CODECA CHILD PROTECTION POLICY
Preamble
Center for Social Cohesion, Development and Care (CODECA) herewith proclaims a Child Protection Policy and Guidelines on children engage directly or indirectly with the organisation. The policy applies to all sectors of the organisation and to all personnel working for CODECA.
1. The Policy rests on the principles envisaged in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted on 20 November 1989, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human rights adopted on 10 December 1948, the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, signed on 4 November 1950, the Treaty of Lisbon and in particular Article 3(3) TEU, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union entered into force in December 2009, the relevant Directives of the European Union, the Cyprus Children Law Cap. 352, the Council of Europe Convention on Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Convention) and the Cyprus Law against Child Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Law No. 91(I)/2014).
2. The Policy recognizes that childhood is entitled to special care and assistance and considers that the child should be live in the spirit of the ideals proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations, and particularly in the spirit of peace, dignity, tolerance, freedom, equality and solidarity.
3. Under this Policy childcare is intended to cover any concerns about a child being the subject of violations of his / her human rights as proclaimed in the relevant international and national legal instruments, situations where a child in contact with the Organisation makes allegations of his / her human rights and the recognition by the Organisation of its responsibilities towards children. Furthermore, the Policy provides for child safeguarding based on the “do no harm” principle, creating a child-safe environment.
4. The implementation of this Policy is coordinated and overviewed by the Board of Directors who is also responsible for organizing trainings for staff of the organisation in relation to the implementation of the Policy and the conduct of the personnel vis-à-vis children who come in to contact with the organisation. CODECA ensures that all employees are notified and receive a copy of the Child Protection Policy and that employees have a clear record from the registry of convicted sexual offenders against children (issued by the Cyprus Police, Crime Combating Department- Criminal Record Office (C.R.O) – 2009, as per the Cyprus Law against Child Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Law No. 91(I)/2014), Article 22(6)).
5. CODECA recognizes the need to carry out all the work related to children with the highest ethical standards and within full compliance with relevant international and national instruments on children’s rights and further recognizes the need to adhere to relevant data protections laws, Directives and regulations.
6. This Policy covers, inter alia, any case of physical abuse, sexual abuse, child sexual exploitation, neglect and negligent treatment, emotional abuse, and commercial exploitation and ensures that projects and programmes are designed to minimize the risk of harm to the children they come into contact with or impact upon directly or indirectly by taking sufficient account of child safety, whatever the focus of the work.
Child Protection Guidelines
1. CODECA is committed to ensure that fundamental ethical principles are respected in activities related to children, which will be implemented through strict adherence to all existing applicable ethical provisions, as well as agreeing to widely recognised international codes of practices and texts including, but not limited to:
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The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
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The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child;
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The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU;
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The Declaration of Helsinki in its latest version;
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The European Human Rights Convention;
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The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child;
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Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals regarding the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data.
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Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons regarding the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) – coming into effect on 28 May 2018
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Directive (EU) 2016/680 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by competent authorities for the purposes of the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties, and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Council Framework Decision 2008/977/JHA (Member States shall transpose this Directive no later than 6 May 2018).
2. CODECA recognises the need to carry out all the work related to children to the highest ethical standards within full compliance with relevant international, national and local regulations and codes of conduct, as it is also defined in the Processing of Personal Data Law 2001(138(I)/2001).
3. In order to ensure fully informed understanding of the implications of participation detailed information will be provided to each participant about (i) his/her participation; (ii) the use of collected data:
a. Each participant will be informed that his/her participation in a project will be completely on voluntary basis and can discontinue his/her participation at any time.
b. The data and responses quoted in a Survey will be strictly confidential and will be used solely for the purposes of a Research conducted. Any research designed and implemented will not request or impersonate in any way the personal details of the participants.
c. The data obtained with an interview will be analysed and used exclusively for scientific purposes.
d. No personal information will be offered to third parties under any circumstances, nor used with any other purpose than this research project.
e. Under no circumstances will the material be used for purposes other than those mentioned above, and the full names of the children will remain confidential in any case.
4. CODECA staff ensure that they will not proceed with any research unless compliance with existing EU/national legislation in the field of children rights is ensured. In addition, all staff/researchers shall adhere to international standards suggested by UNICEF and the core principles of respect, beneficence and justice.
