active participation of the
regional health inspectorates.
- One
million student notebooks with images from the organized by the Ministry of
Health and the “Home of Humor and Satire”
national school contest
“Are You Cool or Smoking?” were printed and disseminated. The
student notebooks contain messages
against tobacco smoking with the purpose of
prevention and creating negative attitude against dependency on
tobacco.
- Three
movies created by the Ministry of Health – “No Smoking”,
“Iana’s Day” and “The Invisible
Man” were
replicated and distributed via the 28 Regional Health
Inspectorates.
- In
support of the people who want to quit smoking there is a functioning National
Line for Giving up Smoking 0700 10 323 and a corresponding
web page www.aznepusha.bg.
- The
amendment of the Health Act in 2012 introduced full ban on smoking in enclosed
public places with the purpose of ensuring an environment
without tobacco smoke
and protecting the health of non-smokers, including children.
- In
2012 there was a project developed under the National Programme for Prevention
of Chronic Non-communicable Diseases 2013 –
2020, the main goal of which
is to reduce the level of the general non-communicable diseases and the most
common risk factors: behavioural,
biological, psycho-social, by reducing the
popularity of smoking, alcohol abuse, improving one’s diet and increasing
one’s
physical activities.
E. HIV/AIDS
- The
Ministry of Health is implementing a National Programme for Prevention and
Control of HIV and AIDS in the Republic of Bulgaria
(2008 – 2015) which is
in compliance with General Comment No. 3 of the Committee (CRC/GC/2003/3) and
the International Guidelines
on HIV/AIDS and the Human Rights, as well as under
the Programme for Prevention and Control of HIV/AIDS, funded by the Global Fund
to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The activities and services for the
groups that run the highest risk are implemented both
on national and local
level in cooperation with the 28 regional health inspectorates, the National
Centre for Infectious and Parasitic
Diseases and over 50 non-governmental
organizations. One of the main target groups are young people at risk and
specific activities,
aimed at increasing the awareness of sexually transmitted
infections and HIV/AIDS. The following activities and measures are taken
for
implementation of the programs:
- As
a part of Component 7 “Reducing the Vulnerability to HIV of the Young
People that are at the Highest Risk (15-24) by Increasing
the Range of the
Services and Programmes Aimed at Young People” under the Programme for
Prevention and Control of HIV/AIDS,
a network of 18 non-governmental
organizations has been established, which provides free services via on-site
activities to young
people who run the highest risk in the biggest
municipalities in the country. As of 31 December 2012 there are activities
implemented
in 18 municipal towns: Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo,
Vidin, Dobrich, Kyustendil, Haskovo, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven,
Plovdiv, Ruse,
Stara Zagora, Sliven, Sofia and Shumen. All organizations distribute condoms and
educational health materials in 271
areas. There is a total of 590 voluntary
members the organizations, who actively participate in the organization of
ANTI-AIDS campaigns
on the territory of the country. The task of the 18
non-governmental organizations is to create and support municipal clubs for
teachers
for peers and with this approach to reach the young people at risk, as
well as the young people from the regions through awareness
raising campaigns,
change in the behaviour and safe behavioural choices, including the use of
condom.
- Part
of the regular job of the voluntary peer educators at the clubs of the 18
non-governmental organizations is to visit specialized
institutions for children
and adolescents (homes for children deprived of parental care, complexes for
social services for children
and families and other), in which they teach
educational health classes, provide informational materials, consultations and
offer
places for medical tests.
- During
the 2009 – 2012 period under the Programme for Prevention and Control of
HIV/AIDS, the following results were achieved:
- 462 366 children
and young people at risk are covered by specific services for HIV prevention
like on-site work and campaigns for
promotion of condoms, and they are reached
via the approach “peers teaching peers”;
- 1 292 114
condoms were given away to young people at risk, including through joint
activities with the regional health inspectorates;
- 3 648 children
from institutions are reached through health education, based on skills and
services for HIV/AIDS prevention;
- 7 407 young
people are taught via the “peer-to-peer” method
- There
are annual national and regional awareness campaigns on HIV and sexually
transmitted infections matters (distributing informational
materials and
condoms) with the support of all 28 regional and health inspectorates and the
participation of non-governmental organizations.
The budget of the Ministry of
Health provides funds for modern diagnostics equipment for testing for HIV,
viruses and Hepatitis B
and C, syphilis and other sexually transmitted
infections. Three national campaigns for HIV prevention are conducted annually
–
on 1 December – World Anti-AIDS Day, 14 February – Lovers
Day and the third Sunday of May – World Day for Support
of the Victims of
AIDS. Every year there are summer Anti-AIDS campaigns, aimed at young people. In
the period 1 January – 31
December 2012 a total of 294 regional campaigns
by regional health inspectorates, hospitals and non-governmental organizations
were
conducted.
- There
are regular trainings for young people for working through the
“peer-to-peer” method. The approach is supported
by the
International Center for Teaching Adults. Y-PEER PETRI – Sofia (Peer
Education Training and Research Institute) at the
National Center for Public
Health and Analyses (NCPHA). It was opened in 2007 as a result of the developed
capacity of Bulgaria in
the area of sexual and reproductive health and HIV
prevention among young people, gained by NCPHA over the recent years. The
activities
are implemented through the financial support of the United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA) and are in compliance with the goals
of the National
Programme for Prevention of HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections (2008
– 2015), as well as in cooperation
with the Programme for Prevention of
HIV/AIDS, funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and
Malaria.
- There
are 19 functioning easily accessible cabinets for voluntary consultations and
tests for HIV and sexually transmitted infections
in the 15 cities with the
largest populations, including young people at risk, unemployed people, people
with low social and economical
status. The provision of services by the cabinets
for voluntary consultations and tests is geographically enhanced through the
operation
of 17 mobile medical cabinets. In 2012 a total of 33 616 young people
aged 16 – 29 have tested themselves for HIV anonymously
and for free and
found out their HIV status in the cabinets for anonymous and free consultations
and testing for HIV. Traditionally,
the share of young people aged 16-29
represents 66 % of the people tested in such cabinets.
F.
Mental Health
- The
Ministry of Health has developed a National Programme for Mental Health
2013-2020, which is expected to be approved by the Minister
of Health. One of
its main focuses is the mental health of children (prevention and promotion) and
suicide prevention at adolescent
age.
- Since
2010 the opening of departments/clinics for rehabilitation of children and
adolescents in psychiatric hospitals for adolescents
and children, and
university psychiatric clinics for adolescents and children, has been
regulated.
- Ordinance
No. 39/2004 for the preventive medical exams and dispensarization regulates the
diseases for which the children can be subject
to dispensarization. Among them
is the group of “general development disorders” which has been
included to the diseases
among children, for which the National Health Insurance
Fund pays for the dispensarization measures. The creation and maintenance
of a
system for organized screening, which provides monitoring, control, analysis and
reporting of the indicators of the screening
activity, has been regulated since
1 July 2012. The system for organized screening consists of National Screening
Register (NSR)
and on-site coordinators. The National Screening Register is kept
by the National Center for Public Health and Analyses.
- There
is a screening of autism scheduled for 2013, provided for in a document,
approved in 2012 by the Minister of Health, entitled
“Measures for
Improving the Care for Autistic Children and their
Families”.
G. Standards of Life
- The
financial and economic crisis which started in 2008 had a significant effect on
the standard of living in Bulgaria, which, unfortunately,
affected the children.
In this context, strategic documents have been drawn-up, like the 2020 National
Strategy for Reducing Poverty
and Encouraging Social Inclusion and the National
Development Programme: Bulgaria 2020. The National Council on the Matters of
Social
Inclusion at the Council of Ministers has been established in 2009, the
activity of which is related to discussing and offering suggestions
for
development of draft strategies, programs, action plans and other strategic
documents in the area of social inclusion. As a body
for coordination,
cooperation and consultation during the development, conducting, monitoring and
evaluation of the state policy
in the area of social inclusion, the council
includes representatives of all institutions and organizations involved in this
area:
ministries, social partners, agencies, non-governmental organizations,
operating in the area of social inclusion and others. The
composition of the
National Council on the Matters of Social Inclusion at the Council of Ministers
includes representatives of non-governmental
organizations, working with
children. The goal is to achieve wide public support, which is realized not only
in the process of development
of the policy in the area of poverty, but also at
the stages of its application, observation and evaluation. An important element
of the activity of the National Council on the Matters of Social Inclusion is
the participation of its members in the discussion
of the national target for
reducing the number of people living in poverty until 2020 by 260 thousand
people, 76 thousand of which
should be children.
- All
measures for social assistance are described in the cluster “Family
Environment and Alternative Care. “
VIII. Education,
Leisure and Cultural Activities
- The
Bulgarian Legal Framework guarantees equal treatment of children regarding their
right to education. It is in compliance with
the Constitution of the Republic of
Bulgaria, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the UNESCO and UN World
Programme “Education for
Everyone”, as well as with General Comment
No.1 (2001) about the goals of the education, General Comment No.9 of the
Committee
– “The Rights of Children with Disabilities”
(CRC/C/GC/9), General Comment No. 7 of the Committee – “Applying
the
Rights of Children at Early Childhood Age” (CRC/C/GC/7/Rev.1) and General
Comment No. 11 (CRC/C/GC/11) about the rights
of the children from the
indigenous population.
