22 December 2010, 16:02
Today, Mykola Tomenko, Deputy Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, opened the parliamentary hearings "Legislative Support and Actual Observance of Children´s Rights in Ukraine." He attaches great importance to the subject of the hearings, as "protection of children´s rights in Ukraine has no party affiliation it is the task for the whole Ukrainian society."
M.Tomenko reminded that Ukraine had ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child back in 1991. Since that time, numerous laws on the protection of children´s rights, including the children in need of special care, have been adopted. Still, M.Tomenko admitted that the legislative part prevails over the practical results, "as several bills on the social support are annually invalidated; so the financial capacities of the state are more critical than the mere existence of these laws."
The Deputy Chairman dwelled upon the All-Ukrainian Action Plan on UN Convention Implementation by 2016, protection of childhood, arrangement of organization and legal conditions for the social security of the orphans and children deprived of parental care, bodies and services in charge of child care and special establishments for children, social work with the families, children and youth. He stated that several laws strengthened regulation of adoption, birth aid, and social aid to the families with many children.
In due time M.Tomenko managed to convince the Parliament, the Government and the President to restrict adoption of the Ukrainian children by the foreigners. He reminded that The Verkhovna Rada had adopted the bill either to facilitate conclusion of the international agreements on cooperation by adoption, or to prohibit adoption of Ukrainian children by the foreigners from those countries that have no international agreements with Ukraine. Otherwise, Ukraine loses the possibility to control the destiny of the Ukrainian children abroad.
Delivering a welcoming speech, the Deputy Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine dwelled upon such essential issues, as protection of children from physical and psychological violence, and negative trend of reduction in the number of children, especially in the rural areas.
The Deputy Chairman drew attention to the steady growth in the number of children born out of wedlock. "Every fifth child is born out of wedlock. The conditions of their physical and moral development fail to meet their needs," he stressed.
Moreover, M.Tomenko singled out another neglected issue upbringing of the children of labour migrants. According to the experts, at least 5 million of our fellow citizens annually migrate in the search of labour, setting adrift upbringing of their children.