Children's Ombudswoman Helenca Pirnat Dragicevic said on Wednesday that the ongoing teachers' strike violated children's right to regular education, as guaranteed by the Croatian Constitution and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and she called on those involved to agree on social peace and resolve the current situation.

“Considering the duration and pace (of the strike), the right of children to regular education as defined by the Constitution and the Convention (on the Rights of the Child) has been violated,” Pirnat Dragicevic said in the parliament, where a children’s conference was held on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

“The children have lost continuity, the dynamic of lessons has been considerably disrupted and children will have to make up for the lessons lost,” she said, adding that her office was receiving a large number of complaints from children, parents and teaching staff regarding the strike.

Ombudswoman says she could not have contributed to resolving the strike situation anyway

Explaining why she did not attend a meeting held at the Science and Education Ministry earlier in the day, which was why she was criticised by the minister and the striking unions, Pirnat Dragicevic said that she had other obligations related to the marking of the anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, stressing that her presence at the meeting would not have contributed to resolving the situation anyway.

“The conference in the parliament is also a way to implement the rights defined by the Convention, children’s right to participation, and my attendance at that meeting would not have contributed significantly to resolving the situation because it must be resolved by those involved. I expect all those involved… to resolve what has become a conflict in the centre of which are children through no fault of their own,” she said.

Commenting on children’s rights in Croatia, she said that a lot of work remained to be done and that children’s rights should continue to be strengthened.

“Awareness of children’s rights has grown stronger in the last three decades, and a lot has been done regarding their protection but we are still far from all children enjoying the same rights and opportunities to develop their potential,” she said.