National Conference on the Fifth anniversary of the “World Fit for Children” was held in BakuBAKU – On 10 May 2002 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the “World Fit for Children” Resolution. In order to celebrate the 5th anniversary of this important Resolution and to review its up to date implementation in Azerbaijan, the National Conference “World Fit for Children” took place on 6th of July 2007 at the Gulustan Palace in Baku. It has also contributed to the Council of Europe’s three year programme “Building a Europe for and with children”, the underlying idea for which is that children are not objects of affection, but subjects of rights. The conference was also attended by the EU member states, including Italy, Poland, Norway that also in their comments elaborated on the importance of “Europe fit for children” and its implication to Azerbaijan. One of the examples of the European support to the country with regards to child rights, is the funding allocated by the Government of Italy to support the child protection reform in the country. The outgoing chairman of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Professor Jacob Doek, the director of UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, Marta Santos Pais, Dr. Paola Viero from the Italian government, the EU special envoy to Azerbaijan, Alan Waddams, the special representative of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe in Azerbaijan, Denis Bribosia, and other international experts spoke about ways of making Azerbaijan fully fit for its children. 'A World Fit for Children' Resolution is an outcome document approved at the Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Children held in New York from 7 to 10 May 2002. The resolution was officially adopted by some 180 nations, including Azerbaijan. It set up a new agenda for - and with - the world's children, including 21 specific goals and targets for the upcoming decade. More than two years of consensus-building resulted in a strong future agenda focused on four key priorities: As documented in the report of the UN Secretary-General entitled “We the Children”, much progress has been made worldwide since the adoption of this significant Resolution. Millions of young lives have been saved, more children than ever are in school, more children are actively involved in decisions concerning their lives and important treaties have been concluded to protect children. However, these achievements and gains have been uneven, and many obstacles remain to be solved. A brighter future for all children has proved elusive. And overall gains have fallen short of national obligations and international commitments. ***
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