Azernews.Az

By Kamila Aliyeva

The 4th National Forum of Azerbaijani Children organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, State Committee for Family, Woman and Children Problems and UNICEF Office in Azerbaijan took place in Baku on November 20.

During the event Deputy Prime Minister Ali Ahmadov read out President Ilham Aliyev`s congratulatory letter to the participants of the forum.

"In today's world, issues related to the fate of children are among the most important priorities of societies who think about their future. The education of our children in a highly moral and social environment, the provision of modern education, medical services and the formation of both spiritually rich and committed citizens are the main principles of the consistent policy pursued by the Azerbaijani state with regard to children," the letter said.

Numerous socially oriented projects are serving this goal. Protection of children is regulated by the Constitution of the country, legislation and regulations.

The Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On the Rights of the Child" clearly reflects the fundamental rights and freedoms of children enshrined at the international level, the tasks that we face in the field of realizing these rights, according to the Head of State.

"Our state mobilized its forces in order to protect refugees and internally displaced persons, their children, whose rights were grossly violated as a result of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. I am sure that the blood of our innocent children who were victims of an enemy provocation will be avenged, the Armenian aggression will be stopped, the right cause of Azerbaijan will win and justice will be restored. I hope that the forthcoming discussions within the framework of the forum will contribute to the worthy implementation of the state policy related to children in our country," he noted.

Ahmadov further informed that over the past 25 years, the population of Azerbaijan has increased by about 40 percent.

“This means that the Azerbaijani society is built on a healthy basis,” he noted.

Ahmadov added that the growth of the population, strength and power of Azerbaijan are considered important factors.

He noted that the policy related to children forms the basis of Azerbaijan’s state policy.

Chairman of the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs Hijran Huseynova, in her speech, appraised the work of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.

The Heydar Aliyev Foundation, which is the most famous non-governmental organization not only in Azerbaijan, but throughout the South Caucasus, pays special attention to issues of child protection, she said.

"Today, as always, the up-to-date issue is the upbringing of healthy and happy children .This issue is even clearly manifested against the backdrop of military conflicts, cataclysms, terrorism and violent extremism taking place in the modern world.The first vice-president of Azerbaijan, Mehriban Aliyeva, by putting forward "Children are the future of Azerbaijan, we will not be indifferent to their problems" slogan carries out important work aimed at ensuring the comprehensive development of children, quality education, meeting high demands," Huseynova said.

Children are the greatest and most valuable wealth of the Azerbaijani people, she stressed.

"In the framework of the ongoing 25 years of cooperation, we carried out a number of urgent projects related to the protection of children's rights, adopted and implemented various programs around the country. National leader Heydar Aliyev actively supported the start of the activities of the UN Children's Fund in Azerbaijan, and today President Ilham Aliyev pays special attention to the further strengthening of this cooperation. The government constantly supports the initiatives of the Children's Fund," she noted.

This, in turn, contributes both to the improvement of the legislative base and to educational work, according to Huseynova.

UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia Afshan Khan who also attended the event informed participants of the forum that child deaths have halved since 1990 in Central Asia and Europe.

"The poverty rate in this region has fallen by more than 50 percent since 2012. Over the past two years, a 25 percent increase in the number of children attending school has been observed in the region. Nevertheless, 40 million children still cannot get education. Moreover, 1 million children face difficulties in finding jobs after getting education," she said.

We witnessed a significant drop in child mortality rate worldwide despite conflicts, according to Afshan Khan.

“But for example, 97 percent of children went to school in Syria before the conflict and almost all children received primary education. Today, Syria faces problems with education. Around 5 million people left Syria. Conflicts are the main obstacle for the development of countries. Therefore, it is a priority for us to ensure peace," she said.

Afshan Khan further noted that Azerbaijan is one of the countries that provide reporting on the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

She also added that Azerbaijan has reached the majority of sustainable development goals.

The number of children attending school is very high - more than 95 percent, she noted.

The challenges facing Azerbaijan are the same as those facing other countries, Khan said, adding that these challenges include the development of a system for protecting children, rendering social services for more vulnerable families, and ensuring the integration of children with disabilities into the society.

The forum was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Ali Ahmadov, Deputy Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament Bahar Muradova, Chairperson of the State Committee for Family, Woman and Children Problems Hijran Huseynova, UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia (ECA) Afshan Khan, Turkey's Deputy Minister of Family and Social Policies Mehmet Karabay, Bulgaria`s Deputy Chairman of the State Agency for Child Protection Valentin Dimitrov.

A total of 380 children aged between 6-18 from all towns and districts of Azerbaijan participated in the forum.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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