Did you know that in Romania child sexual predators can be elected to public office?
You didn't.
Today is a decisive day for how we choose to protect Romania's children. Through actions, not words. Today, MPs in the Administration Committee will vote on a bill banning pedophiles from running for public office.
When we talk about the representativeness of elected representatives, we often say that they are the mirror of the nation.
Based on this premise, if we were to look at the number of people on the national automated register of sex offenders (comprising almost 62,000 people), we could say that they should have their own representative, given that they are very close to the norm of representation for a Member of Parliament.
Ironically or not, in Romania we have at least two cases of local elected representatives who have been convicted of sex crimes against underage victims. These people can in no way be the mirror of society, being completely tainted in their morality. How can a parent rest easy when the leader of the community - the mayor - is a proven pedophile?
All parents, regardless of education or social status, wake up with this thought in the morning: 'I work so that, now and in years to come, my children will be well off. To work less, to earn more, to enjoy life more. And above all, I want them to be as well protected as possible."
So important is this issue that it is codified in the Romanian Constitution as the special protection regime for minors ("Art.49 para.1: Children and young people shall enjoy a special regime of protection and assistance in the realisation of their rights.")
More than a year ago, in early summer 2021, a paedophile convicted of child pornography became mayor. Moreover, this person had sexual relations with a 13-14 year old minor, whom he later blackmailed with photos of her in intimate poses.
At the time, we were in discussions with the Save the Children to come up with several legislative proposals to prevent such absolutely abominable situations. One of the discussions concerned limiting the possibility of those convicted of sexual abuse of minors to participate in elections. That night I wrote a draft explanatory memorandum, as well as amendments to the electoral laws.
I then refined them with my fellow co-initiator Diana Stoica. And we started collecting signatures from all parties.
The draft was well received. It got positive endorsements from the "technical" entities (the Economic and Social Council and the Legislative Council), passed the Senate, got positive endorsements from the Chamber of Deputies and the first positive report of the two decisive ones, the one from the Legal Committee.
But it was left hanging by a final report, from the Administration Committee, where Mr Florin Roman (PNL) was sceptical. The result was that a postponement was preferred sine-die so as not to affect relations within the coalition.
Acum însă, la momentul în care scriu aceste rânduri, proiectul apare din nou pe ordinea de zi a Comisiei de Administrație, mâine, marți, 4 octombrie. Mă bucur că doamna președintă de comisie, Simona Bucura, l-a repus în discuție. Știu că personal dânsa susținea această inițiativă.
I know that the scandal of the last few days, about the social-democrat MP who was caught in bed with a minor and expelled from the party, will make those who cast their votes think carefully about their choice.
I think this is a decisive day for how we choose to uphold some values.
We all say that the most important people in the world are children. Ours and others'.
It's a time to show that we care and that it's not just talk. Let's at least get rid of those cases that poison a community. Let's remove these remorseless sexual predators who mock the children of this country from the leadership of their communities.
It's a first step in sanitizing our society.
Poate e greu de definit care ar trebui să fie prioritățile de investiții în infrastructură, poate e dificil de discutat despre avantajele și dezavantajele diferitelor modalități de taxare, poate ne putem disputa diferite teorii despre organizarea judiciară.
Dar în privința prădătorilor sexuali de minori lucrurile sunt limpezi ca lumina zilei: nu trebuie să apară pe buletinul de vot, nu au ce căuta la conducerea țării sau a comunităților!
Este minimul de decență pe care îl datorăm copiilor noștri. Și este în același un lucru mai important chiar decât hrana sau educația pe care le putem oferi: protecția.
Română
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