Child Protection

Strengthening the national child protection system

The idea of child protection – of having a comprehensive system in place to prevent, identify, stop and punish abuse, violence and exploitation of children – is new in the country, as it is in the region as a whole. But such a system is urgently needed. Figures are limited, but without proper monitoring and referral mechanisms, children in Azerbaijan may suffer from violence, both in institutions and at home. We know there are problems with early marriage, particularly in the South of the country. We know there are perhaps as many as 17,000 children in institutions, 2,000 street children and more than 48,000 children living with disabilities, and we know that some children are vulnerable to trafficking, are refugees and are involved in child labour.[1]

Therefore, the main focus of UNICEF is promoting the recognition for child rights and shifting the approach in to one where children are not any longer treated as objects of mercy but are recognized and treated as a subject of rights. Thus, the main focus would be paid to the establishment of a proper:

- child rights implementation and coordination mechanism at central level,

- independent child rights monitoring system at central and local levels,

- effective child protection mechanism at local level.

Therefore, UNICEF would continue its assistance aimed at working with the Ombudsman Office as the independent child right protection and monitoring body. Having a lack of comprehensive and effective child right protection mechanism in Azerbaijan, strengthening the Ombudsman Office’s capacities is vital for becoming an important part of Azerbaijani Child Protection System to better protect children from violence, exploitation and abuse in law, policies and practice. The support provided to the Ombudsman Office is aimed at increasing the capacities of established with UNICEF’s assistance, internal Child Rights Unit in child rights monitoring, investigating, data collection, advocacy and child rights promotion abilities. Additionally, the follow up to the conducted in 2006 study on violence in public settings is important part of the cooperation seeking the development of the country’s violence against children referral system and to follow up to UN Secretary General’s Global Study on Violence against children.

There is still lack of a strong governmental internal mechanism for ensuring the coordination of the Convention of the Rights of the Child implementation. Thus, UNICEF advocates for establishment of a central level child protection coordination body which could be responsible for managing and coordinating entire child protection reform as well as monitoring the state bodies on their commitment to the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In parallel, UNICEF extends its assistance to the State Committee on Family, Women and Children's Affairs in developing comprehensive periodic reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the Convention implementation. In addition, UNICEF is advocating for ratification by Azerbaijan of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the recent Council of Europe’s Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse. These two documents if implemented would significantly contribute to strengthening the child protection mechanism in the country.

Mine awareness

Although Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire in 1994, more than 500,000 people are at risk of injury or death from mines along the border of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region [2] .  UNICEF has been supporting the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action to provide mine risk education for children in affected areas, including refugees and other people displaced from their homes during the conflict. Mine risk education has now been included in the curriculum in almost 800 schools, with information on how to identify and avoid mines and other unexploded ordnance. As a result, the number of child victims has fallen precipitously, from 10 deaths and 22 injuries in 2005 to zero deaths and one injury in the first quarter of 2008.

With the aim of making Azerbaijan completely mine free, UNICEF is also advocating for ratification of the UN Convention on the Prohibition of the Use and Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on their Destruction.