- Practically
there are still difficulties related to the integration of children with
disabilities and Roma children, children leaving
the education system and
ensuring that all children are studying up to the age of 16, regardless of
whether they are from urban or
rural regions.
- In
order to improve the state of the education system, described in detail in the
second periodic report CRC/C/BG/2, paragraphs 101
– 126, the country has
taken a number of measures, envisaged in the following documents: National
Programme for Development
of School and Pre-school Education and Preparation
(2006 – 2015); National Plan for Integration of Children with Special
Educational
needs and/or Chronic Diseases in the National Education System;
Strategy for Educational Integration of Children and Students from
Ethnic
Minorities; Strategy for Educational Integration of the Roma People in the
Republic of Bulgaria (2012-2020 г.). There
is a developed project for
Strategy for Prevention and Reduction of the Share of Students Dropping out of
or Leaving the Education
System Prematurely /2013-2020/“, as well as a new
Draft Law on School and Preschool Education.
- The
current legislation provides free access to education in the state and municipal
schools. Children in pre-school preparatory groups
and students in I – VII
grade are guaranteed free use of textbooks and school aids. The state and
municipal budgets provide
funds for feeding the children and students from
municipal, state schools and kindergartens. The standard for supporting a child
at a pre-school age was increased by BGN 214 in 2010 and by another 1.8% in
2012. As of 2012 the municipalities have been divided
into 7 groups, which
provide better opportunities for funding the school network, depending on the
objective conditions affecting
the amount of the child support
costs.
- As
of February 2013 the conditions and procedure for receiving scholarships by the
students after finishing their primary education
have been regulated.
A. Budget
- Each
year the State Budget Law of the Republic of Bulgaria establishes the
allocations for education. Despite that during the reporting
period there was no
significant increase in the funds of the state budget, measures for finding
alternative sources of funding have
been taken, mainly under the operational
programmes and more effective use of the available resources and the system for
delegated
budgets introduced in 2008. The schools receive funding under national
programs for development of secondary education which are
yearly adopted by the
Council of Ministers.
- During
the 2010 – 2013 period a total of BGN 193,9 has been provided for
introduction of mandatory preschool preparation two
years before starting first
grade in stages. The funds for the whole-day organization of the learning
process in the state and municipal
mainstream schools, which are not
central[∗], for the period
2010 – 2013, are in the amount of BGN 120,7 million. Additionally, BGN
54,1 million have been provided for
the travelling students from first to eighth
grade from the central schools for whole-day organization of the school day for
the
period 2009 – 2011. As of 2012, the whole-day organization of the
school day in the central schools for all covered students
from I – VIII
grade has been funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) and Operational
Programme Human Resources Development
(OPRHD). The funding provided for the
period 2012 – 2014 amounts to BGN 172 million. As of 2009, additional
funds for free
transport of children and students up to the age of 16 have been
provided annually, and for the period 2009 – 2013 the increase
of the
funds amounts to BGN 7,5 million.
- In
2012 additional BGN 25 million were provided for increasing the common cost
standards in the secondary education system. BGN 11
million were provided for
increasing the standards of the general education schools as a result of the new
grouping of the municipalities,
the purpose of which is to direct more funds to
the municipalities with a concentration of more small schools.
- The
National Youth Programme (2011 – 2015) is funding projects in support of
youth activities, through which BGN 6 million will
be invested by 2015 through
the budget of the Ministry of Education and Science.
- The
EU funds and the World Bank are taking additional measures, aimed at the
education of children with disabilities and Roma children,
as well as at
prevention of dropping out. The Center for Educational Integration of Children
and Young People from the Minorities
(CEICSEM) is also funding such programmes.
One of the main tasks of the center is to mobilize and accumulate resources from
different
donors and to provide the necessary additional funding through the
republican budget.
- The
funds in the amount of 16,56% of the total budget under the OPHRD (2007 –
2013) or BGN 393 063 797 are aimed at providing
significant support for reducing
the share of the students who leave school prematurely. As of March 2012 537
contracts (99,4% of
all contracts) for a total of BGN 167,9 million (63,6% of
all contracted funds) are under schemes, aimed at the prevention and alleviating
the consequences of the early dropping out of school.
- In
2012 four more schemes have been contracted amounting to BGN 28 million for
funding initiatives related to opportunities for the
reintegration in the
education of the students who have prematurely dropped out of school. Under
OPHRD for the period 2007 –
2012 a total of 88 223 people have been
included in measures, aimed at prevention of dropping out of
school.
B. Integration of Roma Children and Early Childhood
Development
- The
UNICEF Collection of Reports “The Welfare of Bulgarian Children in Their
Early Childhood” states that as of 2009 approximately
26 thousand children
are missing at least one school year, because their parents do not enroll them
in the first group of kindergarten,
others – about 20 thousand children,
are not enrolled in the second group of kindergarten. Therefore, they lose 2
years of
preschool preparation, and over 16 thousand children do not go to
kindergarten before the obligatory preschool education at all.
According to the
National Representative Study “Equality – the Road to
Progress”[17], in 2011 the
share of children who go to kindergarten at the age of 3 – 6 from the
ethnic groups is over 55%, while it is almost
twice lower regarding the children
of Roma origin – 30,9%.
- To
address this challenge the programmes for early childhood development and
preschool education have been expanded with the purpose
of becoming more
accessible to more children. According to Art. 20, paragraph 1 of the Public
Education Act (effective 5 October 2010) “the preschool preparation of
children two years before starting first grade is obligatory, but
not earlier
than in the year in which the child turns 5“. In addition, paragraph 5 of
the same article states: “For children
who do not have good command of the
Bulgarian language, in addition to the preparation under paragraph 1, there is
also provided
education in Bulgarian according to specialized methodology for
learning the Bulgarian language.“
- The
program “Caring for Each Student” provides opportunities in support
of children from preparatory groups with learning
difficulties and for those,
whose mother tongue is not Bulgarian through additional sessions in small groups
or under individual
programmes. The activity “Early Evaluation and
Prevention of Learning Difficulties in Children at a Preschool Age” is
expected to be implemented. Based on the evaluation of the language skills of
the children in kindergartens, preventive measures
will be realized in respect
of the children at risk of learning difficulties, as well as the children
identified as having learning
difficulties.
- The
Ministry of Education and Science, in cooperation with the Regional Education
Inspectorates and the municipalities, supervises
kindergartens and schools for
not allowing the forming of ethnic groups and classes.
- The
efforts for the integration of children of Roma origin in the general education
system have been increased. Trainings for teachers
for working in a
multicultural educational environment are being conducted under projects
realized by the Center for Educational
Integration of Children and Young People
from the minorities (CEICSEM) and the Directorate General “Structural
Funds and International
Educational Programmes” at the Ministry of
Education and Science – application of adequate psychological and teaching
approaches in accordance with the cultural ethnicity of the children, of
appropriate forms of teaching interaction and with priority
use of interactive
methods and technology for working with children and parents, as well as for
including parents in activities,
aimed at changing the attitude for joint
educational activity in kindergartens and schools.
- In
addition to the opportunity to learn one’s mother tongue, new alternative
forms for raising the level of tolerance at school
and for prevention of
dropping out of school are being introduced: an optional subject on Roma
folklore and culture, Roma language.
Education for parents from Roma origin,
study hall sessions, interest clubs and other activities are being organized.
- The
projects “Creating an Appropriate Multicultural Environment for Practical
Application of Intercultural Education and Teaching”,
“Integration
of Children and Students from Ethnic Minorities in the Education System”,
“Reintegration of Students
Who Have Dropped out of the Education
System” and “Educational Integration of Children and Students from
Ethnic Minorities”
promote the integration, the reduction of the number of
the students who have prematurely dropped out of school, as well as the
inclusion
of the children from the ethnic communities who were not reached.
- In
the period 2007 – 2012 the following results were achieved under the
abovementioned programmes: 11 081 children of Roma origin
have been included in
programs for taking children out of schools with formed groups, 6664 children of
Roma origin have been integrated;
29 294 children of Roma origin have been
included in programs for intercultural education; 22 572 children of Roma origin
have completed
programmes for intercultural education; 316 teachers have been
trained for working in a multicultural environment; 1409 parents have
participated in activities for integration of children and students from ethnic
minorities in the education system.
- Information
campaigns among the children from vulnerable ethnic communities and their
parents about the need and the benefits of education
have been carried out under
the abovementioned projects. It is reported that the degree of satisfaction
among them is extremely high
– over 88% among the students and 64% among
the parents. The participation of Roma organizations in the Monitoring Committee
and in the implementation of projects is an important prerequisite for the
success of OPHRD.
C. School Dropout
- According
to the National Statistical Institute (NSI) each year in the period 2008 –
2012 2,4% of the students in the Republic
of Bulgaria enrolled in 1 – 13
grade drop out of school due to a lack of desire for studying, family reasons or
leaving the
country. The share of children, who have dropped out of school in
this period due to social and family reasons, is the highest, but
there is a
downward trend. As a result of the measures taken for prevention of dropping out
school and leaving the education system
early, the share of the children who
have dropped out due to a lack of desire for studying has the most significant
drop –
from 22,6% for the 2008/2009 school year to 15,0% for the 2011/2012
school year /Statistical Data – Annex No. 1/.
