International Children’s Day, the Parliamentary Group “Friends of Children” is re-established

Tirana, November 19, 2021 – Today, in a special session, in the framework of the International Day for Children’s Rights, which is celebrated all over the world on 20th November, the Albanian Parliament re-established the Parliamentary Caucus “Friends of Children “, after the parliamentary elections that took place earlier on June 2021. 

The caucus, which was formalized today and is led by the Speaker of the Parliament, Mrs. Lindita Nikolla, plays a vital role by engaging parliamentarians in working for the advancement of children’s rights in Albania. 

The Parliamentary Caucus “Friends of Children” aims to establish a constructive dialogue between public institutions, civil society organizations and key actors, to ensure the protection of children’s rights in all areas, from the local to the central level. 

The Caucus like never before will consists of 50 members, MPs coming from all parliamentary political parties. 

Altin Hazizaj, Director of CRCA / ECPAT Albania, who first proposed its establishment in 2013, after congratulating MPs, underlined that: “The situation that children are experiencing puts all of us all in the face of difficult but not impossible challenges. This group shall be the voice of all the children who cannot speak on their rights, but who must be fully protected by their country.” 

The Parliamentary Caucus “Friends of Children” functions as an ad-hoc group in the Albanian Parliament. It consists of 50 MPs, committed to the advancement of children’s rights. The group is made up of MP’s coming from different backgrounds, which makes the work both diverse and supportive in terms of monitoring the violations of children’s rights and proposing multi-disciplinary solutions by legislators. 

For the first time the Parliamentary Caucus “Friends of Children” was established in 2013, as a joint effort of CRCA / ECPAT Albania with several MPs, such as: Vasilika Hysi, Eglantina Gjermeni, Fatmir Xhafaj and the Speaker of Parliament at that time, today the President of Albania, Mr. Ilir Meta. The aim of the Caucus was to bring the issue of the respect of the rights of the child to the permanent attention of the Albanian Parliament.