The Steering Committee of the project “Towards a child-friendly justice for children victims of sexual violence” met for the first time on 8 March 2019 in Tunis. This meeting was held in the framework of the EU-funded South Programme III, and in the context of Tunisia’s accession process to the Council of Europe Convention on Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Convention). The objective of this project and its Steering Committee is to improve the care and legal procedure for children victims of sexual violence.

The Committee assessed the current state of play of sexual violence towards children in Tunisia and defined prioritised actions to implement, in particular regarding the effective access for children to justice, the principle of single-hearing for children, the adaptation of the Tunisian judicial framework (revision of the Child Protection Code in progress) and the institutionalisation of inter-sectorial mechanisms of cooperation.

The South Programme III (2018-2020) aims to ensure the sustainability of earlier results by contributing to reinforcing human rights, the rule of law and democracy in the Southern Mediterranean region in accordance with European and other international standards based on a demand-driven approach. The programme holds as its main focus the combating of all forms of violence against women. The programme has a budget of €3 334 000 funded 90% by the European Union and 10% by the Council of Europe as the organisation in charge of the implementation.

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Press release

South Programme III