- The
reasons for early dropping out of school are economic, social, educational,
ethno-cultural and institutional. The PISA international
survey established that
in Bulgaria there is a significant relationship between the low education
results of schoolchildren and the
socio-economic status of their families: on
average, 32% of the low results of the 15 year olds in Bulgaria are explained
with the
socio-economic and family environment of the students.
- The
obligatory two-year preparation of the 5 year-old children before starting first
grade was introduced with the purpose of preventing
dropping
out.
- In
2011, through a project for early social inclusion of children, 60
municipalities are funded via a loan from the World Bank amounting
to EUR 40
million. In 2012 10 more municipalities have been included in the project. As a
result of the successful implementation
of the measures for equal access to
education for all schoolchildren 2011/2012, 53% of the children aged 5 and 88%
of those aged
6 have been covered by the preschool education and around 72% of
all students in first and second grade have been included in the
whole-day
education.
- The
National Programme for Better Inclusion of the Students at the Obligatory School
Age continue to provide conditions for access
to education by all students,
regardless of their ethnicity, gender and religion, residence and economic
situation. Providing breakfast
and/or milk (tea) to students from I – IV
grade, also to children from the preparatory groups and classes in schools and
kindergartens,
aims to keep children in schools and to support the parents
regarding the feeding of their children. The free provision of textbooks
and
school aids to the students from I – IV grade aims to ensure equal access
to the educational content for the students from
state, municipal and private
schools and to the children from the preparatory groups in kindergartens. The
measure has a positive
influence in respect of the difficulties for the
disadvantaged families and leads to reducing the number of students who drop out
of school. The provision of transportation to students during their primary
education ensures conditions for equal access to a proportionate
quality of
education via free transport to the central schools for the students, who are
studying outside the town or village in
which they live. There are annually
provided funds for the transport of the 6 year-olds and the students at
obligatory school age,
and as of 2010 the 5 year-olds are also included. The
funds provided for free transportation of children and students up to the age
of
16 for the 2012/2013 school year is in the amount of BGN 27 440 009 covering 3
887 routes. 62 617 children and students are taking
advantage of it. In support
of starting first grade, there is funding provided to the families with low
income (described in detail
in the cluster “Family and Alternative Care
“).
- The
national programme “Caring for Each Student” provides funding for
additional education for the children from fifth,
sixth and seventh grades, who
have achieved low results during an external evaluation. The number of students
covered in 2009 and
2010 is 12 27.
- The
national programme “School without Absences” has been introduced in
2012. Its purpose is to reduce the number of absences
by recording them
correctly in the school documentation, taking genuine and effective measures for
motivating the students, for regular
attendance and active work during the
school classes and for attracting the parents as partners in relation to the
school life. The
national programme supports the schools, which implement their
own strategies for reducing the number of absences and for overcoming
the early
dropping out of school. In 2012 399 schools have been included in
it.
- There
is a developed project for a Strategy for Prevention and Reduction of the Number
of Students Who Drop out or Leave the Education
System Early, which envisages
policies and key measures for prevention of the premature dropping out of
school, as well as the development
and realization of a Coordination Mechanism
for improving the mechanisms for control over all sectoral policies, related to
the provision
of the coverage of and keeping children and students in schools
until finishing their education.
D. Children from Small
Communities and Rural Areas
-
The unfavourable demographic trends in Bulgaria lead to the desertification of
the rural areas and closing the schools in them. With
the purpose of ensuring
the completion of the obligatory education of the children up to the age of 16
from the urban and rural regions,
the Public Education Act regulates the
creation of central and protected schools. A “central school” means
a school, which is located in the nearest
town or village at the territory of
the municipality, where the students from the towns or villages in which there
are not any schools
are studying. As of the 2012-2013 school year there are 793
central schools in the country, attended by 197 517 students from I –
XII
grade, where 44 206 students use organized transport. The travelling students
from I – VIII grade, who are studying in
central schools, are provided
with whole-day organization of the school day and meals in the school cafeteria.
A “protected
school” is a school, which if closed, the access to
education would be hindered, and due to that this category of schools cannot
be
closed.
E. Children with Disabilities and
Education
-
The Public Education Act regulates the integrated education of children with
special educational needs and/or chronic diseases in schools. When all other
possibilities for education in state and municipal schools have been exhausted
and upon written request by the parents or guardians,
children with special
educational needs and/or chronic diseases can enroll in special schools and
service units. According to the
Law on Integration of People with Disabilities
/LIPD/, the Ministry of Education and Science provides supporting environment
for
integrated education of children with disabilities. There is a guaranteed
opportunity for integrated education and development of
a supporting environment
at school considering the health condition of children with sensory, physical
and multiple disabilities,
mental retardation, language and speech
impediments.
- The
2009 Ordinance № 1 for the Education of Children with Special educational
needs and/or chronic diseases establishes the
state requirement for the
education of children and students with special educational needs and/or chronic
diseases. Each child or
student with special educational needs and/or chronic
diseases is provided with an access to education under the curricula of the
respective kindergarten or schools and when needed education under the
individual educational programme and resource support is provided.
The parents
take part in the development of the individual curriculum for the child. The
purpose is to find the most appropriate
form of education for each child and to
guarantee his or her best interest. This ordinance establishes the control over
the enrollment
in special schools for not allowing children without disabilities
in them.
- The
project “Inclusive Education” aims further development of the
integrated education. It includes six special schools
and one special boarding
school. The project adds to the operation for Supporting Children with Special
Educational Needs, by summarizing
and further developing good practices. It
tested models for working with children with special educational needs in view
of their
integration in the educational system and the development of a national
educational policy for inclusive education.
- The
efforts for integration of children with disabilities in the general education
system have been increased. A National Programme
for Guaranteeing the Rights of
the Children with Disabilities 2010-2013 has been adopted, and the 2009
Ordinance No.1 is comprised
of the main instruments for the education of
children and students with special educational needs and/or chronic
diseases[18].
- As
a result of this policy, for a period of 5 years, the number of children
integrated in the general education environment and students
with special
educational needs have increased by 51,9%. At the same time the number of
students in special schools and mostly in
the special schools (the schools for
children with mental retardation), has decreased by 59,4%.
- The
decrease in the number of students and specialists in the special schools in the
last school year is in relation to the inclusion
of 1 222 students with special
educational needs and the appointment of 255 specialists in pilot schools under
the project “Inclusive
Education”, in which the assistance is not
carried out through the resource centers, but through teams of specialists,
appointed
by the actual schools.
- The
purpose of the National Programme for Creating an Accessible Architectural
Environment is to provide social inclusion and equal
access to education to
children and students with special educational needs, through the establishment
of basic facilities –
constructing ramps, adaptation of sanitary premises,
renovation of connected infrastructure, elevators and installation of platform
facilities. The total budget of the programme is BGN 800 000. According to data
from 2011 from the Ministry of Education and Science,
over 320 schools have
ensured easy access to their premises.
F. Quality of the
Education and Teacher Training
- The
participation in trainings for improving the qualification of teachers is
voluntary or upon recommendation on the part of the
employer.
- Qualifications
of and courses for class teachers, psychologists and educators on prevention of
aggression and conflicts in class have
been conducted under OPHRD. Training
programs have been developed and trainings for prevention of aggression and
violence in schools
have been carried out, as well as diagnostics of the school
preparedness and standards of the Community for Protection of the Environment,
Humane Treatment of Animals, Hygiene and Plant Protection. Trainings for 45 930
educational specialists have been planned by October
2014. Education on capacity
building among the educational specialists and for creating a safe and secure
environment at school have
been carried out, as well as trainings of teachers
for working in a multiethnic environment and integration of children with
special
educational needs, teacher training for introducing measures for
educational influence and discipline at school. The National Contest
for Good
Educational Practices in Civic Education has been conducted and books entitled
“Good Educational Practices in Civic
Education” have been
published.
- Ordinance
No. 1 of 4 January 2012 about the wages of the personnel of the units of the
public education system established the order
and procedure for determining the
monthly wages of the educational and non-educational personnel of the units of
the public education
system. The National Programme for Differentiated Pay
started the gradual introduction of additional remuneration of the educational
specialists for results achieved through labour, simultaneously with the process
for creating conditions for a new system for career
development and
differentiation of the basic pay in respect of the occupied position.
- Information
technologies have been introduced into all schools and kindergartens. In 2012,
under the National Programme for Information
and Computer Technologies at
School, a new four-year update cycle has started, with the purpose of
modernizing the technological
facilities in Bulgarian schools and to create and
opportunity for using the newest IT achievements in the educational system
–
computer and terminal solutions with central control, wireless internet
zones, interactive peripheral devices and others.
- The
curricula for I – XII grades have been updated with the purpose of making
the educational content lighter and achieving
a ratio of 60% new knowledge to
40% practical knowledge and exercises. This ratio allows for flexible approaches
for teaching, corresponding
to the individual needs of each child and student.
- 28
community centers for career orientation in the municipal towns have been
created under the project “System for Career Orientation
in the School
Education”. Three groups were covered:
- The students in
grades I – IV receive information about various professions and the
respective necessary skills;
- The students in
grades V – VIII are directed in choosing the best education or profession
for them;
- The students in
grades IX – XII are assisted in their professional realization, in
accordance with labour market reality.
- The
National Programme for a System for National Standardized External Evaluation
introduced obligatory evaluation of the knowledge
and skills of the students at
the end of each educational stage (grades ІV, VІІ and
ХІІ) via
national standardized exams. Its total budget amounts
to BGN 4 500 000.
