What does Ombuds-committee for the Rights of the Child^(*) mean?

(*) Ombuds-comité fir d'Rechter vum Kand (ORK)

• Ombudsman originates from Swedish and means mediator.
• The Ombuds-comittee for the Rights of the Child  was established by an Act of 25 July 2002. The members of the ORK are appointed by the Grand Duke and fulfiltheir missionin a neutral and independentway.
• Their main mission is to ensure the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child signed on the 20^th November 1989 in New York and ratified in Luxembourg on the 20^th December 1993.

Who can apply to the Ombudsman for the Rights of the Child^(*) ?

(*) Ombudsman fir d'Rechter vum Kand (ORK)

• Every child and young person under the age of 18 whose rights have been violated in any way . They can express themselves freely and expose their views. To do this, they are not obliged to write a letter;an email or a phone call will be good enough.
• Parents or legal guardians of a minor whose rights have not been respected child.
• Associations and institutions that support children and wish to report an abuse contrary to the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and our national legislation.
• The Ombuds-Committee may act on its own initiative in cases in which the Convention on the Rights of the Child is not applied correctly.

How to call upon the Ombudsman for the Rights of the Child^(*) ?

(*) Ombudsman fir d'Rechter vum Kand (ORK)

• The President may be contacteddirectly. He receivesby appointment.
• He can be contacted in writingor by phoneand any intervention is free. The President and members of the Committee are bound by professional secrecy. It is important that children know that no one will know what they say to the Ombudsman if they do not want.
• The President is also involved in cases of occasional emergency; if necessary, he makes contact with other organizations and in severe cases, he may involve the justice.
• The Ombuds-Committee for the Rights of the Child tries to consider the problems from another angle and acts in the best interests of the child without interfering in any judicial proceedings.