UNICEF Addresses Vake Park Incident
On October 31, in reaction to the tragic death of Marita Meparishvili at Vake Park, UNICEF issued a statement urging Georgian authorities to do all necessary to safeguard the children's safety in public areas and to help children in achieving their rights to survival, play, leisure, and development.
Ghassan Khalil, the UNICEF Representative in Georgia, highlighted in the statement that cities in Georgia should be appropriate for children so no such tragedies happen again. The group called on the national and municipal governments to take accountabilities, in conjunction with professionals, civil society, and the corporate sector, to secure children's safety.
According to UNICEF, the Vake Park incident draws attention to the safety rules and standards in public areas in Tbilisi and in other cities and towns of Georgia where children's security and safety may be at risk. They emphasized the importance of providing safe and inclusive public and green spaces for kids and communities while upholding norms and standards, particularly regarding the technical security of public amenities and guaranteeing that accessibility, as well as the safety and health of individuals, are protected. According to UNICEF, child-responsive urban planning prioritizes improving places in ways that deter crime, encourage public use of the space, and ensure safe routes to and from school while also focusing on increasing community safety through environmental planning, design, and infrastructure.
UNICEF emphasized, "By scrutinizing safety measures in existing public areas and constructing new such spaces using child-responsive urban design, important lessons should be learned from this tragedy."
Read also: Protesters Demand Mayor to Resign Following Death of Teenager in Vake Park