17 March 2006
Original: ENGLISH
COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
Forty-first session
CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES
UNDER ARTICLE 44 OF THE CONVENTION
Concluding observations: Azerbaijan
1. The Committee considered the second periodic report of Azerbaijan (CRC/C/83/Add.13)
at its 1104th and 1106th meetings (see CRC/C/SR.1104 and 1106), held on 19 January 2006 and
adopted the following concluding observations at the 1120th meeting, held on 27 January 2006.
A. Introduction
2. The Committee welcomes the submission of the State party’s second periodic report as
well as the written replies to its list of issues and the constructive dialogue with a high-level
delegation, which enabled the Committee to have a clear understanding of the situation of
children in Azerbaijan.
B. Follow-up measures undertaken and progress achieved by the State party
3. The Committee notes with appreciation the adoption of many legislative and
programmatic measures taken with a view to implementing the Convention, including:
(a) The State Programme for the Protection of the Rights of the Child and
Improvement of Education and Training Work with Children, of 22 July 2000;
(b) The Law “on the Earmarked State Social Aid” on 21 October 2005, which
provides monthly allowances to low-income families.
4. The Committee also wishes to welcome the ratification of:
(a) The two Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the
involvement of children in armed conflict and on the sale of children, child prostitution and
pornography, on 3 August 2002;
(b) The International Convention on the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members
of Their Families, on 11 January 1999;
(c) ILO Convention No. 182 concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for
the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, on 30 March 2004;
(d) The 1993 Hague Convention No. 33 on the Protection of Children and
Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, on 22 June 2004;
(e) The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially
Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational
Organized Crime 2000, on 30 October 2003.
C. Factors and difficulties affecting the implementation of the Convention
5. The Committee notes the particular situation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is
within Azerbaijan territory but de facto not under control of the State party’s Government, and
that - as a consequence - information about the implementation of the Convention in that region
is very limited.
D. Main subjects of concern and recommendations
(arts. 4, 42 and 44, para. 6 of the Convention)
Committee’s previous recommendations
6. The Committee notes with satisfaction that some concerns and recommendations
(CRC/C/15/Add.77 of 17 June 1997) made upon the consideration of the State’s first initial
report (CRC/C/11/Add.8) have been addressed through legislative, administrative and other
measures. However, it regrets that its other concerns and recommendations have been
insufficiently or only partly addressed, particularly those related to budgetary allocations, street
children, the overall health situation of children and the administration of juvenile justice.
7. The Committee urges the State party to take all necessary measures to address those
recommendations from the concluding observations of the initial report that have not yet
been implemented and to address effectively the list of concerns contained in the present
concluding observations on the second periodic report.
Legislation
8. The Committee is concerned that many legislative measures taken with a view to
complying with the principles and provisions of the Convention are not provided with adequate
mechanisms and/or financial support for their full implementation.
9. The Committee recommends that the State party continue the process of achieving
compliance of its legislation with the principles and provisions of the Convention and
provide all the means for an effective implementation of its legislation, including
appropriate budgetary resources and monitoring mechanisms.
Coordination
10. The Committee notes that the “National Coordination Council for Children’s Affairs”
within the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Tourism is tasked with coordinating functions of all
the activities concerning children and welcomes the participation of about 30 representatives of
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working on children’s issues in the Council. However,
it is concerned that this Council has not produced tangible results as yet. The Committee also
notes the existence of the Commissions on Minors’ Affairs that are provided with some
coordination and monitoring competences with respect to the local activities in the area of child
welfare but is concerned about the relation between their coordinating activities and those of the
“National Coordination Council for Children’s Affairs”.
11. The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen and empower the
National Coordination Council for Children’s Affairs so that it can effectively perform its
mandate of coordinating all activities related to children. It further recommends that the
State party provide adequate human and financial resources as well as systematic training
on children’s issues to the Commissions on Minors’ Affairs so that they can coordinate and
monitor activities at the local level in close cooperation with the “National Coordination
Council for Children’s Affairs” and perform their other tasks effectively.
