Brutal cases of violence against children are more frequent. Does the country have mechanisms to stop them?

The three children of Dzemail B. (34) from Skopje, who was last week suspected of beating to death the 3-year old girl of his tenant, were taken by the Center for social work. The children, aged 7, or 5 and 6, are already given to a foster family. During the investigation, the abuser and his wife are in 30-day custody. They will be charged with murder, or abetting. Was the 3-year old girl beaten previously and why, if there were fractures no one asked medical assistance nor called the police? As it is known, the brutal act that upset the public, happened last Friday. Dzemail, with an electric cable hit the girl because she urinated under the carpet. When he realized what he had done, he called her mother of the girl, who was at work in a pub in Katlanovo. He told her that Mevljana had fallen down the stairs. But the results of the autopsy showed something else. Mevljanas mother with the other two children lived in Dzemails house in Krnjevo-Skopje. Her husband was in jail. This case again opened the questions for the status of children in dysfunctional families. How many phantom-children live in the country? Who takes care of them, does the country have mechanisms to stop violence against children? We did not get any answer from the Ministry of labor and social work. It cannot be said for sure how big the number of children not listed in the birth registry or children without any personal document. But the First Childrens Embassy in the World Megjashi says that there are more than one thousand. They cannot have social or health insurance, they live in poverty and they are excluded from the society. Born in home conditions, they are invisible to the country. Most of them are Roma. Often they are forced to begging or emigrating out of the country. Driven by the last event when a 3-year old girl was beaten to death, again, unfortunately, the fact has been confirmed that life of these children is continuously questioned. Often they are subjected to abuse, violence and negligence by their parents or other adults with which the child contacts, says Dragi Zmijanac, director and founder of the Childrens Embassy Megjashi. According to him, in order to protect these children from violence, it is necessary to locate families at risk, then to monitor the family and to prepare programs for resocialization and improvement of the parental capacities. If parents do not have capacities to respond to their parental duties, in that case, children should be taken temporarily or parental rights should be terminated completely if the expert teams from the centres for social work decide that it is the best interest for the child. Revocation of the parental right, after a rape or a murder of a child occurs, does not represent a preventive measure. Timely intervention is necessary and essential when it

comes to child protection, points out Zmijanac. First Children's Embassy in the World Megjashi considers it necessary to establish a central database that would apply only to children, in order to know the exact figure how many children are on the street, and how many are excluded from the educational process. Special teams should be established in municipalities that will help citizens in the process of recording and registration of children who do not have the required documents. Synchronized actions of all relevant institutions are necessary, taking the obligations and responsibilities under the Constitution and the Convention. Therefore, a better cooperation between CSOs and the state institutions responsible for the implementation of care and protection for all children in Macedonia is necessary. First childrens Embassy in the World Megjashi does not have data obtained from statistical surveys when it comes to the number of children phantoms. But, in cooperation with other partner organizations, we have information that maybe the unofficial number of children who are not registered is greater than 1500. After all, we assert that there is no accurate data by the state for children without birth certificates and we demand this figure to be confirmed or to be denied if the state institutions have accurate data on the situation of children phantoms. According to our information, often these children are members to the Roma community. The reason for not registering the child absence of a registered address of residence, birth of children in home conditions, ignorance of the citizens about the way of reporting a child, children born to underage extramarital relationships, poverty, illiteracy, fear that if later the child is reported, they will face penalties, negligence by parents etc. By not listing the children, their right to identity is violated, which later makes it difficult to exercise other rights necessary for optimal growth and development, such as the right to health, the right to education, the right to protection from all forms of abuse, the right to protection from discrimination and abuse of their labor. Driven by the last event when a 3-year old girl was beaten to death, again, unfortunately, the fact has been confirmed that life of these children is continuously questioned. Often they are subjected to abuse, violence and negligence by their parents or other adults with which the child contacts. In order to protect these children, it is necessary to locate families at risk, then to monitor the family and to prepare programs for resocialization and improvement of the parental capacities. If parents do not have capacities to respond to their parental duties, in that case, children should be taken temporarily or parental rights should be terminated completely if the expert teams from the centres for social work decide that it is the best interest for the child. Revocation of the parental right, after a rape or a murder of a child occurs, does not represent a preventive measure. Timely intervention is necessary and essential when it comes to child protection. First Children's Embassy in the World Megjashi considers it necessary to establish a central database that would apply only to children, in order to know the exact figure how many children are on the street, and how many are excluded from the educational process. Special teams should be established in municipalities that will help citizens in the process of recording and registration of children who do not have the required documents. Synchronized actions of all relevant institutions are necessary, taking the obligations and responsibilities under the Constitution and the Convention. Therefore, a better cooperation between CSOs and the state institutions responsible for the implementation of care and protection for all children in Macedonia is necessary. We appeal to the citizens who have information that in some families there is a possibility that children are not registered or some type of violence is being done, to report it to the relevant institutions Police or Centres for social work. Likewise, they can call for free the First Children's Embassy in the World 0800 1 22 22 or 2465-316 to report it. Protection of children is responsibility of all the citizens of Macedonia, raising awareness of children phantoms,

as well as the problems and the risks these children face, need to be an incentive for us to act in a synchronized toward improving the lives of these children.