On Monday, 29thof April, the Minister of Justice Jānis Bordāns met with the Minister of Welfare Ramona Petraviča to decide on issues of the child rights policy and to agree on necessary solutions for arrangement of functions and competences of orphan courts.
During the meeting, the Minister of Justice Jānis Bordāns stressed: “The child rights policy and protection of the interests of families is an important function of the state, and we need institutions and specialists who are able to make quality decisions and also take responsibility for them. The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Welfare have today confirmed their readiness to seek the necessary solutions together. We are committed to reviewing and analysing the issues of the child right policy, the functions of institutions and their distribution, so that ultimately every task arising from the law is performed by competent professionals of the field.”
“The model of the State Inspectorate for Protection of Children's Rights is ineffective. It is not aimed at targeted cooperation in improving the operation of the orphan's court. A new model is needed. Today's meeting with the Minister of Justice Jānis Bordāns is a starting point for cooperation, where I hope to come to the best solution for maximum protection of child rights", said the Minister of Welfare Ramona Petraviča.
During the meeting, the Minister of Justice J. Bordāns noted that this is a matter of government resolution, but the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Welfare already until 1stof June, the International Day for Protection of Children, will present its vision for the establishment of a specific institutional model and legal framework.
Additional information:
The State Control in April released the audit report “Stolen childhood: Every child has the right to grow up in a family”, which highlights a number of systemic problems and the omissions of the responsible institutions endangering the interests of children, who have remained without parental care, and the right of such children to wholesome development. Full audit report is available here: http://www.lrvk.gov.lv/en/revizija/stolen-childhood-every-child-has-the-right-to-grow-up-in-a-family/