National Plan of Action
12. While noting that a new United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) country
programme 2005-2009 has been signed by the State party and that in 1999 the Plan of Action
for the implementation of Youth Policy was also signed, the Committee is concerned that a
comprehensive and well-structured strategy for the implementation of the Convention is still
lacking in practice.
13. The Committee recommends that the State party develop and implement a
comprehensive and well-structured National Plan of Action for children, which should aim
at the realization of the principles and provisions of the Convention and take into account,
inter alia, the outcome document “A World Fit for Children” adopted by the General
Assembly special session in May 2002. The Committee further recommends that the State
party allocate adequate human and financial resources for the implementation of the
National Plan of Action.
Independent monitoring
14. The Committee welcomes the establishment, in 2001, of the Ombudsman of the Republic
of Azerbaijan but is concerned that a specialized body responsible for monitoring the
15. The Committee recommends that the State party, taking into account the
Committee’s general comment No. 2 on the role of independent national human rights
institutions in the promotion and protection of the rights of the child (CRC/GC/2002/2),
include within the Office of the Ombudsman either an identifiable commissioner
specifically responsible for children’s rights or a specific section or division responsible for
children’s rights. Furthermore, it should be provided with adequate human and financial
resources, deal with complaints from children in a child-sensitive and expeditious manner
and provide remedies for violations of their rights under the Convention.
Resources for children
16. The Committee reiterates its previous concern about the inadequate budget allocations for
children and for the implementation of the principles and provisions of the Convention. The
Committee also notes that child rights issues were well reflected in the State party’s Poverty
Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) but that this has not resulted in adequate provisions being
established in the national budget.
17. The Committee recommends that the State party pay particular attention to the full
implementation of article 4 of the Convention by prioritizing budgetary allocations to
ensure implementation of the economic, social and cultural rights of children, in particular
those belonging to economically disadvantaged groups, “to the maximum extent of …
available resources and, where needed, within the framework of international
cooperation”.
Data collection
18. The Committee notes with concern that the compilation of statistics on children suffers
from a lack of coordination and regular collection, especially with regard to most vulnerable
groups of children, i.e. disabled children, internally displaced persons ( IDP) and refugee
children as well as children in conflict with the law.
19. The Committee recommends that the State party develop a system for a
comprehensive collection of data on all areas of the Convention in a way that allows for
disaggregation, inter alia, by those groups in need of special protection.
Training/dissemination of the Convention
20. The Committee welcomes the information that the Convention has been translated into
Azeri and widely disseminated.
21. The Committee encourages the State party to disseminate the Convention further
with special attention to dissemination among vulnerable groups, i.e. ethnic or language
minorities, and to continue its efforts to provide adequate and systematic training and
sensitization on children’s rights among professional groups, including the media, that are
working with and for children.
Cooperation with civil society
22. The Committee notes that the number of registered NGOs, including NGOs working
directly with children, has considerably increased in the last few years. It welcomes the
information that the registration formalities have been simplified, allowing for a smoother
registration process. The Committee also notes the existence of the Country Advisory Group,
which has the aim of bridging together local and international NGOs with government bodies
working for children, but is concerned that its functioning is not effective.
23. The Committee recommends that the State party further reduce the administrative
burdens for NGOs registration, strengthen cooperation with them and provide the Country
Advisory Group with the necessary support and resources for an effective functioning.
2. General principles (arts. 2, 3, 6 and 12 of the Convention)
Non-discrimination
24. The Committee is concerned about discriminatory attitudes towards certain groups of
children such as disabled children, refugee and IDPs children, street children and children
infected with HIV/AIDS.
25. In accordance with article 2 of the Convention, the Committee recommends that
the State party increase its efforts to adopt a proactive and comprehensive strategy to
eliminate discrimination on any grounds against all vulnerable groups throughout
the country.
