Uzbekistan demonstrates great commitment to enhancing child protection, including in emergencies

TASHKENT, 18 March 2022 – In the first-ever guidance of its kind, specialists from all regions of Uzbekistan working in the Child Protection sector have received Standard Operating Procedures for Child Protection including in Emergencies. The groundbreaking rubric was delivered in a training organized by UNICEF in collaboration with the Child Rights Ombudsperson as part of the project “Enhancing child protection emergency preparedness in Uzbekistan”, funded by the Government of Japan.

“In line with Presidential Decree No. 6275 ‘On Measures to Further Improve the System of Ensuring the Guarantees of the Rights of the Child’, each region and district created Commissions on Children’s Affairs and Child Protection Sectors. Professionals of these bodies are tasked to provide child-centered, family-focused services to protect girls and boys from harm resulting from abuse, neglect, violence and exploitation and to enhance the overall wellbeing of children and their families,” said Alija Yunusova, Child Rights Ombudsperson.

Evidence has shown that children are among those who suffer the most during emergencies. Consequently, child protection needs to be integrated in all areas of humanitarian work. Children need to be at the centre of all emergency preparedness, response, and recovery efforts.

In this regard, participants of the training learned ‘Standard Operating Procedures for Child Protection, including in Emergencies’. They discussed the ways of effective inter-sectoral collaboration in identifying and supporting children who have experienced violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation.

“We are pleased to see that the Standard Operating Procedures was developed, and participants proactively engaged in the training. The Government of Japan expects that the trained professionals would continue to closely cooperate with relevant authorities and partners in Uzbekistan to further enhance child protection in emergency preparedness and promote the socio-economic development of the country,” said Tae Takita-Sato, First Secretary, Embassy of Japan in Uzbekistan.

Also, specialists got the basics of international standards and national legislation on children’s rights and knowledge of how to protect children, including in emergencies. They familiarized themselves with the tasks and responsibilities of the Commission on Children’s Affairs and Child Protection Sectors.

Displacement, separation from family, injuries and diseases are all conditions that threaten the safety and wellbeing of children in emergencies. More critically, incidences of violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect increase in the aftermath of a disaster because of weakened child protection systems. Therefore, child protection in emergencies becomes imperative and an absolute priority.

“It is of critical importance to create stronger national and local child protection systems in Uzbekistan that can protect children from all forms of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation, and prevent unnecessary separation of children from their families, including during and in the aftermath of emergencies,” said Antonia Luedeke, Child Protection Specialist, UNICEF Uzbekistan.

For more information, please contact: 

Nargiza Egamberdieva

Communication Officer, UNICEF Uzbekistan

Phone: +99871 233 95 12

E-mail: negamberdieva@unicef.org

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Shohjahon Kulturayev

Leading Consultant in Child Rights Section, Ombudsman’s Secretariat

Phone: + 998 71 239 82 999

Email: sh.kulturayev@ombudsman.uz

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Kuria Tsutaki

Attache, Embassy of Japan in Uzbekistan

Phone: +99878 120 8060

Email: homepage@ts.mofa.go.jp