Over the last ten years, Kosovo has intensified efforts in reforming the juvenile justice system and its further alignment with international standards. Juvenile delinquency represents a complex phenomenon, and the opinion in Kosovo, particularly in the last decade, is changing due to higher prioritization in political agenda, increased attention from civil society organizations, and gaps in the legal system regarding child protection issues.
Terre des hommes supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, under the MATRA 2017-2021 program, in partnership with Defence for Children International Netherlands is working to strengthen the protection for children in conflict with the Law.
In 2018 Terre des hommes conducted a comprehensive analysis to thoroughly explore strengths and weaknesses of the current child protection and justice systems for the protection of the rights of children in conflict with the law, below and/or above the age of criminal responsibility in practice. Here are some of the outcomes and recommendations of the analysis to improve the protection of children in conflict with law:
- Increase inter-institutional cooperation in addressing the needs of children in conflict with the law
- Improvement of existing social services
- Designing dedicated programs for reintegration and empowerment of children in conflict with the law
- Unified central database for systematic data collection on juvenile delinquency
Terre des hommes will continue to support the Kosovo Child Protection system, providing qualitative research and interventions.