Once again, we at Cedar Foundation see that the Bulgarian National Assembly lacks the will to solve the real problems of children and families in Bulgaria in the systems of education, social assistance and social services, protection, justice. With the voted amendments to the School and Pre-school Education Act, the majority of Bulgarian MPs have decided to move us away from the opportunity for our children to live in an inclusive environment that supports their development.

We are adamant that these changes:

• Contravene the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, European Union law and Bulgarian national law, including the Law on Protection against Discrimination;
• Deny the existence of an entire group of children, directly violating both their rights and the right of every child to live free from violence;
• Impose an extremely dangerous ideology based on hatred and create the conditions for dehumanising every human being considered different for any reason. Next steps are to ban dissent and impose authoritarian rule.
• Are subject to a broad interpretation that allows their use as a means of pressure against every person and civil organisation.