Republic of Macedonia, supported by the European Union and UNICEF, has taken long strides in establishing a child friendly justice system that emphasizes prevention and rehabilitation over punishment, said participants at Friday's final national conference of "Justice for Children" project.

Head of EU Delegation to Macedonia Aivo Orav stressed that justice for children reflects the degree of humanity in the countries' legal systems.

"The juvenile justice system, which functions well, can be a model for the entire judicial system of the country. EU is committed to the enhancement of justice for children, since children's rights represent an integral part of the Union accession requirements in line with the Copenhagen criteria", he added.

The project helped the Government develop a first of its kind national prevention strategy, and helped eleven local governments convert the strategy into concrete local actions.

"The latest EU report for Macedonia notes that enormous progress has been made in institutional development and reforms, with future emphasis to be put on their implementation", stressed Orav.

Justice Minister Blerim Bexheti said protection of children from becoming victims or criminals are the basic objectives of the juvenile justice reforms, promoted through the Juvenile Justice Law that regulates for the first time treatment of children at risk and juvenile perpetrators.

"Programmes have been adopted since the law entered into frce, along with basic and specialized training of staff within the juvenile justice system, as well as the establishment of a National Council for Juvenile Offense Prevention", said Bexheti.

UNICEF representative Sheldon Yett emphasized that rights of all children, whether victims or perpetrators, must be protected.

"Emphasis should be put on prevention and rehabilitation, instead of punishment, whereas incarceration or detention should be used as the last resort", added Yett.

At the conference, a team of practitioners and experts reflected on the status of reforms to bring the justice system closer in line with European Union and international justice for children. 

With support from the European Union, UNICEF has worked with national counterparts to ensure the original vision of the 2007 Juvenile Justice Law is fully implemented. Achievements to date include legal and capacity gap analysis and the introduction of a new referral protocol, professional standards to help professionals work with a child in contact with the law, and establishment of a system to monitor how the law itself is implemented in practice.