26. The Committee also requests that specific information be included in the next
periodic report on the measures and programmes relevant to the Convention on the Rights
of the Child undertaken by the State party to follow up on the Declaration and Programme
of Action adopted at the 2001 World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination,
Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, also taking into account general comment No. 1 on
article 29 (1) of the Convention (aims of education).
Best interests of the child
27. While the Committee notes that the principle of the best interests of the child is included
in the State party’s legislation, it is concerned that it is not always implemented in practice, in
particular for children belonging to vulnerable groups.
28. The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts to ensure
that the general principle of the best interests of the child is understood, appropriately
integrated and implemented in all legal provisions as well as in judicial and administrative
decisions and in projects, programmes and services which have an impact on children.
Respect for the views of the child
29. While the Committee notes that the Family Code (article 52) protects the right of the
child to express her/his views and that it is mandatory to hear the views of children when they
are 10 or older in judicial and administrative proceedings affecting them, it is concerned about
the inadequate implementation of this right. The Committee is further concerned that there are
no special programmes or mechanisms allowing for the participation and engagement of children
in social dialogue and in discussions of their needs and problems.
30. The Committee recommends that further efforts be made to ensure the
implementation of the rights enshrined in article 12 of the Convention, in particular by
providing the child with an effective and child-sensitive opportunity to express her/his
views in judicial and administrative proceedings affecting her/him, including in decisions
on placements in alternative care and on review of these placements. Furthermore,
particular emphasis should be placed on the right of every child to participate in the
family, at school, within other institutions and bodies and in society at large, with special
attention to vulnerable and minority groups, inter alia, by providing the necessary support
to relevant programmes included in the UNICEF country programme 2005-2009.
3. Civil rights and freedoms (arts. 7, 8, 13-17 and 37 (a) of the Convention)
Birth registration
31. The Committee welcomes the State party’s efforts to improve birth registration, including
the decentralizing of the registration services, but it remains concerned that the current birth
registration system does not cover about 15 per cent of children. The Committee is further
concerned about the information that some birth certificates may contain false data.
32. The Committee recommends that the State party continue developing and
implementing an effective decentralized system of birth registration and take other
measures to facilitate birth registration, in particular for children born from displaced
persons, inter alia, by ending the practice of informal fees with a view to achieving
registration of all children in the State party by 2010. The Committee further recommends
that the State party control the accuracy of birth certificates and ensure the
implementation of the applicable law in this respect.
Access to appropriate information
33. The Committee expresses concern about the lack of legislation regarding Internet service
providers and the exposure of children to violence, racism and pornography, especially through
the Internet.
34. The Committee recommends that the State party continue to take all appropriate
measures, including the adoption of appropriate legislation, to protect children effectively
from being exposed to violence, racism and pornography through mobile technology, video
movies, games and other technologies, including the Internet. The Committee further
suggests that the State party develop programmes and strategies to use mobile technology,
media advertisements and the Internet as means for raising awareness among both
children and parents on information and material injurious to the well-being of children.
Prohibition of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
35. The Committee is concerned about the information that persons below 18 are often
subjected to ill-treatment, especially at the moment of arrest or during the first days of pretrial
detention in police establishments, and that children in institutions often are victims of inhuman
and degrading treatment or punishment.
36. The Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary measures to
prevent and prohibit all forms of torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment
or punishment in all settings, with special attention to the administration of juvenile justice
and alternative care institutions. The Committee further recommends that the State party
investigate thoroughly all allegations of torture and ill-treatment and ensure that
perpetrators are rapidly brought to justice and tried. The Committee also encourages the
State party to provide adequate rehabilitation and recovery programmes for victims of
such abuses.
4. Family environment and alternative care (arts. 5; 18 (para. 1-2);
9-11; 19-21; 25; 27 (para. 4); and 39 of the Convention)
Parental responsibilities
37. The Committee is concerned about the insufficient support for disadvantaged families
and the fact that, as a result, children are often unnecessarily separated from their parents. The
Committee is further concerned that, despite good initiatives such as the “SOS Kinder”
children’s village in Baku, kindergartens are decreasing in number and do not meet the
appropriate standards, including with respect to sanitary and hygienic norms.
