site.btaParliamentary Committee Briefed on Bulgaria's Progress in Children's Rights, Health, Juvenile Justice

Sitting on Wednesday, the National Assembly's Children, Youth and Sports Committee was briefed on Bulgaria's progress in children's rights, health and juvenile justice as reported to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Labour and Social Policy Minister Ivanka Shalapatova told the parliamentary Committee that a broad public dialogue on a strategy for the child has begun in Bulgaria. "We were aware that we would come under a lot of criticism because our society and institutions have functioned with no strategic goals for the child for years in a row," Shalapatova said.

The Minister noted that efforts have been made to strengthen the child protection system, the Child Protection Act was amended in 2020, and progress has been made in the deinstitutionalization process and in addressing violence against children and child mortality. "Bulgaria is one of the small EU Member States that piloted a local-level programme to combat and eradicate child poverty under the European Child Guarantee," Shalapatova said. Bulgaria's support for children from Ukraine was also singled out as a positive step. The pandemic, military conflicts, and political developments in the country were listed as challenges.

Deputy Health Minister Michail Okoliyski, who also attended the sitting, said that child mortality rate in Bulgaria has dropped to a historic low of 4.8 per mille deaths per 1,000 live births, declining by some 2 per mille between 2016 and 2022. "Child poverty levels in this country still differ from the EU average, but we are on the right track," Okoliyski said. He noted the need of a uniform approach in cities and smaller settlements, where child mortality is higher. The Deputy Minister noted that the ministries of health, labour and social policy, and education and science are pooling their efforts to address early childhood development. Okoliyski said that a national mental health strategy, whose introduction is in progress, envisages activities concerning children and adolescents. The Deputy Minister noted that the integration of all health data into the national health information system will make it possible to search a person's medical records from birth to old age.

Deputy Justice Minister Emil Dechev reported on progress in juvenile justice in 2022 and 2023. "A huge number of laws concerning children's rights have been adopted in two years," he added. "The amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code transposed two important EU directives, one of them concerning the rights of juvenile suspects and defendants in criminal proceedings and the other concerning the rights of child victims of crime," Dechev said. The Family Code was revised as well in the provisions concerning marriage to persons aged between 14 and 18 and the abolition of the secrecy of adoption. "Only people aged over 18 are currently allowed to get married in Bulgaria, and no exception can be made for younger persons," the Deputy Minister said. "There are 70 special child-friendly interview rooms," he added. The training of judges and prosecutors in cases involving children who have been victims of crime or are suspected of such a crime is also part of the progress made in juvenile justice. Dechev also noted the first-reading passage by the parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee of an important amendment to the Criminal Code relating to child pornography.