- According
to the NSI, as of 1 February 2011, out of the total population of 6 766 337
people, 6 653 559 are literate and 12 778 –
illiterate. Out of the
total population of people up to the age of 18 – 669 157, 655 982 are
literate and 13 175 – illiterate.
G. Civic
Education
- The
Ministry of Education and Science, in cooperation with non-governmental
organizations, social partners and others, is developing
а State
Educational Standard for Civic, Intercultural and Health Education.
- The
last two school years – 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 have been devoted to the
social and civic competences under the motto “I
Participate and I
Change!” The campaign is conducted with the support of the Ombudsman of
the Republic of Bulgaria in partnership
with the MFES, the Ministry of
Agriculture and Food, non-governmental organizations and local authorities. The
campaign includes
training in the spirit of democratic citizenship, healthy
lifestyle and constructive behaviour of the students, and it is carried
out in
different forms: in the class hour, through club activities, competitions,
exhibitions, sports holidays, games, questionnaires,
excursions, voluntary
actions, trainings, group activities and other.
H. Access to
Education
- Measures
have been taken for ensuring full access to education for all children. As a
result of the consistent policy for universal
and accessible education there is
an increase in the group net coefficient for starting a pre-school education and
in the beginning
of the secondary education. The dynamics of the group net
coefficients for enrolling the population into the education system in
the
period 2008 – 2012, by level of education, is observed in the statistical
annex to the report.
- The
results of the numerous studies and analyses show that the level of enrolling in
all levels of education by Roma people is a lot
lower in comparison to other
minority groups. According to census data of 2011 out of all children at
obligatory school age (the
obligatory school age is 6 – 16), the children
of Roma origin who do not go to school are 23,2%, the children of Turkish origin
– 11,9% and the ethnic Bulgarians – 5,6%. Special attention has to
be devoted to the children from closed schools during
their relocation to host
schools, as well as to the children who have no command or poor command of the
Bulgarian language.
- Taking
up and attending class lessons is a key factor for improving the results of the
studying and the development of the children
– with a main focus on
children from the voluntary socio-economic groups. According to the NSI, after
the last census of the
7 – 19 age group, 1,15% or 10 110 of the children
in this group have never gone to school.
- As
a result of improving the policy for universal, accessible and quality
education, in the period 2008 – 2012 there is an increase
in the
percentage of children during their pre-school education. The percentage of
children, who attend pre-school education in the
period 2000 – 2012, is
presented in the statistical annex to the report.
- Measures
have been taken for encouraging school attendance. The 2010/2011 school year
marked the beginning of the gradual introduction
of whole-day organization of
the school day, covering children from the 1st, 2nd and
3rd grade. Over BGN 69 000 000 have been provided in 2012 for this
purpose.
- One
of the modules of the national programme “The School – Territory of
the Students” is the “Support of the
Whole-day Organization of the
Education at its Initial Stage” module, which starts in 2010. The project
“Improving the
Quality of the Education in the Central Schools through the
Introduction of Whole-day Organization of the Learning Process”.
The
whole-day organization of the learning process includes the full educational
cycle (obligatory preparation, mandatory choice
of preparation, optional
preparation, self-preparation, relaxation and games, eating) for achieving a
universal, basic knowledge,
based on the principles of justice, tolerance and
viability.
- The
National Programme for Optimization of the School Network establishes terms of
access to equal quality of education for each child
or student, development of
an effective and optimal network of schools corresponding to the interests and
abilities of the children
and students, and to the socio-economic profile of the
region, increasing the effectiveness of the public costs for education through
optimization of the internal structure of the schools. For the period 2007
– 2011, funds amounting to BGN 221 million have
been transferred to the
municipalities, on the territory of which schools have been closed in order to
ensure the access of the students
to education in other schools. Funds were
provided for activities for the education of students at obligatory school age
in the protected
schools and classes with less than the minimum number of
students, for transport costs for the travelling children, for the whole-day
organization of the school day and for meals in the cafeteria up to VIII grade
in the central schools. A whole-day organization for
the students from
1st grade from all schools has been introduced during the 2010/2011
school year. The study hall sessions are free to all children from
grades 1
– 3, and the 2013 budget envisages funds for the fourth graders too. In
2013 there have been provided additional funds
in the amount of BGN 98 million
for free study hall sessions, where the regular amount is BGN
520.
- The
professional schools provide initial vocational training for acquiring first and
second degree of professional qualification and/or
qualification for a part of
the profession. The duration of the education in the professional schools is 4
years, where the education
in them starts after VI grade, i.e. students at the
age of 13 enroll in them. This is the earliest age, at which the vocational
training
can start. In these schools, in addition to the professional education,
the students receive primary education and they can also
finish a grade or
grades from the high-school stage. The persons who have dropped out of school
and have turned 16 can acquire a
qualification as a part of the profession, for
a profession with first and/or second degree of professional qualification in
the
Centers for Vocational Training.
I. School
Violence
- According
to a study by UNICEF Bulgaria, conducted under the project “School without
Violence”, which covered over 1 500
children in 8 schools in Sofia and
Lovech, school violence turned out to be a serious problem. Therefore, in 2012
the Ministry of
Education and Science, in partnership with the Ministry of
Labour and Social Policy, the Agency for Social Assistance, SACP, MoI,
UNICEF
Bulgaria, the Central Commission against Antisocial Behavior of Minors and
Juveniles and non-governmental organizations developed
a Mechanism for Combating
School Violence. It has been enforced through an Ordinance of the Minister of
Education and Science and
it includes measures for prevention and intervention,
as well as mechanisms and responsibilities for taking action in situations
involving school violence.
- In
the 2011/2012 school year the Ministry of Education and Science provided funding
to a National Mobile Group of Psychologists, which
assist schools in their work
with children and students at risk, in relation to the Coordination Mechanism
for Interaction for Working
with Children and Victims of Violence, and for
interaction during a crisis intervention.
- With
the purpose of training teachers, school counsellors and directors for creating
school curricula in the area of violence prevention,
in 2009, under the joint
initiative of UNICEF, SACP and the Ministry of Education and Science, the
“School without Violence”
project has been realized in 6 pilot
schools on the territory of Sofia, and during the 2008/2009 school year two more
schools in
Lovech have been included.
- The
school psychology sector (the school counsellors and the school psychologists)
has been optimized and in 2011 an information database
for appointing school
counsellors and school psychologists was created, including their qualification,
need of trainings and other.
J. Leisure, Recreation and
Cultural Activities
- The
Ministry of Education and Science is contributing to the organization of the
leisure time of students through the “School
for Self-affirmation and
Preparation for European Horizons” project. The participation in
extracurricular activities leads
to increasing the motivation of the students
for taking part in the educational process, according to their interests and
needs.
- Since
2009, the MRDPW’s Ordinance No.1 for the order and procedure of the
structure and safety of children playgrounds guarantees
the safe access of
children, including those with disabilities, to children playgrounds. The order
and procedure for the safety of
the publicly accessible playgrounds, located
outdoors or indoors, including the requirements for their safe exploitation,
maintenance
and control have been thus established.
- According
to a national inventory from 2011 there are a total of 8 363 children
playgrounds – 540 for children up to the age
of 3, 4 295 for children aged
3 – 12, 369 for children aged 12 – 18, 3 160 combined children
playgrounds (this number
does not include the playgrounds in yards and
nurseries, parks and schools). The playgrounds that are planned to be built on
the
territory of the country are 717 and 181 of them are in process of
construction. There are earmarked funds provided for the construction
of 478 new
playgrounds under the Operational Programme Regional Development (OPRD) and the
Rural Development Programme. An initial
inspection of the children playgrounds
by the Commission for Consumer Protection under the “Safe Summer at the
Playgrounds”
has been carried out. By the end of 2011, a total of 4 926
(58,9%) playgrounds have been inspected and it was established that 850
(17,3%)
playgrounds meet the requirements. There are developed schedules for bringing
the rest of the playgrounds in compliance with
the requirements.
- The
Ministry of Youth and Sports contributes to the realization of the right of the
child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and
recreational activities.
Various projects are being implemented based on the National Strategy for the
Development of the Physical
Education and Sports in the Republic of Bulgaria
2012-2022, the National Programme for Development of the Physical Education and
Sports in the Republic of Bulgaria 2012-2016, as well as MFES programmes for
providing conditions and possibilities for practicing
sports.
- In
the 2008 – 2012 period 1 054 115 children up to the age of 18 have
participated in sports activities with provided funds
of over BGN 10 000
000 under the following programs of the MYS “Sports for the Leisure Time
of Children”; „”Learn
to Swim”; “Sports for the
Children in Kindergartens”; ”Development of the Sports for the
Students”;
“Sports for People with Disabilities and Children at
Risk”; “Development of the Sports for Achievements at Olympic
Sports”.
- During
the 2008 – 2012 reporting period an accessible sports infrastructure in
public places for relaxation and sports has been
provided to a total of 79
sports sites. A total of 12 sports sites have been constructed and reconstructed
through the budget and
the escrow account of the MFES regarding the school
environment.
