In Vitebsk, lawyers held a round table for the Children's Day

At the Regional Center for Legal Information (RCPI) Vitebsk region held a round table dedicated to the Children's Day,. Speakers and students of the Law Faculty of the Masherov Moscow State University discussed issues of legal education for minors, innovative forms of work in this area and the role of state legal resources.

Elena BARASHKOVA, Chairman of the Regional Bar Association:

– The basis for the legal protection of children is the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, which guarantees the equality of all citizens before the law, including minors. The most important normative acts regulating the rights of children are the law "On the Rights of the Child", which guarantees them the right to life, to health protection and promotion, to citizenship and equality, education, a decent standard of living, personal integrity, protection from exploitation and violence, and others. The Code "On Marriage and Family" contains provisions concerning custody and guardianship, adoption and other forms of placement of children left without parental care. The law "On State Benefits for Families raising Children" regulates financial support, which is an important part of social protection. Let me remind you that the upbringing of children in the family is protected and encouraged by the state, the family is responsible not only for the upbringing of the child, but also for protecting their interests. Children have the right to apply for protection of their rights and legitimate interests to the juvenile affairs commission, guardianship and guardianship authorities, the prosecutor's office, and upon reaching the age of 14, to the court. From this age, the child has the right to receive legal assistance to protect his rights and freedoms, including the help of lawyers and other representatives in court. Legal assistance in such cases is provided to them and their parents, guardians and trustees by lawyers at the expense of the college.

In our country, great attention is paid to the upbringing of children, their development – both physical and spiritual. But negative phenomena still exist. There are orphans, domestic violence and other problems, but these issues are being resolved. All conditions have been created in our country for children to grow, develop and become worthy citizens.

Tatiana MASKINA, Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Notary Chamber:

– I want to wish our young people to stay children longer, so that they have mutual understanding with their parents: children understand what they want from them, and moms and dads, in turn, accept and understand the desires and aspirations of their daughters and sons. And if suddenly grown-up children once think that their parents are wrong about something, it is useful to return once again to the book "Fathers and Children". After all, they sometimes pick up this book to flip through the pages.

Tatiana Maskina explained how important it is to consider the steps taken by parents. The issues of paying money for the maintenance of children, the order of communication or travel abroad and other issues, for example, are regulated by a prenuptial agreement concluded at the time, a modern form of agreement between spouses.

Andrey MISHIN, Head of the Regional Department of the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies in the Vitebsk region:

– In the late 90s, when the first wave of information went out that a child had rights, the thesis was quite popular: "And I will go to court at the UN, and you will be punished"! At that time, it was broadcast through Western ideology, and entered the everyday life of our society. Yes, children should know their rights and protect them, but often there is such an aspect that in addition to rights, a person also has responsibilities. And, unfortunately, there are such negative examples when ignorance of one's responsibility and the consequences of one's actions entails negative social elements. If you take such a colossal problem as drug trafficking, then drug dealers, stencil makers imposed such information on children: they say, you are minors, so you will not be punished... Due to this, there was a wave of arrests, minors received serious sentences for drug distribution. But even if a person is not held accountable, but is registered, this narrows down the range of his professional activities in the future. According to sociological research, when asked which of the events of 2023 caused the most emotional response, the military actions in Ukraine and the Palestinian conflict received the highest score, but more than one percent of respondents spoke out on such taboo topics as drug trafficking and pedophilia. That is, about those crimes that are related to minors – both with the protection of their rights and with responsibility for the crimes committed.

Director of the RCPI Larisa Dorogova and the staff of the center introduced the participants of the round table to the state resource – the Children's Legal website, whose mission is to educate the younger generation, to form their legal culture. The number of resource views is 1.5 million per year.

A children's legal website with the most accessible and adapted information for the younger generation should be on every child's phone. This is the conclusion reached by the participants of the round table. His online address mir.pravo.by .

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