38. The Committee recommends that the State party provide adequate support to
disadvantaged families, including counselling and educational service, and ensure that
separation of children from their parents only takes place if necessary, in their best interest
and on precise legal grounds. Furthermore, the Committee recommends that the State
party increase the number and quality of childcare services, including kindergartens.
Alternative care for children
39. The Committee welcomes the introduction of foster care through the 2000 Family Code
as well as the elaboration of the State Programme on De-Institutionalization and Alternative
Care, but it is concerned about the high number of children placed in institutions, (about 20,000).
It is also concerned that, due to the lack of community-based social services in Azerbaijan,
institutionalization is too often the only available solution to children from vulnerable families.
Furthermore, the Committee is concerned that:
(a) The de-institutionalization process is very slow;
(b) The conditions for appropriate protection, care and education of institutionalized
children are not met in the State party’s institutions;
(c) National legislation does not contain any provision concerning the periodic
review of placement for children;
(d) When children are placed in institutions they seldom maintain contacts with their
parents and are not always informed of their parents’ whereabouts;
(e) Children without parental care often become victims of various forms of
exploitation.
40. The Committee recommends that the State party adopt and fully implement the
State Programme on De-Institutionalization and Alternative Care and promote measures
alternative to institutionalization. The Committee further recommends that the State
party take all necessary measures to ensure that children in institutions enjoy all rights of
the Convention and in particular receive appropriate protection, education and health
care, maintain contact with their families and that their placement in institution is subject
to periodic review with a view to returning them to their families of origin or to placing
them in family-type forms of alternative care.
Violence, abuse, neglect and maltreatment
41. The Committee is concerned that neglect and abuse of children within families, including
sexual abuse, continues to be a problem. Furthermore, the Committee is concerned that:
(a) The legislative framework for the prohibition of child abuse is inadequate;
(b) Services are inadequate to provide an integrated and multi-disciplinary approach
to child victims of abuses;
(c) The existing complaint procedure (appeal to the Commissioners on Minors
Affairs) is ineffective.
42. In light of article 19 of the Convention, the Committee recommends that the
State party:
(a) Undertake a comprehensive study on violence against children, including
sexual abuse, in order to assess the extent, causes, scope and nature of these violations;
(b) Strengthen awareness-raising and education campaigns against violence with
the involvement of children;
(c) Strengthen measures to encourage reporting of instances of child abuse in all
institutions - including orphanages, psychiatric hospitals, schools and juvenile detention
centres - and to prosecute the authors of these acts;
(d) Provide care and assistance for the full physical and psychological recovery
and social reintegration for children victims of violence.
43. In the context of the Secretary-General’s in-depth study on the question
of violence against children and the related questionnaire to Governments, the
Committee acknowledges with appreciation the written replies of the State party and its
participation in the Regional Consultation for Europe and Central Asia held in Slovenia
from 5 to 7 July 2005. The Committee recommends that the State party use the outcome of
this regional consultation to take action, in partnership with civil society, to ensure the
protection of every child from all forms of physical or mental violence and to generate
momentum for concrete and, where appropriate, time-bound actions to prevent and
respond to such violence and abuse.
Corporal punishment
44. The Committee expresses concern that corporal punishment, while prohibited in schools
and in the penal system, remains lawful at home and it is still widely practiced in the society as
an accepted measure of discipline.
45. The Committee recommends that the State party introduce and fully implement
legislation explicitly prohibiting all forms of corporal punishment of children in all settings,
including the home. The State party should also conduct awareness-raising and public
education campaigns promoting non-violent, participatory forms of child-rearing
and education.