- State
and municipal cultural institutes, municipalities and community centers organize
a lot of events in the area of art and labour
which are specially intended for
children. Since 2010 they are included in a special section for children under
the National Cultural
Calendar, which is kept and published annually on the web
page of the Ministry of Culture. These activities are based on the Protection
and Development of Culture Act, the Child Protection Act and the National Child
Programme for the respective year, the Ordinance
for the order and procedure for
protecting gifted children, the Program for Measures and Protection of Gifted
Children for the respective
year.
- Museums
and galleries, theatres, libraries and community centers provide good
opportunities for career development and training of
children and young people.
The educational activity of the cultural institutes covers children with
disabilities and those with different
ethnic culture. There are good
opportunities for access to educational and cultural events in the whole
country. 950 regional and
community libraries have been linked within a network
under the “Glob@l Libraries” project, and they offer internet
access,
training and computer literacy, courses in the area of arts
etc.
- The
biggest network for informal education and schooling – the community
centers, continues to reach children and young people
by offering community
center activities in the areas of science and arts. Many fairs, festivals and
holidays for expression and development
of the creative potential of children in
the whole country have been organized.
- All
cultural institutions cooperate for the development of children and their social
realization and integration. They respect the
right of the child for full
participation in the cultural and creative life, by providing appropriate and
equal opportunities for
culture and creative activities, rest and
relaxation.
IX. Special Protection Measures
A.
Economic Exploitation Including Child Labour
-
The Committee welcomes the fact that the legislation of the country forbids
child labour and the state has developed a National Plan
Against the most Severe
Types of Child Labour. Despite that, the Committee is concerned about the still
large number of socially
disadvantaged children, especially the children of Roma
origin, involved in harmful forms of exploitation through child labour,
particularly
in the areas of agriculture, industry and household work.
Furthermore, the Committee is concerned about the lack of adequate and
current
detailed data about child labour.
- Bulgaria
has taken action in respect of the observations of the Committee regarding the
economic exploitation and the child labour
described in the previous report on
the country.
- As
already mentioned, child labour is forbidden. It is allowed only after obtaining
permit by the General Labour Inspectorate Executive
Agency, which is the
authority responsible for complying with the labour
legislation.
- The
results of the labour inspections in recent years show the existence of problems
with the use of employment of juveniles in the
small and medium-sized business
sector. In most cases the employment of juveniles is related to seasonal work
and low-skilled jobs.
Persons up to the age of 18 participate in the activities
of small enterprises involved in trade, hotels and restaurants, as well
as in
the small agricultural family enterprises.
- Performing
checks for complying with the norms for protection of labour performed by
persons up to the age of 18 in enterprises offering
the seasonal economic
activities “Retail”, “Restaurants”, “Hotels”
is envisaged as a measure
in the Plan of the Activities of General Labour
Inspectorate Executive Agency. For establishing a common approach for performing
checks, the schedules for checking will include, on a priority basis, employers
who have requested the issuing of permits for hiring
adolescents (including
those who were denied such permission) and in whose enterprises there has not
been a check for compliance
with the normative requirements for performing
labour by persons, up to the age of 18, as well as employers for whom it has
been
previously established to be in breach of the requirements for employment
of adolescents, including hiring an youth without a permit
from the labour
inspectorate. The main violations through the years involve the right of workers
and employees under the age of 18
of basic paid annual leave with a duration of
not less than 26 working days, of juveniles without permit by the respective
Labour
Inspection Directorate, violation of the statutory duration of the
working hours, violation of the Labour Code ban for performing
some types of
work by juveniles, violations related to juvenile working overtime and others.
Fines and injunctions are imposed on
the offenders.
- A
total of 1 733 permits for legal employment of persons up to the age of 18 have
been requested by the General Labour Inspectorate
Executive Agency in 2012,
while the number of requests in 2011 was 1838. 109 of them were about legal
employment of persons up to
the age of 16 and 1624 about persons at the minimum
age of 16. In 2011 their number was respectively 69 for legal employment of
persons
up to the age of 16 and 1769 for persons, at a minimum age of 16. In
2010 the General Labour Inspectorate have issued 1834 (out of
1 908 requests)
permits for hiring juveniles, and 100 of them were permits for employment of
persons under the age of 16 and 1734
for persons aged 16 – 18. A total of
2 828 permits for hiring juveniles at a minimum age of 16 have been issued in
2009, and
the requested permits were 2 920. 2 688 were the permits for hiring
persons at the minimum age of 16 and 140 were permits for hiring
persons up to
the age of 16. The total number of requested permits for hiring juveniles in
2008 was 6 135, and the granted ones were
5 775. 5 484 were the granted permits
for hiring persons, at the minimum age of 16 and 291 permits for hiring were
granted for persons
up to the age of 16. Taking into account the abovementioned,
there is a trend for a diminishing number of requests for granting permits
by
the General Labour Inspectorate Executive Agency for hiring persons below the
age of 18.
- The
most severe forms of child labour are found in the family economy (agriculture
and household labour) and the informal economy
(hotels, constructions, hotels,
street labour etc.). In respect of the conditions of internal labour migration
for some groups of
juveniles (during holidays), when they are hired at temporary
jobs in small enterprises in hotels and restaurants, for production
of
foodstuffs and apparel, trade, construction and other, the labour inspectors
have faces some forms of discrimination when using
their labour. It should be
pointed out that the use of child labour in its most severe forms, in breach of
the explicitly regulated
bans in our national legislation about exposing
adolescents to danger and harmful working conditions, was not established during
the inspections.
- The
preventive measures at all levels, the effectiveness of the inspections and the
control over the legal use of child labour, as
well as the provision of access
of children to the services and the different types of prevention in respect of
their labour rights,
are important factors for prevention, detection and
prosecution of the violations of the labour legislation.
B.
Children on the Street
-
In implementation of the recommendation of the Committee regarding the children
on the street, paragraph 62, the Directorates for
Social Assistance gather
information and implement activities for identifying begging children on the
street. They perform active
social work with the children and their families
– they implement measures for their protection, direct them to appropriate
social services, consult, support and assist for removing the risks to the child
and for not allowing the child to be left without
supervision again and/or
involving the child in inappropriate activities.
- According
to a schedule developed in advance, the employees of the Departments for Child
Protection under the Directorates for Social
Assistance conduct regular monthly
tours for identifying children from the respective target group on the territory
of the respective
Directorate for Social Assistance. The established schedules
include “critical points” with high concentration of begging
children and children on the street, like bus stations, railway stations,
squares, large commercial chains, religious temples, parks
etc. A child which
has been identified to be at risk is entered into the register for children in
need of special protection and
then the appropriate measures are taken,
depending on the specificity of the case. When there is a declared need,
employees from
the Directorate for Social Assistance take part in organized
actions, in cooperation with representatives of the Regional Police
Stations,
the municipal organizations and non-governmental organizations, for identifying
begging children and children on the street.
- Since
the beginning of September 2010, under the Directorate for Social Assistance
– Mladost in Sofia, a unit for working with
begging children and children
on the street has been established, and it operates 24 hours day. The mobile
team of the unit consists
of six social workers, who go on a daily tour of the
streets in Sofia and the so called “critical points” – with
high concentration of begging children. The employees of the team meet and
provide individual support to the unaccompanied children,
as well as to the
children, victims of trafficking, who are returning from abroad, and accompany
them to the services (institutions),
where they are initially placed. The team
immediately reacts after receiving a report for a begging or unsupervised child
and actively
gathers information by identifying the begging children and takes
the respective lawful measures. In cooperation with the police
authorities, the
Directorates for Social Assistance with a permanent address and the Directorates
for Social Assistance in the region,
in which the child is at that time, take
protection measures in accordance with the best interest of the
child.
C. Sexual Exploitation and Violence
-
In accordance with Art. 34 of the Convention and paragraph 26 of the
Observations of the Committee (CRC/C/OPSC/BGR/1), as well as
in view of the
ratification of the Convention of the Council of Europe for Protection of
Children from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual
Violence (in October 2011), on 2
April 2009 the National Assembly adopted amendments to the Criminal Code. The
following new compositions
of crimes were introduced with them: conscious use of
the services of a juvenile, who prostitutes (Art. 154а), forcing, coercing
and making a child who has not turned 14 to attend in any way acts of sexual
violence or sexual acts, without even participating
in them, the so called
“sexual corruption of children” (Art. 155б), the hiring or
coercing of individual juveniles
or groups of such persons to commit such acts
like copulation, fornication, sodomy, masturbation, sexual sadism, masochism or
lustful
exposition of human genitalia (Art. 158а) of the Criminal Code.
- Furthermore,
in accordance with the relevant articles of the Convention of the Council of
Europe and particularly with the provisions
of Chapter VI “Substantive
Criminal Law”, amendments and additions have been made to Section VIII
“Debauchery”
of the Criminal Code – Art. 149, paragraph 2
(lewdness over a person under the age 14, carried out through the use of force
or threats, by taking advantage of helpless state, or by putting the child in
such state, or by using a state of dependency or supervision);
Art. 150,
paragraph 1 and paragraph 2; Art. 151, paragraph 2 (sexual intercourse with
person at the age of 14, who does not understand
the property or the
significance of the act).
- With
the amendments to the Criminal Code of April 2009, the term “pornographic
material” has been added to the criminal
acts of “harlotry
action”, “copulation”, “sexual intercourse” and
“prostitution”.
