Initiative for social action and renewal in eurasia third sector news information bulletin
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CHILDREN’S PAGE
Center for Protection of the Rights of the Child By Galkhan Aliev Project Coordinator Society for Legal Education Children don’t choose their parents. For many, this reality means a tough life right from the start. Children’s welps and screams can be heard through the walls of neighboring apartments—people accept this as the sounds of the active process of “raising” a child. Many times, however, these sounds can be signs of abuse, signs that an unprotected child is becoming a victim. We wanted to find a way to help children protect themselves from physical and emotional abuse in their families, to ensure that they have the right to a normal life under normal conditions. In many countries, schoolchildren know that if their rights are violated—if they are hurt or mistreated— that they can seek help from various centers that provide consultations and advice about how to resolve such crisis situations and offer advice as to the legal protections available in such situations. Today, with financial assistance from ISAR-Azerbaijan, members of the Legal Education Society are working on a project to evaluate the possibility of establishing a Center for the Protection of the Rights of the Child. The project has four main objectives: •
working in the sphere of children’s rights; •
Publication of a book under the title of Rights of the Child ; •
Organization of training courses for NGO representatives and lawyers; •
Conducting a seminar on Social Rights of Children: Legislation and Effective Methods of Enforcement. Within this project, two working groups will be formed. Two experienced lawyers will serve as members in each group. The groups will meet for four days each week to provide free legal services to the population and consulting to organizations which work on children’s rights. Situations where children’s rights may have been violated will be analyzed, and legal action will be taken in cases in which Azeri law, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, or other international conventions have been violated. It should be emphasized that lack of systemization of Azeri law and international conventions on children’s rights limits their effectiveness. According to the Azeri constitution, international agreements signed by Azerbaijan are considered as part of the internal legislation of the country, and in cases where Azeri legislation conflicts with international agreements, the domestic laws are supposed to be revised in accordance with the international norms. Unfortunately, however, in practice the Azeri government and the courts do not follow the Constitution on this issue, and international norms go unfollowed. Azerbaijan has signed many international agreements, however, the majority of these international agreements are not designed as a law, with detailed descriptions. This means that, in practice, the population, NGOs working on issues of children’s rights, government officials working on these issues, and lawyers do not know the details of the agreements, how to follow them or how to implement them in practice. As a result of the legal reforms carried out in Azerbaijan the legal base of the country has almost completely been changed: new civil and family law codes have been passed, incorporating substantive changes in legal norms relating to social and other rights of children, introducing new institutions such as a foster family institute and others. The training which we will run will provide NGO leaders and lawyers with information about these laws through role play and interactive training methods as well as lectures by experienced lawyers. Overall, the project will help us all to better protect the rights of Azerbaijan’s children. |