Assistant Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Vesna Batistić Kos met with the UNICEF Regional Director for Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of the Independent States, Marie-Pierre Poirier, who will attend a conference on mid-term results of the UNICEF programme implementation in Croatia on 29 October.
The meeting focused on the future activities in regard to the implementation of the 2012-2016 UNICEF programme for Croatia in three priority areas: early child development, combating violence against children and social inclusion; continued cooperation between the Croatian government and UNICEF, namely in the context of Croatia’s EU membership, as well as joint activities in preparing for natural disasters.
Batistić Kos thanked UNICEF for the long-standing cooperation, adding that in the coming period the relations should be further adapted to the changed circumstances. She welcomed UNICEF’s contribution to the drawing up of analytical studies as a valuable source of information and a basis for national documents, underlining the importance of Croatian experts’ engagement in conducting UNICEF’s activities in Croatia and abroad.
Poirier commended the advanced legal framework in regard to promoting and protecting children’s rights, emphasizing the trend of its constant enhancement. She expressed concern over the impact of the economic crisis on children’s rights, but pointed out Croatia as a true potential in the region, both in terms of further improvement of children’s rights standards and the transfer of experiences and good practice to the neighbouring countries and beyond.