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Office
for the Defence of Children 1.
Overview The Office's main areas of competency are: monitoring
the public administrations of the Community of Madrid, prosecute complaints by
citizens, propose regulatory or procedural reforms, disseminate the rights of
children and carry out studies on the exercise and development of their rights
in the Community. Prosecution
of complaints In the year 2001, 25,779 citizens filed complaints at
the Office, giving rise to 1,026 cases for prosecution concerning the following:
social integration and legal protection, 318; education and culture, 396;
health, 250 and operation of the public administration, 62. Most important areas with a high number of complaints
in 2001 involved children's protection homes in the Community of Madrid, social
integration of underprivileged children, babies up to 3 years living with their
mothers in prison, the content of messages targetting children broadcast by the
media or the consumption of alcoholic drinks by children and young people. Information
and counselling In 2001 the Office received 2,649 telephone calls
requesting information on various topics. However, most requests involved Patria
Potestas issues (provision of food, custody or visiting rights) by separated or
divorced parents. Institutional
relationships As in previous years, in 2001 the Office maintained
regular contacts with heads of institutions and politicians of our Community,
including the President of the Madrid Parliament, representatives of different
Parliamentary groups, City Hall Departments, the Ombudsman, the Committees of
various Autonomic Parliaments, the Prosecutor's Office of the High Court of
Madrid, jurisdictional bodies, the Government Delegate, various City and Town
Halls, as well as associations, foundations and NGOs. The specific topics discussed at said meetings include:
restricting and controlling the distribution of simulated weapons in toy shops,
violence among children, children taken to prison with their mothers or the new
Act regulating the criminal responsibilities of minors. Dissemination This Office has endeavoured to convey an abundance of
messages to both children and adults to divulge the rights of children and
teenagers through participating in spaces provided by the various media,
visiting schools, institutes, hospitals, protection and re-education centres,
and temporary settlements. In
addition, this work was carried out in talks, meetings and discussion groups, as
well as promoting and organising events focused on children (writing and drawing
competitions, participation in children's festivals organised by Town Halls,
NGOs or associations). In this area of action, we must emphasise the regular
participation of this Office in the "Children of the World" section of
a weekly radio programme (Mundo Solidario) which goes beyond the limits of the
Community of Madrid to reach millions of listeners. In 2000, the following material was published: ·
"Playing in peace" video ·
"Special Educational Needs of diabetic children in
pre-school and primary public and private subsidised education centres" ·
Co-operation with children's magazines "Alhondiguitas"
and "Clúa, Clúa". ·
Support material for DIMAS, the pet of the Children's
Ombudsman. ·
The following books: ·
"Research methodology" ·
"Meetings for the protection of Latin American
children" ·
"Talking about childhood" These publications contributed to create a dense
network of people committed to the defence of childhood. Studies
and research In 2000 the following studies and research were made. ·
Behaviour of children in school age and health
resources to improve it: studies on the general population ·
School centres in the Community of Madrid: discussion
of management issues ·
Homes belonging to NGOs. ·
Adult perception of political rights of children in the
Community of Madrid, 1989-1999. ·
Children living in sub-standard dwelling areas in the
Community of Madrid ·
Conditions of public playgrounds in the Community of
Madrid Legal
reports ·
Report on the Legal Regime of the Council for Children
and Teenagers of the Community of Madrid 2.
Positive achievements resulting from the Office's actions Education ·
Increase of control on pre-school education centres
prior to their opening and of dissemination actions on the requirments these
centres must fulfil. ·
Facilitating and promoting proper feeding by means of
breast-feeding for babies under 6 months who attend pre-school centres of the
Community's public network. Subsidised private protection centres
·
Requirement for preparing internal rulebook. ·
Requirement for employing qualified teachers ·
Review of payment modules for subsidised private
centres ·
Requirement for controlling diet by qualified personnel Babies
(0-3 years) in prison ·
Commitment to establish new units for mothers in prison
with their babies. Mental
health ·
Creation of short-term hospital beds for children with
mental health conditions. The
environement and urban spaces ·
Disassembly and removal of cellular telephony antennae
located in the vicinity of schools or pre-school centres. "Defensor
del Menor 2000" Award ·
The decision of the Office dated Jan. 10, 2000 created
and called for candidacies for the "Defensor del Menor 2000" award,
with a prize of €3,600 (not in cash), for the promotion of solidarity amongst
children. Against
smoking ·
On the Day of Children's Rights, the Office organised a
show called "Less Smoke" with DIMAS as main character and the
participation of well-known artists, in which a "Manifesto of children
against smoking" was read. 3.
Difficulties in the development of its work This Office did not find any obstacles in the discharge
of its functions. On the contrary, we must emphasise the on-going cooperation of
all public and private organisations which were approached, at the managerial as
well as administrative level. The information requested was received promptly
and the research or enquiries were similarly facilitated. |
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Last edited by Barneombudet November 12, 2002 |