17 January 2012
The Committee on the Rights of the Child today reviewed the fourth periodic report of Azerbaijan on its implementation of the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Presenting the report, Hijran Huseynova, Head of the State Committee on Family, Women and Children’s Affairs of Azerbaijan, said that despite the difficulties that Azerbaijan had faced during its journey to independence the Government was fully committed to ensuring children’s rights in all spheres. In a country where 300,000 children were refugees or internally displaced persons and where every day children were killed or injured by landmines as a result of aggression by the neighbouring Republic of Armenia, the protection of children’s rights was fundamental. In 2006 a dedicated Government body charged with protecting the rights of the child was established. New legislation to combat early marriage, trafficking in persons and domestic and sexual violence against children had been passed, while other developments included improved social services and financial support for children, and programmes of de-institutionalisation and inclusive education for children with disabilities.