5. Basic health and welfare (arts. 6; 18, para. 3;
23; 24; 26; 27, paras 1-3 of the Convention)
Children with disabilities
46. While the Committee notes the measures taken by the State party in this regard, including
the adoption of the Persons with Special Health Needs Act, it is concerned about the inadequate
assistance for children in need of special care and at stereotyping and social segregation of
children with disabilities also due to the lack of an adequate legislation granting equal rights
to them.
47. The Committee is also concerned that children with disabilities do not have access to the
mainstream education service and that a strong medical approach to this problem does not
facilitate their inclusion.
48. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Ensure implementation of the Standard Rules for Equalizing the
Possibilities for Persons with Disabilities, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly
on 20 December 1993;
(b) Ensure that children with disabilities may exercise their right to education
and facilitate inclusion in the mainstream education system;
(c) Undertake greater efforts to make available the necessary professional
(i.e. disability specialists) and financial resources, especially at the local level, and to
promote and expand community-based rehabilitation programmes, including parent
support groups;
(d) Pursue efforts to avoid the marginalization and exclusion of children
with disabilities.
Health and health-care services
49. The Committee, while noting the State party’s efforts in the area of health, expresses
concern at:
(a) The inadequate access to and quality of health services in the State party,
especially for economically disadvantaged families, refugees and IDPs;
(b) The high rate of infant, child and maternal mortality in the State party, especially
in rural areas of the country;
(c) Weaknesses in the death registration system with respect to children.
50. The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts in improving
the health situation of children in the State party, including through:
(a) Strengthening its efforts to reform the primary health-care system in order
to create a model of family-based primary health, including health promotion and disease
prevention that is available to all;
(b) Urgently addressing the issue of infant, child and maternal mortality
throughout the country;
(c) Ensuring full implementation of World Health Organization (WHO)
standards on registration of infant mortality;
(d) Seeking technical assistance, among others, from UNICEF and WHO in
this regard.
Adolescent health
51. The Committee is concerned by the significant number of children smoking and regularly
consuming alcohol and illegal drugs as well as by the high incidence of sexually transmitted
diseases (STDs) among youth.
52. The Committee recommends that the State party, taking into account the
Committee’s general comment on Adolescent Health (2003), strengthen measures to
address the spread of STDs among youth and further work on its health promotion
programmes for adolescents, which should target, inter alia, nutrition, smoking and alcohol
and promotion of a healthy life-style among children.
53. The Committee expresses concern at the information that the suicide rate among
adolescents is growing.
54. The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts at youth
suicide prevention, with particular focus on the expansion of mental health services
for adolescents.
Standard of living
55. The Committee is concerned that poor living conditions, which affect many families,
seriously limit children’s full enjoyment of their rights. The Committee is also concerned that
over 40 per cent of the population lack access to potable water, including the vast majority of
refugees and IDPs.56. The Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary measures to
provide support and material assistance to economically disadvantaged families, including
the implementation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) and targeted programmes with regard to the most needy group of families in order to guarantee the
right of all children to an adequate standard of living. In particular, the Committee
recommends that the State party ensure universal access to sanitation and potable water.
6. Education, leisure and cultural activities
(arts. 28, 29 and 31 of the Convention)
57. The Committee welcomes the information that 96 per cent of the over-15 population is
literate and recognizes the progress made with regard to the implementation of the right to
education of IDPs and refugee children. However, it is concerned that:
(a) The quality of education is decreasing due to various factors, including shortage
of textbooks, unsatisfactory conditions or lack of infrastructures and low motivation of teachers;
(b) The preschool enrolment rate of children has dropped in recent years;
(c) The number of children not enrolled in school is growing;
(d) There are often hidden costs associated with schooling;
(e) Access to education is difficult for children living in poverty, refugee and IDPs
children, children with disabilities, children in conflict with the law and children living in rural
and remote areas;
(f) Students with some chronic diseases including asthma, anaemia, hepatitis,
skin diseases and HIV/AIDS can be excluded from mainstream schooling because of their
health problems.
