Today, the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, Prof. Dr Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic and the Director of the UNICEF Office in Serbia Judita Reichenberg signed the Memorandum of Understanding aiming to contribute to the Parliament’s greater and better-quality role in the improvement of the position of children in Serbia. The Memorandum was symbolically signed on the eve of the World Children’s day, 20 November.

Having signed the document, Assembly Speaker Djukic-Dejanovic stressed that laws from the field of protection of children’s rights will be a priority in the further work, because Serbia is faced with violations of children’s rights. She emphasised that UNICEF’s suggestion was accepted with pleasure and that a working group for cooperation with this organisation has been formed. The working group will include the National Assembly Speaker and Deputy Speakers, as well as the Chairman of the Poverty Reduction Committee.

The Director of the UNICEF Office for Serbia Judita Reichenberg deemed this an important step in defining the framework of long-term cooperation directed towards strengthening the deputies’ and public’s awareness and understanding of the need to protect children’s rights. She pointed out that there are many cases of violations of children’s rights in Serbia, stemming from poverty and deprivation of their chance for development, various types of discrimination and unacceptable disciplinary measures. As she stressed, she was referring cases when children are not respected as subjects.