UNICEF’s annual the State of the World’s Children 2006 has been publicized: Excluded and Invisible. The Baku Office of the UNICEF said that the report is a sweeping assessment of the world’s most vulnerable children, whose rights to a safe and healthy childhood are exceptionally difficult to protect.
Some 8.4 million children work in the worst forms of child labour, including prostitution and debt bondage, where children are exploited in slave-like conditions to pay off a debt. Nearly 2 million children are used in the commercial sex trade, where they routinely face sexual and physical violence
The report also asserts that children who live in вЂ�fragile states’ вЂ" countries that are unable or unwilling to provide basic services for their children вЂ" are virtually invisible. An estimated 150 million children live with disabilities globally, many without opportunities for education, healthcare, and nurturing support because of routine discrimination.
The State of the World’s Children argues that the world must go beyond current development efforts to ensure that the most vulnerable children are not left behind. Governments bear primary responsibility for reaching out to these children, and must step up their efforts in four key areas, including research, monitoring and reporting, legislation, financing and capacity-building.
The UNICEF report does not reflect the state of children in Azerbaijan. Baku Office of the UNICEF said that the last report on Azerbaijan was developed in 2001. The similar report will be prepared in 2006, the office said.