MINSK, 14 September (BelTA) – It is obvious that unauthorized rallies are not the right place for children, member of the National Commission for Child Rights, head of the juvenile justice department of the Prosecutor General's Office Aleksei Podvoisky told the STV TV channel, BelTA has learned.
“To begin with, I would like to mention the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Constitution of Belarus, the Law on the Rights of the Child and other legal acts that set forth the responsibilities of parents. As far as unsanctioned mass events are concerned, we can see the violation of children's rights here. After all, the task of the family and the state is to protect children. Can we guarantee that children will be safe at such unauthorized events? Of course, we cannot. It is obvious that it is not the place for children. European countries also condemn taking children to unauthorized events. This is not only our position,” Aleksei Podvoisky said.
The member of the national commission noted that the task of the government agencies and the prosecution service is to prevent this from happening. “The legal consequences of this situation are explained to parents. In addition to that, a prosecutor can issue an official warning. After that child protection agencies get involved. In a number of cases they can consider including a child in the list of children exposed to social risks,” he noted.
Aleksei Podvoisky emphasized that a parent's participation in an unauthorized rally incurs administrative liability. “The fines are pretty big, about 10-20 base amounts. The same way, if your child takes part in an unauthorized rally, he/she can also be punished by a fine if he/she is a teenager. If it is night and your child under 16 goes out just to take a look at what is happening unaccompanied by parents, parents will be punished by a fine. If a child who has not reached the age of administrative responsibility has taken part in an unauthorized rally, parents might have to pay a fine for neglecting parental responsibilities,” he said.
According to him, over a hundred parents and children have already received a warning. There are incidents in Zhodino, Minsk, Brest and Gomel when a prosecutor issued an official warning to parents and after that their children did not get on the radar of law enforcement. It is good. Our primary task is to prevent a child from participating in unauthorized events. The best of what the state and parents can do for children is to ensure their well-being, adequate development and protection from problems,” he said.
