June 1 is International Children's Day, which has a special significance in the process of raising awareness of the rights of the child. On this day, it is necessary to talk about the situation of the protection of children in the country and the role of each of us in improving this situation.

We cannot but underline the fact that no child should experience the tragic consequences of war. The ongoing hostilities in Ukraine have claimed the lives of hundreds of children and left many injured, a lot of them lost parents, or had to leave their homes and have been experiencing the war trauma for more than three months. Therefore, it is especially important this year to take effective steps to support the children affected and forcedly displaced by the war in Ukraine, who are currently in Georgia, to provide a safe environment for them and to strengthen their families.

The challenges of child poverty, child abuse, lack of rehabilitation and support services and absence of a child-friendly environment have been acute in Georgia for years, which require fundamental changes and coordinated action from the State.

One of the main challenges for the country remains the growing rate of child poverty. In particular, compared to the previous year, the number of families with children in the unified database on socially vulnerable families increased by 28% and the number of minors involved in the programme reached 235,252. However, the existing programmes still fail to provide long-term support to the families living in poverty and to enhance their social function. And the State still has no effective strategy or mechanism for reducing child poverty and child labour.

In addition, although the implementation of child care in large residential institutions is fundamentally contrary to the fundamental principles of the rights of the child and has a devastating effect on adolescents, three such institutions are still functioning in the country and no specific plan has been approved yet for their deinstitutionalization.

To address the above-mentioned and many other challenges, it is important to raise public awareness on the one hand and to ensure timely and coordinated action of state agencies on the other hand, which, with an individual approach tailored to the best interests of the child, will strengthen children with various needs, including those living in poverty, and their families.

Therefore, in order to ensure proper protection of children’s rights in the country, it is necessary to:

• Increase the effectiveness of child welfare support programmes and services, develop additional targeted programmes and ensure their geographical accessibility;
• Ensure timely and effective management of the deinstitutionalization process, in order to provide each child with safe and family-like