The parliamentarians and the members of the government of Uzbekistan, representatives of international organizations and NGOs discussed the issues on protection of the rights of the children in Uzbekistan at UNDP-backed workshop on Friday, 16 November.

The workshop titled “The reflection of Convention on the Rights of the Child in legislation of Uzbekistan” was organized by the joint project of UNDP Country Office in Uzbekistan and the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan “Enhancing Legislative and Institutional Capacities of the Parliament” and the Committee for democratic institutions, non-governmental organizations and citizens’ self-governance bodies of the Legislative Chamber.

The representatives of the Legislative Chamber and Senate of the Oliy Majlis, ministries and departments and other state agencies, which work with children, NGOs and international organizations participated in the work of the workshop. The workshop was directed at attracting attention of population and the state bodies to the issues of the protection of the children’s rights as the parliament of Uzbekistan is considering the Law “On Guarantees of the Child’s rights”.

The Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis passed the Law “On Guarantees of the Child’s rights” in the first reading recently. Currently, the MPs, specialists and the representatives of the public are discussing the law to improve it.

The participants of the workshop discussed issues on the development of the Law “On Guarantees of the Child’s rights”, implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and other issues, related to the topic.

It was noted that the development of the new law on the protection of the children’s rights shows commitment of Uzbekistan to the implementation of its international conventions, in particular of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the first legally binding international instrument to incorporate the full range of human rights – civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. In 1989, world leaders decided that children needed a special convention just for them because people under 18 years old often need special care and protection that adults do not. The leaders also wanted to make sure that the world recognized that children have human rights too.

The Convention sets out these rights in 54 articles and two Optional Protocols. It spells out the basic human rights that children everywhere have: the right to survival; to develop to the fullest; to protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation; and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life. The four core principles of the Convention are non-discrimination; devotion to the best interests of the child; the right to life, survival and development; and respect for the views of the child. Uzbekistan joined the Convention on 9 December 1992 and it was the first international document, which the country signed after it gained independence.

Ravshan Nazarkulov, UNDP Programme Coordinator, said: “The workshop serves as public forum to discuss the new law on the rights of the child, which the parliament considers it now. The adoption of the law would be another step towards improvement of the legislation in the area of the children’s rights.”

The project “Enhancing Legislative and Institutional Capacities of the Parliament” aims at enhancing capacity of the Legislative Chamber for effective law drafting, increased transparency and accessibility of the law drafts to public, and wider participation of academia, experts, general public, civil society, relevant governmental structures in legislative processes.