58. The Committee recommends that the State party, taking into account the
Committee’s general comment No. 1 on the Aims of Education (2001), take all necessary
measures to ensure that articles 28 and 29 of the Convention are fully implemented. In
particular, the State party should:
(a) Take the necessary measures to improve the quality of education, including
by improving infrastructures and ensuring that schools are adequately equipped;
(b) Provide quality training for teachers, address the issue of teachers’ salaries
and expand recruitment of qualified ones;
(c) Increase its efforts to eliminate any additional and hidden costs of school
attendance;
(d) Take measures aimed at increasing enrolment rates and school attendance,
including in preschool;
(e) Facilitate education opportunities for children living with HIV/AIDS and
review, as a matter of urgency, programmes and policies excluding children with
HIV/AIDS or other chronic diseases from mainstream education;
(f) Ensure that refugee and displaced children are placed in schools in the local
communities in order to facilitate their integration;
(g) Introduce and fully implement targeted programmes for children from poor
families and marginalized groups;
(h) Strengthen its efforts to include human rights in general, and the rights of
the child in particular, into the school curricula and introduce provisions into the new Law
on Education in this respect;
(i) Increase availability of vocational training programmes for young people,
with the view of facilitating their future access to the labour market;
(j) Seek further assistance from, inter alia, UNICEF and the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
7. Special protection measures (arts. 22; 30; 38;
39; 40; 37 (b)-(d); 32-36 of the Convention)
Refugee and displaced children
59. The Committee notes with appreciation that Azerbaijan provides protection to refugees,
including refugee children of Chechen ethnicity from the Russian Federation. Nonetheless, the
Committee remains concerned that 35 per cent of about 600,000 IDPs and 200,000 refugees are
children and that they live in very poor conditions, lacking basic sanitary and hygienic services,
potable water and educational facilities among other things.
60. The Committee recommends that the State party, taking into account the
Committee’s 2005 general comment on the treatment of unaccompanied and separated
children outside their country of origin:
(a) Address the special needs and rights of displaced and refugee children in the
State party, and in particular strengthen its efforts to ensure adequate housing and access
to essential services;
(b) Establish child-sensitive procedures for processing cases of
unaccompanied minors;
(c) Continue to seek technical cooperation from the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in this regard.
Economic exploitation
61. The Committee is concerned about the high number of children working in the
State party, especially in rural areas, and that the regulations protecting children from
exploitative and hazardous work are not consistently applied and respected.
62. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Undertake a comprehensive survey of the number, composition and
characteristics of working children in order to design and implement a comprehensive
strategy to prevent and combat their exploitation;
(b) Ensure the full implementation of legislation covering article 32 of the
Convention as well as ILO Conventions No. 138 and No. 182, including the prevention of
the worst forms of child labour;
(c) Seek assistance from the International Programme on the Elimination of
Child Labour (IPEC/ILO) and UNICEF in this regard.
Street children
63. While the Committee notes the existence of two “Child Reception-Transit Centres”
intended to host, inter alia, street children, it is concerned about the growing number of street
children in the State party, who are also often victims of exploitation, ill-treatment and abuse.
Furthermore, the Committee is concerned about the lack of recovery, medical treatment, social
integration or educational programmes for street children.
64. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Undertake a study on the root causes and extent of this phenomenon and
establish a comprehensive strategy to prevent it and reduce the number of street children;
(b) Provide street children with adequate nutrition, clothing, housing and
educational opportunities, including vocational and life-skill training, in order to support
their development and prevent their exploitation;
(c) Promote and implement programmes aimed at their physical and
psychological recovery and social reintegration;
(d) Facilitate, whenever possible, reunification with their families;
(e) Implement effectively the National Plan on Street and Neglected Children.
Sexual exploitation and trafficking
65. While the Committee welcomes the approval of a National Plan of Action to Combat
Trafficking in Persons in May 2004, it is concerned about the limited data about sexual
exploitation and that national legislation does not specifically criminalize trafficking. Serious
concern is also expressed about the fact that Azerbaijan’s territory is increasingly used by an
international network of trafficking of persons, especially children and women.
