Perspectives of Juvenile Justice Development in Azerbaijan, a first national conference on juvenile justice organized jointly by the Government of Azerbaijan, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), British Embassy and the NGO Alliance for Child Rights will take place on April 13-14, 2006 at the Excelsior hotel in Baku,m Baku office of UNICEF told Trend.
The conference will bring together governmental officials and non-governmental agencies who work with children in conflict with the law, aiming to increase their understanding of domestic and international standards of juvenile justice and to identify practical ways for the improvement of the juvenile justice system in Azerbaijan.
It is our hope that this conference will help the juvenile reform to pick up pace in Azerbaijan. The combined of efforts by police, the courts, local and international NGOs is starting to have an impact in the country. But we will call it a success when fewer children will be deprived of their liberty and more children will have access to legal assistance, with more emphasis on prevention and alternative measures to arrest and imprisonment for juvenile offenders, says Hanaa Singer UNICEF Azerbaijan Representative.
A number of key governmental officials and international experts on juvenile justice will take part at the conference as guest-speakers, including Dr. Jacob Doek, head of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.