- The
changes to the Criminal Code of 10 April 2010 envisaged higher sanctions for
some particularly rebuked acts against minors and
juveniles: criminal harlotry
through the use of force or taking advantage of a helpless state or situation of
supervision (Art. 150
of the Criminal Code), criminal copulation with a juvenile
through the use of a state of dependency or supervision or with a mentally
irresponsible person (Art. 151, paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Criminal Code), making
a contact with a minor or a juvenile person with
the purpose of harlotry actions
(Art. 155a of the Criminal Code, coercing a juvenile to participate or observe
sex scenes (Art. 155b
of the Criminal Code) and torture and neglect of juveniles
(Art. 182 and Art. 187 of the Criminal Code). There is a suggestion for
all
crimes against marriage, family and adolescents to be prosecuted under the
general procedure with the cancellation of Art. 193
of the Criminal Code, in
order to guarantee the correct and timely pursuit of the followed state
imposition against the perpetrators
of such acts.
D.
Trafficking and abduction
- Bulgaria
has ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in
Human Beings in 2007 and the Convention on
the Protection of Children against
Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse in 2011. In relation to the recommendation
of the Committee,
the State ratified the International Convention for the
Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which was signed by
the
Republic of Bulgaria on 24 September 2008.
- In
accordance with EU Directives 2011/36/EU on preventing and combating trafficking
in human beings and protecting its victims and
2011/92/EU on combating the
sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography,
respective amendments to the
national legislation have been made in 2009 and
2013.
- According
to Art. 16a of the Criminal Code an act shall not be considered culpably
committed if performed by a person who is a victim
of human trafficking and was
forced to perform such act in direct relation to being such
victim.
- Begging
was added to the individual, constituting purpose of the trafficking. In this
context, the EU Directive upgrades the standards
of the Convention by requiring
the explicit introduction of begging as an alternative to the goal of forced
labour.
- Other
amendments have been made in order to counter the spreading phenomenon of human
trafficking for the purpose of removing cells
and bodily fluids. According to
Art. 159a of the Criminal Code (Trafficking of people) an individual who
recruits, transports, hides
or admits individuals or groups of people in view of
using them for sexual activities, forced labour or begging, dispossession of
a
body organ, tissue, cell or body fluid or holding them in forceful subjection,
regardless of their consent, shall be punished by
imprisonment of two to eight
years and a fine from BGN three thousand to twelve thousand.
- In
2013 Amendments were made to the Combating Trafficking in Human Beings Act
(CTHBA). The definitions of “trafficking”
and
“exploitation” were modified as follows: “Trafficking in human
beings" means the recruitment, transportation,
transfer, concealment or
acceptance of human beings, regardless of their own will, when carried out for
the purpose of exploitation;
"Exploitation" means the illegal use of human
beings for debauchery, removal of a physical organ, tissue, cell or body fluid
of the
victim forced labour, mendicancy or forced obedience, slavery or
servitude.
- Other
supplements to the CTHBA include Art. 23 – Children who have become
victims of trafficking in human beings and children
of victims of trafficking in
human beings shall be provided with education in state or municipal schools in
the country, in compliance
with the Public Education Act;
- In
addition to the already proposed amendments in respect of the legal framework
for combating human trafficking, currently the work
on another group of
legislative amendments is continuing, including to the Criminal Code, in
relation to introducing the requirements
of Directive 2011/92/EU on combating
the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, the
deadline for
the transposition of which is 18 December 2013.
- In
pursuance of the Republic of Bulgaria's international commitments in
the
field of child trafficking and sexual exploitation a number of measures were
taken for
improving the protection of victims. In 2005 the Bulgarian
institutions joined their
efforts and created a Coordination Mechanism to
facilitate the combined, fast and efficient
tracing of every case related to
child trafficking in the country and abroad. The
mechanism was updated in
2010 and signed in December 2010 by the institutions responsible for its
implementation - MFA, Mol, MLSP,
SACP and ASA.
- The
new aspects of the Coordination Mechanism refer to the expansion of the system
of bodies at central and local level, the options
for receiving alerts of
unaccompanied children and child victims of trafficking returning from abroad,
the stages which the referral
and consideration of each specific case undergo
and the description of the powers of all institutions engaged. The application
of
the mechanism is coordinated by the Minister of Interior and the Chairperson
of SACP.
- The
mechanism includes a system of bodies at central and local level which perform
child identification, repatriation, receipt, removal
from family environment,
rehabilitation, reintegration of the child and tracing of the case.
- The
system of bodies at central level includes: the Ministry of Interior (MoI), the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the State Agency
for Child Protection (SACP),
the Agency for Social Assistance (ASA), which work in coordination and close
cooperation with the National
Commission for Combating Trafficking in Human
Beings (NCCTHB), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM),
etc.
- The
system of bodies at local level whose centre is the Social Assistance
Directorate (SAD), Child Protection Department (CPD), includes
the establishment
of a multidisciplinary team with participants from local Regional Police
Departments of MoI, Regional Inspectorate
of Education (RIE), Regional Health
Centre (RHC), Local Commission for Combating Juvenile Delinquency (LCCJD), Local
Commission for
Combating Trafficking in Human Beings (LCCTHB), Regional
Prosecutor's Office, Regional Court, the managing body of the crisis centre,
a
professional at a provider of a community-based social service (if any and where
such a professional is used) and others, at the
discretion of
SAD/CPD.
- The
creation of the Coordination Mechanism helped align the approach of competent
Bulgarian and international institutions in their
work on specific child victim
cases (mainly girls) in countries like Austria, the Czech Republic, Spain,
Italy, Greece, France, Belgium,
Slovakia, etc.
- 14
Crisis Centres have been set up across the country in support of child
trafficking victims and they operate in the following regions:
Burgas, Veliko
Tarnovo, Vidin, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pleven, Plovdiv - 2, Silistra - 2, Sofia
city - 2, Sofia region and Shumen. Since
1 January 2007 the Crisis Centres have
been regarded as a state delegated activity, i.e. they are financed from the
national budget
through the municipal budgets. The main services provided at the
Crisis Centres involve provision of shelter and food, meeting of
health needs,
provision of psychological support, training on life and social skills, ensuring
participation of the child in a school
form of education, preparation for
reintegration in the family and, should this be impossible, taking an adequate
measure for protection
of the child.
- All
Crisis Centres operate throughout the year, 24/7, and their accommodation
capacity is up to ten children. An exception is the
Crisis Centre in the city of
Sofia, whose capacity is 22 children. Placement of children at the centre is
ordered by the Court. Until
the pronouncement of the Court decision, the Social
Assistance Directorate competent for the location at the current address of the
child performs administrative placement of the child. The placement is for a
term of up to six months, depending on the specific
case and the needs of the
child. The case is monitored for a period of 1 year. In 2012 SACP developed a
special methodology for operation
of crisis centres. The sociological and
psychological work with this target group of children and their support begin
with their
arrival in the country, at the respective border check point. The
child victims of trafficking are met by a representative of SAD
who attends the
initial talks with the child and sees to it that his or her rights and legal
interests are respected.
- The
territorial units of ASA -SAD, represented by the Child Protection Departments
(CPDs), carry out a social assessment of a child
in respect of whom a report or
information is received that he or she is a victim of trafficking or has
returned to the country unaccompanied.
Data is gathered about the family
environment of the child, the reasons for his/her removal from the country and
involvement in trafficking.
A crucial aspect of the efforts of social workers is
to make an adequate assessment of the child's needs, to assess the risk and
plan
activities and measures for the child’s protection and safety. A
protection measure is taken with respect to the children
in accordance with the
Child Protection Act to ensure their security and prevent any trafficking
consequences.
- Normally,
the first measure used in respect of children, who are victims of trafficking,
is to place them at a Crises Centre, where
children may stay for a period of up
to 3 months. The stay of children at CC may be extended up to 6 months, if
important circumstances
require it. When a protection measure is undertaken in a
family environment, the work is focused on family counselling of the child's
parents and friends on the issues of responsible parenthood. In some cases the
involvement and exploitation of children takes place
with the knowledge,
consent, action/inaction of the family and friends, due to which the return of
the child to the family or his/her
placement with friends and relatives is not
in the child’s interest. In such a case the child is mandatorily placed
outside
of the family and other alternative forms of social services are sought:
foster families, social services of a residential type,
etc. Parents, who are
reported to have involved the child in activities affecting adversely his /her
development or who, due to their
action or inaction, have put the child at risk,
are brought to court. The court and the prosecutor's office are notified to take
actions in accordance with their competence. After leaving the Crisis Centre,
and if necessary, the children may be guided to use
other community-based
services.
- An
efficient measure for protecting children involved in labour exploitation or
human trafficking was the amendment to the Bulgarian
Identity Documents Act
introduced in 2005. Its aim was to ensure a more efficient protection of
unaccompanied children residing abroad and victims of trafficking.
According to
the latest modifications, they are not allowed to leave the country, no
passports or equivalent documents may be issued
thereto, and the ID documents
issued to minors and juveniles in respect whereof there is information from a
Bulgarian or foreign
competent body that they are involved in or used for
activities under Art. 11 of the Child Protection Act (begging, prostitution,
sexual abuse, dissemination of pornographic material, receipt of unlawful
pecuniary income) are seized.
E. Sale of children, child
prostitution and pornography
- The
Committee reminds the State party of the need to effectively implement its
relevant concluding observations and recommendations
on the Optional Protocol on
Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (CRC/C/OPSC/BGR/CO/1)
adopted on 5 October
2007.
