Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 23 November 2023, as part of a week-long event dedicated to the celebration of World Children’s Day, Chairperson of the Oliy Majlis Tanzila Narbaeva met with the acting head of the UNICEF Representative Office in Uzbekistan, Geoffrey Ijumba, representatives of children’s and non-governmental non-profit organizations from different regions of Uzbekistan, including with persons with disabilities.

At the meeting, the Chairperson of the Senate focused on the work being done in the republic to ensure children’s rights and the results achieved. Tanzila Narbaeva first of all noted that in our country the involvement of children in forced labor has been eradicated, intensive work is underway to cover them with continuous education, protect them from oppression and violence.

After this, representatives of NGOs, children and youth spoke in detail about the importance of disseminating the recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child among civil society and children.

At the meeting, it was especially noted that when working with children, this information should be in a form understandable to them and taking into account their age characteristics. Participants noted the need to protect all rights of every child, expressed their readiness to support activities to disseminate information about the need to protect all rights of every child and the transformative power of the participation of children and youth in creating a better world for all.

The following are the results of a recent U-Report survey in which more than 1,800 respondents shared their views on the implementation of children’s rights.

The survey showed that less than a quarter of respondents (22%) know how to protect the rights of a child in case of their violation. Some children are embarrassed to talk about their rights (16%) or are afraid of punishment if they try to defend their rights (13%). More than 60% of children responded that for one reason or another they would not be able to protect their rights if they were violated.

Young participants at the Senate meeting expressed their opinions on the most frequently violated rights of the child and made a number of proposals for the government and parliament. Both children and representatives of NGOs raised issues of school absenteeism, climate and environmental change, child safety on the roads, domestic violence, and adolescent mental health

Among other things, they emphasized the importance of implementing General Comment No. 25 (2021) of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, which defines the rights of children in the digital world.

The results of the above-mentioned U-Report survey show that 70% of respondents in rural areas and 85% of respondents living in cities and regional centers have free access to the Internet. Young participants in the Senate meeting asked to block harmful sites on the Internet and pay serious attention to the safety of children on the Internet.

Representatives of non-governmental organizations and children expressed a desire to regularly participate in the discussion of issues related to the rights of the child, both at the stage of developing legislation and administrative rules, and at the stage of their practical application