New Partnership Between Embassy Of France and UNICEF Aims At Strengthening Child Rights In Georgia

The program will cover three interrelated directions to support the implementation of the Code on the Rights of the Child, deepen understanding of the rights of children and expand engagement for upholding these rights. Its key objectives include:

• Strengthen Child Rights Centers: Enhance the capabilities of Child Rights Centers at universities in the regions in building and disseminating knowledge on children's rights among professionals, educators, lawyers, academia, local governments, civil society representatives, parents, youth, and children. The initiative will also focus on empowering young people to lead work at the Child Rights Centers
• Develop a new Masters (MA) program on child rights: Support the development of a new MA program at partner universities to prepare professionals addressing diverse challenges faced by children. A dedicated inter-disciplinary MA program on child rights will provide in-depth knowledge and understanding of the specific legal, social, educational, psychological and policy issues concerning child rights.
• Develop the concept of specialized child judge: The project will initiate a dialogue with the relevant stakeholders and elaborate a concept of a specialized child judge in close collaboration with the Supreme Court of Georgia and relevant partners. This will further strengthen the justice agenda for children and support implementation of the Juvenile Justice Code and the Code on the Rights of the Child.

To achieve the above results, UNICEF, in collaboration with the Embassy of France in Georgia, will work with a range of partners including the Parliament of Georgia, Supreme Court of Georgia, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Internal Affairs, General Prosecutor’s Office, Legal Aid Service, Ministry of Education and Science, National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement, High Council of Justice, High School of Justice, selected universities, bar associations, youth boards and organizations, civil society organizations, schools, and other relevant ministries and agencies.

The project will leverage the expertise and experience of specialists from France through diverse interventions, including workshops, training sessions, and practice-sharing sessions.

Advancing child rights is a priority of France which has been a long-standing partner of UNICEF all across the globe.