- In
connection with article 35 of the Convention, amendments to the Criminal Code,
adopted by the National Assembly on 2 April 2009,
in Chapter II “Crimes
against the Person”, and in Section IX “Trafficking in Human
Beings” were made. The
penalties for various trafficking offences were
increased, also in cases of minor or juvenile victims, in regard to the severity
of the punishment “imprisonment” and the fines. An offence with new
elements of crime was created which incriminated
the intentional use of a
person, who is a victim of trafficking in human beings, for debauchery, forceful
labour, dispossession of
bodily organs or holding him in forceful subjection,
regardless of their consent. The quoted new elements of crime transposed Article
19 of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human
Beings in the Bulgarian legislation.
- The
Administrative Violations and Sanctions Act was used as a vehicle for
introducing liability for legal entities that take advantage
of trafficking in
human beings. The liability of the legal entities provided for in the said Act
is of an administrative and criminal
nature and the explicitly specified
violations, for which legal entities will be sanctioned, include also sexual
exploitation of
children, child abuse, trafficking in human beings, as well as
abduction and illegal deprivation of liberty and coercion.
- In
2012 there were no registered cases of hosting child pornography in Bulgaria.
There was a registered decrease in the number of
reports for distribution of
racist or xenophobic content – from 50 in 2011 to 7 in
2012
F. Children outside their country of origin seeking
refugee protection (art. 22), unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, migrant
children
and children affected by migration.
- In
response to the Committee recommendation CRC/C/OPSC/BGR/CO/1 regarding the
condition of refugees and in view of the situation in
Syria and the consequences
of the Arab Awakening, Bulgaria has taken a number of actions.
- They
are fully consistent with the Council of Europe Strategy for the Rights of the
Child (2012-2015) /the Strategy/, the Action Plan
on Unaccompanied Minors (2010
– 2014) of the European Commission – the European Resolution 1810
(2011) and Recommendation
1703 (2005) on protection and assistance for separated
children and international criteria for good practice.
- Bulgaria
faced some challenges with the reception of increased number of refugees but
undertook a set of measures to safeguard their
human rights. By way of priority,
the efforts of the state are focused on respecting the rights of this vulnerable
group –
child refugees, for protection against physical and mental abuse,
the right of life, survival and development, prevention of discrimination.
The
specific measures that are being taken in respect of child refugees concern
their involvement in educational and health care
programmes, social services,
psychological and social assistance for their reintegration, protection against
vulnerability, legal
protection.
- The
State Agency for Refugees (SAR) keeps and maintains, in an automated information
system (AIS), permanent information about the
requests received from the
applicants for refugee status and their registration.
- The
following measures are being taken in view of the social protection and
integration of child refugees:
- In
the course of a procedure for granting a refugee status the parents of minor
child refugees receive for them monthly allowances
for food in the same amount
as those intended for adult refugees:
- a one-off
supplementary social assistance cash benefit and benefits in-kind are
provided;
- social
counselling;
- psychological
assistance and support provided by SAR, Bulgarian Red Cross, Centre
“Nadia”, and the Assistance Centre for
Torture Survivors ACET;
- where necessary,
social mediators provide guidance and accompany them for medical care;
- enrolment in
Bulgarian language courses and a possibility for inclusion in the educational
system of the Bulgarian state and municipal
schools;
- attendance of
kindergartens by the children and payment of their day care fees if included in
the integration program ;
- provision of
teaching aids and accessories necessary for their education if included in the
integration program.
-
The following are regarded as primary tools for integration of the refugee
families and of their children in particular: pedagogical
consultations on the
rights of child refugees, including unaccompanied juveniles and minors;
acquainting parent refugees with Bulgarian
culture and education, work on their
social inclusion in the Bulgarian environment; organising of intercultural
activities with the
participation of child refugees and their parents jointly
with Bulgarian children; making refugees and their children aware of their
fundamental rights and obligations.
- Particular
attention is attached to the education of child refugees in Bulgarian schools
based on research and development of curricula
and projects. Children in
judicial proceedings or those who have been granted protection are organised in
groups to study Bulgarian
language at the Integration Centre of SAR. Special
attention is paid to children refugees attending school in the preparation of
their home assignments in different subjects. After completing the course child
refugees sit for a test at the Regional Inspectorate
of Education under the
Ministry of Education and Science to have the level of their knowledge
determined and get enrolled in Bulgarian
schools. Afternoon study sessions with
assisting teachers are organised for the children attending Bulgarian schools
for preparing
their lessons. Regular meetings are held with the parents of the
children who are regular students at Bulgarian schools to explain
to them the
rights and obligations of schoolchildren. Regular practice are the working
meetings with the staff teaching child refugees
aimed at their full adaptation
to the education system and prevention of early drop-out from Bulgarian schools.
- As
part of a project of Caritas Foundation – Sofia the SVE – Bulgaria
volunteer organisation arranged for a study and
play room at the Integration
Centre for child refugees aged 2 to 5, whose parents are included in the
Programme, as well as for additional
training in Bulgarian language and other
basic subjects for children attending Bulgarian schools.
- Alien
asylum-seekers in Bulgaria and their children are entitled to health insurance,
affordable medical care and free medical services
from the date of their
registration as such and after the initiation of proceedings for status
granting.
- The
Registration and Reception Centres for Refugees and the Transit Centre for
Refugees perform mandatory primary medical examinations,
such as AIDS,
Wassermann, parasitoses and malaria tests.
- Alien
asylum-seekers and their children are included as a health insurance group in
the Health Insurance Act (HIA). SAR pays monthly
health insurance contributions
to the State Social Security Fund starting from the month of registration of the
applicant for refugee
status. Persons involved in judicial proceedings for
acquiring refugee status or right to asylum in the Republic of Bulgaria are
insured from the National Budget.
- Unaccompanied
juvenile and minor foreigners are informed about their rights. In the course of
the asylum-seeking procedure and after
acquiring an asylum status, children
express their legally valid will through their legal representatives –
parents, guardians
or custodians. Unaccompanied juveniles and minors who seek or
have acquired asylum and who still have no appointed guardian or custodian
are
represented in the proceedings by a social worker from the Child Protection
Department (CPD), who is appointed by the Social
Assistance Directorate (SAD),
whose jurisdiction covers their current address. The social worker attends the
asylum-granting proceedings,
i.e. in case of an interview the social worker
monitors the compliance with the procedure and the respect for the child’s
rights;
the social worker also attends the serving of decisions based on asylum
requests. Representatives have only advisory functions and
cannot be regarded as
guardians or custodians and their statements on behalf of the children are not
legally valid. An expert from
the Integration Centre of SAR works with the
children during the proceedings and after they receive a decision on their
status and
the written opinion of the social worker appointed as representative
is requested for every action.
G. Administration of juvenile
justice system
-
With respect to article 37b, article 39 and article 40 of the Convention and in
implementation of the recommendations of the Committee
in the part
“Administration of Juvenile Justice“, on 3 August 2011 the
Government of the Republic of Bulgaria adopted
a State Policy Concept for
Juvenile Justice and on 1 March 2013 a Road Map on the implementation of the
Policy Concept for Juvenile
Justice was approved. The two documents are
consistent with the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration
of Juvenile
Justice (the Beijing Rules), the United Nations Guidelines for the
Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (the Riyadh Guidelines), the
United Nations
Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty (the Havana
Rules), the Vienna Guidelines for Action
on Children in the
Criminal Justice System, the United Nations Guidelines on Justice in Matters
Involving Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime,
and the recommendations of the
Committee’s General Comment No. 10 (CRC/C/GC/10) on children’s
rights in juvenile justice.
- With
the elaboration and adoption of the Concept and the Road Map Bulgaria is
implementing the recommendation of the Committee on
the Right of the Child on
the second periodic report under item 69, which states that “the State
party take prompt measures
to bring the system of juvenile justice in
line with the UN standards and implement the Committee’s recommendations
regarding juvenile justice (CRC/C/15/Add.66).
- The
Road Map has been developed after consultations with UNICEF and representatives
of non-governmental organisations with long-term
experience and commitment to
the topic of protecting and defending child rights and with expertise on the
issue of children with
problematic behaviour, crime prevention and participation
in judicial proceedings. With the involvement of UNICEF and NGOs Bulgaria
implements the recommendation of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the
country’s second periodic report, item 70,
requiring it to “seek
technical assistance from the United Nations Interagency Panel on juvenile
justice which includes UNODC,
UNICEF, OHCHR and NGOs”.
- The
Road map seeks to achieve the following objectives:
- A comprehensive
juvenile justice policy with a special focus on prevention, introduction of
measures alternative to the penal ones
for legal offences, where possible, and
provision of support to children at risk and children victims of abuse or
witnesses of crimes.
- In accordance
with international and European standards, the new regulatory framework should
ensure full respect for the rights of
the child. Legislative amendments are
envisaged in this respect (CC, CPC, the MoI Act, the Legal Aid Act, etc.),
including the drafting of new legislation with respect to children in conflict
with the law.
- The
administrative reform of the system dealing with children in conflict with the
law should ensure a holistic and multidisciplinary
approach and improvement of
the efficiency and effectiveness of the policies.
- Establishing of
an operational system of quality and affordable services in family environment
and community-based services aimed
at prevention, early intervention and support
to the child and the family. The objective is to improve the effectiveness of
non-punitive
enforcement measures.
