Tunis/Tunisia — Minister of Family, Women, Children and the Elderly Amel Belhaj Moussa announced on Tuesday the launch of a new programme to strengthen local urban safety policies dedicated to children and youth in four pilot municipalities (Sidi Bourouis in Siliana, La Nouvelle Tabarka in Jendouba, El Marja in Kef and Nabeul).
During a study day organised in Tunis, the Minister said that this programme, launched in partnership with the Observatory of the Rights of the Child and the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance in Tunisia, aims to involve all local stakeholders in the protection of children's and young people's rights in order to ensure a safe environment.
" The aim is also to strengthen the participation of children and young people in public life and to instil in them the values of work, belonging and cohabitation," she said.
The Minister stressed that this pilot experience will be gradually generalised in all the inland regions, particularly in the less fortunate communes, in order to reduce inequalities between children and this, in implementation of the principle of equal opportunities between all social categories and disseminate the culture of the rights of the child.
According to Amel Belhaj Moussa, the municipal children's council would be the appropriate framework for discussing issues relating to children's rights such as security, environmental, health, educational, cultural and other protection.
For her part, Director of the Observatory for Children's Rights Hajer Chérif said that a workshop will be held tomorrow, Wednesday, to begin the evaluation of the situation in each municipality in order to set policies and mechanisms for the implementation of this programme.
She also indicated that within the framework of this programme, several awareness-raising and training activities will be organised to exchange good practices, stressing the important role of municipalities in the good management of local affairs, although the security protection of children and young people is still the responsibility of central directorates.
In turn, President of the Tunis office of the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance, Samir Marmouri stressed that municipal councils are called upon to fully play their role to ensure the protection of children from all dangers.
