Violations of legislation aimed at preventing family dysfunction have been identified.

The district prosecutor's office conducted an inspection of compliance by state bodies and institutions with the requirements of the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus dated 24.11.2006 No. 18 "On Additional Measures for the State Protection of Children in Dysfunctional Families" (hereinafter referred to as the Decree), as well as legislation on the prevention of family dysfunction and the neglect of minors.

As of 01.01.2021, 52 children from 25 families in the Braslaŭ district were recognized as being in a socially dangerous situation (01.01.2020 – 45 children from 22 families). In the past year, 8 parents were deprived of parental rights in relation to 8 children (in 2019 – 7 parents in relation to 6 minors).

The relevant bodies and services of the district are working to identify family dysfunction, to remove children and families from socially dangerous situations, and to prevent social orphanhood.

At the same time, the inspection revealed violations indicating a lack of proper interaction between state bodies and institutions in fulfilling the requirements of the Decree, including in terms of early detection of socially dangerous situations for children.

According to paragraph 1 of the Decree, state bodies, other organizations, and citizens who possess information about children whose parents (single parent) lead an immoral lifestyle that adversely affects the children, are chronic alcoholics or drug addicts, or otherwise improperly fulfill their duties to raise and support children, and as a result, these children are in a socially dangerous situation, are obliged to immediately report this to the commission for juvenile affairs, guardianship and custody authorities, and other state organizations authorized by law to protect the rights and legitimate interests of children at the location of these children.

According to paragraph 1 of the Decree, Article 117 of the Family Code of the Republic of Belarus (hereinafter referred to as the Family Code), state bodies and other organizations that possess information about children in socially dangerous situations, as well as those in need of state protection, are obliged to immediately report this to the guardianship and custody authorities and the commission for juvenile affairs for measures to be taken for their protection.

At the same time, not all institutions and bodies provided for by the regional Regulation on Interaction in Identifying Facts of Children in Socially Dangerous Situations and in Need of State Protection (hereinafter referred to as the Regulation), which was approved in July 2016 by the prosecutor of the Vitebsk region and the chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Council of Deputies, and agreed upon by the head of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, the chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Court, the head of the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Belarus for the Vitebsk region, the head of the Education Department of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, the head of the Health Department of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, the chairman of the Committee on Labor, Employment and Social Protection of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, the head of the Vitebsk Regional Emergency Situations Department, the head of the Housing and Communal Services Department of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, the general director of RUP "Vitebskenergo", and the general director of RUP "Vitebskoblgaz" (hereinafter referred to as the Regulation) participate in informing the education department.

Due to the lack of information about family dysfunction from the education authorities, relevant social investigations are not conducted, and timely measures to protect children's rights are not taken.

Thus, it has been established that relevant information does not always arrive, or arrives untimely from the Braslaŭ District Police Department and the administrative commission of the Braslaŭ District Executive Committee.

In all cases, guardianship and custody authorities are not informed about the initiation of criminal cases for certain types of crimes against parents and legal representatives of minors by the Braslaŭ Investigative Committee.

As a result of the inspection, it was also established that in violation of paragraph 1 of the Decree, Article 117 of the Family Code of the Republic of Belarus, not all state bodies that possess information about children in socially dangerous situations, as well as those in need of state protection, inform the guardianship and custody authorities and the commission for juvenile affairs about this.

Thus, from 2019 to the present, the education department of the Braslaŭ District Executive Committee has not received a single report of family dysfunction from the rural executive committees of the district. At the same time, the rural executive committees had this information.

The behavior of most legal representatives of minors, prior to conducting social investigations in families, was considered at meetings of the councils of public order protection points of rural executive committees (hereinafter referred to as the councils of public order protection), specific decisions were made, and deadlines for their implementation were established. However, the guardianship authorities were not informed about possible family dysfunction.

According to paragraph 21 of the Decree, heads and other employees of educational, health care institutions, internal affairs bodies, and other state bodies and organizations bear disciplinary responsibility in accordance with labor legislation up to dismissal from office for failing to report known facts of improper performance by parents of their duties to raise and support children.

The identified violations and shortcomings in the organization of work to prevent family dysfunction negatively affect the effectiveness of the work carried out by the education department and educational institutions in protecting the rights and legitimate interests of minors, preventing neglect and family dysfunction, indicating a formal approach and the failure to take additional practical measures, and are due to the improper organization of work in the interested state bodies and organizations regarding timely information about facts of family dysfunction, irresponsible attitudes of employees towards the performance of their official duties, as well as the lack of proper control over their work by management.

Following the results of the inspection, a presentation was submitted to the Braslaŭ District Executive Committee by the district prosecutor's office.

Deputy Prosecutor of the District                                 S.P. Harbus