New draft law on “Children’s Rights” in Azerbaijan

A new draft law on “Children’s Rights” has been submitted to the parliament in Azerbaijan.

On January 27, a new draft law on “Children’s Rights” was submitted to the Milli Majlis in Baku and was discussed in the Committee for Family, Women and Children Affair. Report states that the draft was prepared with the participation of the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs and was presented as an update of the existing law adopted in 1998 with the argument that it “does not comply with modern requirements”.

Committee Chairwoman Hijran Huseynova said that the draft will create a “mechanism-based and executive” legal framework in the field of children’s rights. State Committee Chairwoman Bahar Muradova said that the draft consists of 8 chapters and 63 articles, and more broadly defines the goals of the state children’s policy, the main tasks of the state and state guarantees for the rights and freedoms of children. Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudsman) Sabina Aliyeva also emphasized the importance of the document in terms of implementing international recommendations.

Among the updates that were said to be included in the draft during the discussions were the separate definition of physical punishment against children and its inadmissibility, the recognition of dangerous acts committed through the Internet and information and telecommunication networks as a form of violence against children, as well as the definition of persistent pressure and aggressive behavior as a form of violence, bullying. Referring to Muradova's speech, Report writes that liability mechanisms are also envisioned for parents who do not report signs of violence and some employees of institutions supervising children.

One of the separate topics of discussion regarding the draft is the prohibition of forcing children to adhere to religious beliefs. Report writes that the draft states that the religious education of a child should not have a negative impact on physical and mental health and that in certain cases restrictions are envisioned to protect public safety, health, morality and the rights of other persons. At the same time, it is reported that the chairman of the committee Huseynova mentioned a proposal to hold a hearing on the issue of "prohibition of free access of children to social networks."

In the context of the discussion of the draft law, approaches such as “protective mechanisms” and “supervision and monitoring” are emphasized in official speeches. While it is emphasized that such reforms can be important in terms of child safety and violence prevention, how regulations, especially related to the online space, will affect the rights to expression and information, including how to structure the implementation in sensitive areas such as queer and trans adolescents’ access to safe information and support resources, remains an important context for public debate.

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