First National Conference on Juvenile Justice Development in Azerbaijan.
BAKU, April 12, 2006 – The first ever national conference on juvenile justice in Azerbaijan will take place in the capital, Baku, on 13-14 April. “Perspectives of Juvenile Justice Development in Azerbaijan”, has been organized by the Government of Azerbaijan, UNICEF, the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the British Embassy and the NGO Alliance for Child Rights. “It is our hope that this conference will help the juvenile reform to pick up pace in Azerbaijan,” says Hanaa Singer, UNICEF Representative in Azerbaijan. “The combined efforts by police, the courts, local and international NGOs is starting to have an impact in the country. But we will call it a success when fewer children are deprived of their liberty and more children have access to legal assistance, with more emphasis on prevention and alternatives to arrest and imprisonment for juvenile offenders.” A number of key governmental officials and international experts on juvenile justice will take part in the conference, including Dr. Jacob Doek, head of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. The conference will discuss the need for specialized agencies to develop the juvenile justice system and to improve understanding of the problems stemming from the detention of minors. It will examine ways to improve support and advocacy for minors in conflict with the law as they pass through the judicial system and to develop strategies to develop alternatives to juvenile imprisonment such as the increased use of pre-trial diversion, community service, and other non-custodial sanctions. ###
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