The rights of children in Kosovo are constitutional,

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Resmi Hoxha,

Zahir Pajaziti Square, H-1 No.8

10000 Pristina

Kosovo

In this paper, the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo is based mainly on Article 22 of the Constitution, which summarizes the types of international instruments that are directly involved in the protection of the rights of the child in the Republic of Kosovo, the reflection on the guarantee of the Constitution and comparing the child safety situation in different aspects.

It is also highlighted the scale of exploitation of children and the efficiency of state mechanisms and civil society in today's Kosovar reality.

Being aware that the issue of children's rights is multi-dimensional, then it will compare the factual situation with the written norms and will analyze the state's responsibility for the protection of these rights.

The Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo has in principle envisaged numerous freedoms and human rights. In order to meet the standards of a good constitution and which is compatible with European Union countries, human rights and freedoms are foreseen.

At the end of this paper I have made some conclusions that emerge from the constitutional guarantee only in theoretical terms, without sufficient mechanisms for practical implementation.

1. Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo - Guarantee of freedoms and human rights.

The Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, in addition to other values, has also justified the principles on the protection of children's rights with the incorporation of the International Instruments in the articles, in particular Article 22 of the Constitution, as follows:

2. Direct Implementation of International Agreements and Instruments

Human rights and freedoms guaranteed by international agreements and instruments are guaranteed by the Constitution, implemented in the Republic of Kosovo

and have priority in case of conflict with provisions, laws and other acts of public institutions:

· Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

· European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and its Protocols;

· The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its Protocols;

· Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities;

· Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination;

· Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women;

· Convention on the Rights of the Child;

· Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Mob.nr: +377 44 169018

Email: info@avokatura.com

Resmi Hoxha,

Zahir Pajaziti Square, H-1 No.8

10000 Pristina

Kosovo

It is also highlighted the scale of exploitation of children and the efficiency of state mechanisms and civil society in today's Kosovar reality.

At the end of this paper I have made some conclusions that emerge from the constitutional guarantee only in theoretical terms, without sufficient mechanisms for practical implementation.

1. Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo - Guarantee of freedoms and human rights.

2. Direct Implementation of International Agreements and Instruments

Human rights and freedoms guaranteed by international agreements and instruments are guaranteed by the Constitution, implemented in the Republic of Kosovo

and have priority in case of conflict with provisions, laws and other acts of public institutions:

· Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

· European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and its Protocols;

· The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its Protocols;

· Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities;

· Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination;

· Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women;

· Convention on the Rights of the Child;

· Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment....

FOL: Children should not be misused in the electoral campaign

Drawing on the responsibilities of the Central Election Commission, FOL Movement urged that this body urgently discuss abuse of children in the pre-election campaign for local elections 2009. Movement FOL also called on political parties competing in local elections of 15 November, not to use children for electoral effect.

"Since the official start of the election campaign for local elections, it has been noted that children under the age of 18 have been used, which is in contravention of the Children's Rights Convention, which prohibits the use of children in electoral campaigns and the Constitution of Republic of Kosovo in Article 50, line 3 where the exploitation of children is prohibited ", reads a communiqué of this movement.

FOL has asked political parties that aim to lead a rule of law to respect not only the Convention on the Rights of the Child, but also the Western ethics where Kosovo aspires to achieve. "Nowadays in Kosovo children and young people are used as electoral decor, but they are rarely subject to promises by political parties. Moreover, while parties talk and promise on major issues, now and for years, none of them intend to raise the issue of street children, those beggars and cigarettes, "reads the reaction.

Another report reflecting the phenomenon of child labor in Kosovo is also reflected in journalist Ajete Beqiraj's reportage prepared for Radio Kosova and Dojce Vele. In this reportage, the journalist describes some serious forms of child labor and how much Kosovo's public is aware of this phenomenon: [2]

... Looking at the spread of this phenomenon, the Kosovo government has formed the Steering Committee of the Government for the Elimination of Serious Forms of Labor for Children. Here is also the technical group for the Monitoring and Evaluation of Serious Forms of Child Labor, at the Ministry of Culture, Youth, Sports and Non Residential Affairs of Kosovo. Labinot Berisha, spokesman for this group:

"We have children working in garbage dumps, which is dangerous for the very fact that in these waste dumps there are different winds that carry infectious diseases, more so when children do not enjoy immunity to these diseases. or garbage and there are times when the children are finished even under these rubbish. "

How much is the Kosovar public aware of the consequences that children may have?

Labinot Berisha, spokesman for the Working Group for the Monitoring and Elimination of Serious Forms of Work for Children in Prishtina:

"To the citizens in general, this phenomenon is still not well understood. There are cases when families do not have the bad social condition to oblige their children to work hard. I believe that in many situations they are not aware of the consequences that children may have. "

There are also serious social cases in Kosovo, where a family without basic living conditions in some form is forced to accept the work of children, although it is clear that such a thing is forbidden. Adem Lushaj, proves this:

"The reason why the children go out on the street are the difficult economic conditions. Knowing that families are in trouble, they are forced to go out and work unsuitable for them, whether as a skater or other work" ...

