Azerbaijan, Baku / Тrend corr S. Ilhamgizi / Some 22,000 children in Azerbaijan have no family, Jeyran Rahmatullayeva, a representative of the State Committee on Families, Women and Children, said at a meeting dedicated to World Children's Day on 20 November.
In 1989, the UN passed a Convention on International Day of Children which united 192 countries. Azerbaijan joined the Convention in 1992 and in 1998 Azerbaijan passed the Law on Children's Rights. Azerbaijan also joined acts on international adoption and opposes involving children in war.
Some 70% of the 22,000 family-less Azerbaijani children have parents. There are three reasons why parents desert their children - poverty, divorce and child disability, Rahmatullayeva said. There are about 57,000 disabled children in Azerbaijan living in special establishments, and 36,000 live with their families. Research found that children are frequently left due to the irresponsibility of their parents, she said.