photo: pirati.cz
The Chamber of Deputies held a seminar on the amendment to the Ombudsman Act, which will establish a children's ombudsman in the Czech Republic. The amendment was prepared by the Pirate Minister for Legislation Michal Šalomoun. The seminar, organized in cooperation with Minister Šalomoun and MPs Olga Richterová, Helena Válková, Renata Zajíčková, Martina Ochodnicka, Maria Jílková, Pavla Pivoňka Vaňková and Lucie Šafránková, addressed the future powers of the Children's Ombudsman, what cases he or she will deal with, and his or her functioning within the existing Ombudsman's Office. Its representatives also attended the round table in the Chamber of Deputies.
Minister Šalomoun's amendment to the Ombudsman Act sets out the status and independence of the future Children's Ombudsman and the scope of his or her powers. In practice, there would be two separate ombudsmen - the current ombudsman and the new children's ombudsman.
"As the Czech Republic, we are a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and it is our duty to take all necessary legislative, administrative and other measures to implement the rights recognized in the Convention. And it turns out that a good practice in the countries that have acceded to the Convention is the establishment of a separate institution of a children's ombudsman. We would like to build on that. I appreciate the fact that we have managed to find a cross-party consensus in the interests of strengthening children's rights, and the amendment is now awaiting its second reading in the House. This seminar was therefore a good opportunity to discuss specific points of the amendment and any suggestions on what could be improved in the functioning of the Children's Ombudsman," said Michal Šalomoun, Minister for Legislation and Chairman of the Legislative Council of the Government.
According to the draft amendment, a suitable candidate for children's ombudsman could be a person over 35 years of age with a law degree who has spent at least 5 of the previous 10 years working to protect or promote the rights of children. The amendment also allows judges to apply for the post, especially those who hear custody cases. The amendment introduces a completely new competence for the Children's Ombudsman, which would allow him/her to intervene in certain proceedings concerning the protection of children's rights in strictly defined cases.
"I see this as innovative and very necessary. Let's remember the case of the 11-month-old boy who was abandoned by his mother after birth. For a number of months, he was passed between hospitals in various parts of the Czech Republic and the OSPOD was inactive for a long time. Yet the boy could have found a home with a foster family long ago. There are estimated to be several dozen such cases a year, and these are precisely the ones we want to prevent with our amendment. Today, they are saved by attentive individuals and thank them for that, but in the future they should have a systemic support," said Olga Richterová, Deputy Chair of the Chamber of Deputies, who participated in working groups and debates on the amendment on the Ombudsman.
Other powers of the Children's Ombudsman should include educational activities - awareness-raising on children's rights and monitoring compliance with children's rights.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has long called for the establishment of a children's ombudsman on the basis of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which has been in force in the Czech Republic since 1991. If the amendment to the law is passed by Parliament this year, it could enter into force as early as next year.
Remark:
Czech Legislation Minister Michal Šalomoun has convened a working group to prepare an amendment to the Ombudsman Act. The meeting was attended by current and former Human Rights Commissioners Klára Šimáčková Laurenčíková and Helena Válková, as well as the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Markéta Pekarová Adamová, and the Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Olga Richterová. Other representatives included Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Zuzana Freitas Lopesová, Deputy Minister of Justice Karel Dvořák, MPs Marie Jílková, Eva Decroix, Pavla Pivoňka Vaňková, Senator Adéla Šípová, Ombudsman Stanislav Křeček and his deputy Vít Alexander Schorm.
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