10th Sitting of the Committee on the Rights of the Child

Committee Deputy Chairperson Zagorka Aleksic reminded the attending that the previous sitting of the Committee on the Rights of the Child was dedicated to the drafting of new strategic framework. She stressed that on the occasion the participants considered the upcoming activities, identified key challenges and highlighted the need for the Committee to be duly informed and actively involved in the entire process so as to ensure the continuity of public policies in the area.

Minister of Family Care and Demography Jelena Zaric Kovacevic presented the new Programme for the Prevention and Protection of Children form Violence for the period 2026 - 2030 and the accompanying Action Plan for the period 2026 - 2028. She stressed that these documents bring key operational changes and reform steps in the system, with the clear goal of making a decisive transition from reactive problem solving to early recognition and systemic prevention of incidents.

According to the Minister, the new strategic document places special emphasis on early recognition of risky behaviour patterns in children and in their environment, before violence occurs. It also envisages upgrading the "I'll keep you safe" platform, which will be transformed into a single national database, which will eliminate the problem of data inconsistencies between different state bodies. The new system will, for the first time, integrate data not only on child victims, but also on children who are in conflict with the law or are recognised as potential perpetrators of violence. Given that statistics from the "I'll keep you safe" platform show that as many as 79% of reports come from schools, enhanced and targeted preventive measures will be introduced directly into the education system. The programme also provides for mandatory and urgent coordination, as well as technical linking of experts from the education, social protection, healthcare and police systems, in order to respond faster and more efficiently to any form of child endangerment.

The sitting was chaired by Committee Deputy Chairperson Zagorka Aleksic, and attended by the following Subcommittee members and deputy members: Marina Ragus, Nevena Djuric, Elvira Kovacs, Dr Jovan Janjic, Dunja Simonovic Bratic, Natasa Ivanovic, Natasa Mihjlovic, Vesna Stankovic, Tatjana Petrovic Stojkovic, Anita Nesic, Ilo Mihajlovski, Milica Marusic Jablanovic and Dr Tatjana Markovic-Topalovic.