- Specialisation
is to be provided in the institutional system to deal with juveniles and minors
and the capacity of all professionals
involved is to be increased.
- An
integral part of the Road Map is a Table of Projects that should be implemented
with funds under EU programmes and that will support
the envisaged activities.
Funding from various sources has been ensured for the implementation of the
activities, including UNICEF,
the Bulgarian-Swiss Cooperation Programme, as well
as financing from several EU programmes (Human Resources Development Operational
Programme, Operational Programme “Administrative Capacity” and
Operational Programme “Regional Development”).
- On
17 October 2012 the Ministry of Justice signed an Agreement with the Swiss
Government under the programme “Strengthening
the legal and institutional
capacity of the judicial system in the field of juvenile justice“. The
project will be implemented
over a period of 30 months and it envisages:
• Development of a new legal and regulatory framework in the
area of juvenile justice in compliance with the State Policy Concept
for
Juvenile Justice;
• Performance of a financial assessment and
justification of the forthcoming changes in the structure, organisation and
operation
of the juvenile justice system.
• Development of training
modules (programmes) to enhance the legal and institutional capacity of judicial
officers, judges,
prosecutors, probation officers and other experts (social
workers, psychologists, etc.). It is envisaged that 130 Bulgarian magistrates
will be trained and so will be police officers, social workers and
psychologists.
• Planning of the establishment of specialised panels
of judges to handle judicial proceedings involving children who have committed
crimes. Five pilot courts will be selected (singled out on the basis of the
number of cases with the participation of juveniles and
minors), where the
project will be implemented, and overall programme envisages not only training
of magistrates, but also changes
in the infrastructure of the administration of
justice – arrangement of specialised court rooms for hearing cases
involving
juveniles and minors, as well as relevant legislative
amendments.
H. Roma children
- While
noting that efforts are undertaken to ensure equal enjoyment of rights for Roma
children as through the National Action Plan
on the Decade of Roma Inclusion,
the Committee remains deeply concerned at the negative attitudes and prejudices
of the general public
as well as about the overall situation of children of
minorities and in particular Roma children, especially with regard to
discrimination
and disparities, poverty and their equal access to health,
education, housing, employment and decent standard of living.
- Regarding
the integration of the Roma community and the creation of dedicated policies for
it, a National Roma Integration Strategy
of the Republic of Bulgaria 2012-2020
was elaborated in 2011. It is noteworthy that ethnic origin in Bulgaria is
determined on the
principle of voluntary self-identification.
“Roma”, as used in the Strategy, is an umbrella term referring both
to Bulgarian
nationals in a vulnerable socio-economic situation, who identify
themselves as Roma, and to the citizens in a similar situation,
defined by the
surrounding population as such, regardless of their self-identification.
- In
2009 the MES approved the optional school subject “Ethnic folklore - Roma
folklore”.
- In
2004 the Minister of Education and Science approved a Strategy for Educational
Integration of Minority Children and Students, followed
by the adoption of a
National Action Plan for Implementation of the Strategy – 2004/5 –
2008/9, and in 2010 the Strategy
was updated.
- Since
February 2011 the Amalipe Center, in partnership with Romanian and Greek
organisations, has been implementing a project financed
by the European
Commission Directorate-General for Justice in the framework of the Daphne
Programme.
- The
major objectives of the project are to enable young people and women from
marginalised groups and the Roma community to fight
harmful practices, to
establish a safe environment for children, youths and women at risk and to
develop the affected groups. These
objectives should be achieved by enhancing
field work at grass-root level in the marginalised groups and traditional Roma
community
by introducing the position “Community Moderator”, by
developing informal mechanisms for community support, by building
cooperation
with the existing institutions for prevention, protection and implementation of
programmes for prevention, protection
and community
development.
- More
specifically the strands of the project are the following:
-
Establishment of an intracommunity perspective for prevention and protection of
people at risk in Roma communities as a continuation
of the existing
perspective: through establishing, testing and introducing the position of Roma
Community Moderator and developing
informal community support mechanisms. For
the attainment of this objective 6 centres for development in the Roma community
will
be set up in Bulgaria, with 12 moderators. Their performance will be
monitored and guided so that conclusions could be conclusions
about the need for
the moderator position in the community and its institutionalisation. In
addition to advocacy, other activities
are also envisaged for promoting and
institutionalising this position.
- Raising the capacity of the mainstream preventive and protection
institutions to work in marginalised and traditional Roma communities:
for the
achievement of this objective it is envisaged to train field workers from these
institutions as well as to implement joint
programmes in the Roma community
together with Roma NGO activists and community moderators. Parallel with that,
advocacy activities
targeting the governing bodies of these institutions will be
undertaken for continuing the work at grass-root level.
- Establishing a model for systematic cooperation between mainstream
institutions and the Roma community in developing field work
at grass-root level
for prevention of violence, protection of victims and fostering development of
marginalized and traditional Roma
communities: for achieving these objectives a
set of joint activities is envisaged. This will be also one of the main
objectives
in all trainings and events organized under the project.
I. Children in armed conflicts
- Military
conscription was abolished In Bulgaria on 1 January 2008. Pursuant to the
Defence and Armed Forces Act military service in
Bulgaria is public service and
the minimum enrolment age is 18. The legal acts regulating the operation of the
Ministry of Defence
and its subordinated units, as well as their practical
actions are in accordance with the requirements of article 38 of the UN
Convention
on the Rights of the Child – regarding child protection in
armed conflict. Children under the age of 18 are not permitted to
serve in the
Bulgarian armed forces.
- The
activities performed by the Ministry of Defence in implementation of the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child involve the
following:
- Training of
servicemen, who undergo preparation for participation in operations and missions
abroad, on major aspects of international
humanitarian law and in particular on
the rights of children in the regions of armed conflict;
- Strict adherence
to these rights during operations and missions abroad;
- Provision of
protection of and care for children in the regions of armed conflicts, where
Bulgarian servicemen operate, including
provision of medical aid, distribution
of food, water, school and sports equipment, etc.;
-
In the national legislation of the Republic of Bulgaria the issue of imposing
bans or restrictions on the sale or procurement of
arms to specific countries is
laid down in Council of Ministers Decree No. 272 of 30 October 2012, which
amended and supplemented
Council of Ministers Decree No. 91 of 2001 approving
the list of countries and organisations for which Bulgaria imposes a ban or
restriction on the sale and procurement of arms. These two acts are in
compliance with the UN Security Council resolutions and with
the decisions of
the EU and OSCE on this issue. The Decree of 2012 also includes states, where
serious violations of human rights,
including those of children, have been
found. Bulgaria supports the recommendation of the UN Committee on the Rights of
the Child
for introducing a specific ban on the sale of end-use arms to states
which are known to involve children in military action, upon
adoption of the
respective UN Security Council resolutions.
[1] The Annex to the report
contains a detailed list of the amendments to the
legislation.
[2] A CPA provision
has been approved prohibiting the disclosure of information about children
without their parents’ consent,
and when they have reached the age of ...
without the children’s consent as
well.
[3] www.sacp.government.bg
[4]
www.stopech.sacp.government.bg
[5]
In the Preamble to the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria (CRB) equality
is highlighted as one of the fundamental principles underlying the development
of the
Bulgarian society. Article 6, paragraph 2 of CRB states that all citizens
shall be equal before the law and that neither abridgement
of rights nor any
privileges whatsoever shall be admissible on the grounds of race, nationality,
ethnic identity, sex, origin, religion,
education, convictions, political
affiliation, personal and social status, or property
status.
[6] Article 3. No form
of discrimination be it direct nor indirect, shall be allowed against people
with disabilities.
[7] VS/2009/0384. Support to
national activities for identifying good practices in combating discrimination
and promoting equality –
PROGRESS (2007-2013) (in Bulgarian language)
[8] EU-SILC 2009,
NSI
[9] EU-SILC 2009, EU-SILC 2010,
NSI
[10] EU-SILC 2011,
NSI
[11] “Report card
10” Measuring Child Poverty, Innocenti Research Centre ISBN:
978-88-8912-965-4
[12] The state
should be sufficiently rich for the health of its children (Aggregated results
of a qualitative study on issues and challenges
of maternal and child
healthcare), L. Yadkova, MD, A. Doychinova, MD, I. Yordanov, Open Society
Institute, UNICEF – Bulgaria,
2009 (in Bulgarian
language)
[13] Provided for under
Article 134 of the Implementing Regulation of the Public Education
Act
[14] Promulgated, SG, No. 49
of 29 June 2012, effective since 1 July 2012, supplemented, No. 80 of 19 October
2012, effective since 19
October 2012
.
[15]. The Annex to the report contains
similar information about the projects
[16]. SACP has developed and is currently
implementing the “Support” project with funding coming from
Operational Programme
Technical Assistance. At this stage of its implementation
the project ensured coordination and regular exchange of information among
all
participants on national and regional level.
[∗] a school, which is
located in the nearest town or village at the territory of the municipality,
where the students from the towns
or villages in which there are not any schools
are studying
[17] National
Representative Study “Equality – the Road to Progress”, Open
Society Institute, Ministry of Labor and
Social Policy, database,
2011.
[18] According to
Ordinance 1/2009 the children and students with special educational needs are
the ones with different types of disabilities
– sensory, physical, mental
(mental retardation), multiple disabilities, language and speech impediments and
learning difficulties.
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