CANCELLOR OF JUSTICE AS OMBUDSMAN FOR CHILDREN PART III PART II PART I I INTRODUCTION The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child 33 on 20 November 1989. Estonia ratified the Convention on 26 September 1991. Under Article 4 of the Convention, States Parties shall undertake all appropriate legislative, administrative, and other measures for the implementation of the rights recognised in the Convention. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child considers the establishment of an independent supervisory institution on the rights of children as one of the obligations of States Parties under Article 4. In Estonia, the function of the independent supervisory institution on the rights of children (i.e. ombudsman for children) is performed by the Chancellor of Justice since 19 March 2011.34 In addition to monitoring the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and resolving specific complaints concerning the rights of children, the role of the ombudsman for children also includes carrying out an impartial analysis and pointing out systemic problems in the child protection system in Estonia. The Chancellor of Justice as the Ombudsman for Children verifies the legality and constitutionality of legislation on children. The Chancellor also supervises the lawfulness of the activities of persons and bodies exercising public functions in relation to children and parents. The Chancellor may initiate proceedings on the basis of a petition or on his own initiative. Each child himself or herself may contact the Ombudsman for Children for the protection of their rights. Also a parent or legal representative of a child may submit a petition for the protection of a child’s rights to the Ombudsman for Children. Everyone may contact the Chancellor to draw his attention to general problems in the child protection system in Estonia. The task of the Ombudsman for Children is to ensure that all the authorities, institutions and persons who pass decisions concerning children respect the rights of children and proceed from the best interests of the child. The Chancellor, while also performing the functions of the national preventive mechanism for ill-treatment, regularly inspects children’s institutions where the freedom of movement of children is restricted (e.g. special schools, closed child psychiatry wards) in order to assess the protection of the rights of children and prevent ill-treatment in such establishments. Besides the supervisory function, the tasks of the Ombudsman for Children also include raising awareness of and promoting the rights of children. The mission of the Ombudsman for Children is to support the inclusion of children and strengthen their position in society as active participants and contributors. In order to encourage and support active participation of children in analysing and understanding their rights and duties, an advisory body to the Ombudsman for Children has been established at the Office of the Chancellor of Justice. Members of the advisory body include representatives from different children’s and youth organisations who are involved in the work of the Ombudsman for Children. The ombudsman also encourages other state and local government institutions to involve children to a greater extent in their work. The task of the Ombudsman for Children also includes contributing to making society’s attitudes more child-friendly. For this, the ombudsman raises awareness of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and explains the rights of children to different social groups: children themselves, parents, specialists working with children, state and local government officials and other members of society. The Ombudsman for Children organises analytical studies and surveys concerning the rights of children, and draws general conclusions based on them. On the 14 33 Available online: http://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx. 34 See the Chancellor of Justice Act, § 1(8). Available in English at http://www.legaltext.ee/text/en/X30041K8.htm.