... In a research done not far from UNICEF and Terre de Homes, in the countries of Southeast Europe, Kosovo is ranked fourth in the list for child trafficking.

For the negligence of state agents themselves to this phenomenon can best be seen in an excerpt from a BIRN program where issues such as why Kosovo children are forced to work are discussed; who should deal with cases of child maltreatment; what the Kosovo society has done to protect the juvenile; are children being forced to work for economic reasons and if so is it reasonable; Have concrete steps taken by Kosovo institutions to remove children from difficult jobs [3]:

The most critical and direct debater on this show was a 15-year-old student from a high school in Pristina, Dardan Makolli, who said the institutions did not do enough to prevent child labor.

"I have seen KPS officers buying cigarettes from children on the street," Makolli said. "Instead of taking them away from the streets, they buy from them."

6. Charity Search

The phenomenon of charity research by children is presented to us as a reality of Kosovo and the ugliness of our daily life. Children seeking begging are potential victims of trafficking, while while laws exist that regulate this issue, action must be taken to prevent and avoid beggars from the street. For this, the interaction of all relevant institutions is needed to combat this disturbing phenomenon.

The high unemployment rate and the lack of social security of this category of society are the main factors influencing the increase in the number of children seeking charity. Representatives of government institutions acknowledge that there are insufficiency of policies and programs to support families in need and prevent this phenomenon in children as one of the ways to support the family. The Social Scheme of the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare manages to support only one segment of the population in need.

Unfortunately, addressing such a problem as good luck in most cases has only been completed with different campaigns of awareness from domestic and international factors and the implementation of limited operations by the police. [4]

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo and Police launch the campaign against begging by children.

"Solving the problem of childcare by children requires joint efforts by the police, judiciary, municipal authorities and social workers. children would be unprofitable for those behind the scenes and would thus contribute to reducing this phenomenon. "

Such posters are unfortunately only of an informative nature and often only have one note on paper and only one program that can not be realized.

7. Consequences of exploitation of children

Among the main consequences of exploitation of children is the complete or partial failure of the school by these child victims of exploitation. Mechanisms such as the law on compulsory education, the reintegration of children leaving school and the engagement of law enforcement bodies are insufficient to combat such a phenomenon. And everything is related to the rule of law. If the rule of law in the country were to function properly, then all the interrelated mechanisms could lead to at least a large reduction of such a phenomenon. This phenomenon is only bringing us to a bigger evil for Kosovo, which is: the creation of the next class of illiterates, which class will be a future burden for the state of Kosovo and will give the opportunity for increasing the number of the young delinquents who are so numerous in our society. So, while we boast of the fact that we have a very young population compared to other countries of the region and Europe, on the other hand is the state that, with the lack of implementing and protective mechanisms, is helping to degenerate this new population.

8. Conclusion

Based on all that was discussed above and many other factors for which it is impossible to discuss in a brief summary we can conclude that human rights as a whole and the rights of children in particular are legitimate The Constitution of Kosovo is more of a declarative criterion and without any procedural safeguards for the protection of these rights and their full implementation in practice. More international instruments are presented as a kind of platform that has a program character rather than serving as a list of instruments that contain binding norms and rules in the field of human rights.

Our own state through 'inaction' directly or indirectly is contributing remarkably to the violation of its rights and freedoms to its own citizens. On the other hand, civil society has been shown to be incapable of influencing the government to make any substantial change in the policies and the state's approach to this major problem.

This situation is further contributed by the fact that Kosovars have practically been denied access to the Human Rights Court in Strasbourg because Kosovo is not a member state of the Council of Europe. So, as always, it is the citizen of Kosovo who is falling prey to local and international experimentation on where our citizens and our society can go in the absence of economic, health, personal and social security.

literature

o Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo

o Convention on the Rights of the Child

o Law on Labor - Kosovo 2010

o Reform of schooling in Kosovo - Slower than Desires - Human Rights Center UP Prishtina 2003

o Ajete Beqiraj - journalist, reportage for the employment of children in Kosovo

o BIRN "Life in Kosovo" -Emision 'Working Minors' June 15, 2007

o Movement FOL: Children should not be abused in the electoral campaign - November 2009

o OSCE's Campaign - 9 October 2009 on Childhood Caretaking

o Child labor in Kosovo - Study on working children UNICEF Kosovo 200

[1] Child Labor in Kosovo - A Study on Working Children UNICEF Kosovo 2004

[2] http://ajete-beqiraj.com Ajete Beqiraj, Dojce Vele & Radio Kosova