66. In light of article 34 and other related articles of the Convention, the Committee
recommends that the State party further strengthen its efforts to identify, prevent and
combat trafficking in children for sexual and other exploitative purposes, including by:
(a) Introducing the necessary changes of the criminal and other relevant laws
with a view to bringing them into full compliance with articles 34 and 35 of the Convention
as well as with the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and
pornography;
(b) Undertaking studies to assess the nature and magnitude of the problem;
(c) Providing adequate and systematic training to all professional
groups concerned;
(d) Launching awareness-raising and prevention campaigns targeting in
particular children and parents;
(e) Considering ratifying the European Convention on Action Against
Trafficking;
(f) Seeking assistance from UNICEF, among others.
Administration of juvenile justice
67. The Committee welcomes the reform of the Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes
following the consideration of the State party’s initial report and the existence of a Special
Working Group for the implementation of a long-term programme elaborated by the NGO
Alliance and the Organization for Co-operation and Security in Europe (OSCE) for the
development of a juvenile justice system in line with the Convention. However, the Committee
remains concerned that:
(a) There is no integrated and well defined juvenile justice system in Azerbaijan;
(b) Persons below 18 are often tried as adults;
(c) Persons below 18 are often held in pretrial detention for long periods and not
always detained separately from adults;
(d) Alternatives to the deprivation of liberty are not sufficiently used and persons
below 18 can be sentenced to detention for a period of up to 10 years;
(e) The conditions of detention are often poor and inadequate and overcrowding is a
serious problem;
(f) Recovery, assistance and reintegration services for persons below 18 in conflict
with the law are insufficient.
68. The Committee recommends that the State party bring the system of juvenile
justice fully in line with the Convention, in particular articles 37, 40 and 39, and with other
United Nations standards in the field of juvenile justice including the United Nations
Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (the Beijing Rules),
the United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (the Riyadh
Guidelines), the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of Their
Liberty and the Vienna Guidelines for Action on Children in the Criminal Justice System;
and the recommendations of the Committee made at its day of general discussion on
juvenile justice (CRC/C/46, para. 203-238). In this regard, the Committee recommends
that the State party:
(a) Establish juvenile courts staffed with appropriately trained
professional personnel;
(b) Take all necessary measures to ensure that persons below 18 are only
deprived of liberty as a last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time, in
particular by developing and implementing alternatives to custodial sentences;
(c) Ensure that persons below 18 in custody are separated from adults as
required under article 72.1 of the Penal Enforcement Code;
(d) Take urgent steps to improve substantially the conditions of detention of
persons below 18 and bring them into full conformity with international standards;
(e) Provide that persons below 18 deprived of liberty are given a full programme
of educational activities (including physical education);
(f) Train professionals in the area of recovery and social reintegration of
children and establish special units within the police for the handling of cases of persons
below 18 in conflict with the law;
(g) Seek technical assistance from the Inter-Agency Coordination Panel on
Juvenile Justice and/or the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), UNICEF
and OHCHR among others.
8. Follow-up and dissemination
Follow-up
69. The Committee recommends that the State party take all appropriate measures to
ensure full implementation of the present recommendations, inter alia, by transmitting
them to the members of the Cabinet of Ministers, the Parliament and to municipal
Governments and Parliaments when applicable for appropriate consideration and
further action.
Dissemination
70. The Committee further recommends that the second periodic report and written
replies submitted by the State party and related recommendations (concluding
observations) it adopted be made widely available, including through Internet (but not
exclusively), to the public at large, civil society organizations, youth groups, and children
in order to generate debate and awareness of the Convention, its implementation and
monitoring.
9. Next report
71. The Committee invites the State party to submit its next periodic report
before the due date established under the Convention for the fourth periodic report,
i.e. 11 September 2009. This report should combine the third and fourth periodic report
and should not exceed 120 pages (see CRC/C/118). The Committee expects the State party
to report thereafter every five years as foreseen by the Convention.