Nesw

Chief Ombudsman Mr. Mehmet Akarca hosted the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, Dr. Najat Maalla M’jid. UNICEF Türkiye Country Office Representative Mr. Paolo Marchi accompanied Dr. M’jid during the visit. Ombudsperson in charge of Children’s Rights, Ms. Fatma Benli Yalçın, and Secretary General, Mr. Mehmet Doğan, were also present at the meeting.

In his speech during the meeting, Chief Ombudsman Mr. Akarca stated that the Ombudsman Institution is an independent mechanism to seek legal remedies that aims to strengthen the right to access justice for vulnerable groups in need of special support, such as children, women, the elderly, persons with disabilities, and migrants.

Highlighting that children can lodge complaints to the Ombudsman Institution directly and free of charge, Chief Ombudsman Mr. Akarca emphasized that their complaints are handled with a child-friendly approach.

Mr. Akarca also noted that the Ombudsman Institution works to ensure that children’s voices are heard, based on the principle that “children’s rights are human rights,” and that children can seek legal remedies in confidence and that their complaints are examined effectively using appropriate language.

Stating that the Ombudsman Institution operates in accordance with national and international documents regarding children's rights, Chief Ombudsman Mr. Akarca stated that; “We are committed to protecting children’s rights, encouraging child participation, and promoting child-friendly practices. We have a children's website that is visited by tens of thousands of children every year. It is currently being updated based on feedback collected from children through a survey. Children have the opportunity to voice their concerns via the complaint mechanism specifically designed for them on our website www.kdkcocuk.gov.tr”

Chief Ombudsman expressed that, within the framework of the cooperation with UNICEF Türkiye Representative Office since 2014, the Ombudsman Institution has developed a strong partnership in the examination of complaints regarding children's rights and in offering child rights-based policy recommendations.

Following Chief Ombudsman's remarks, an Ombudsman expert from the Ombudsman Institution of Türkiye delivered a presentation on the work carried out by Institution and provided examples of decisions issued in the field of children’s rights.