The Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the State Migration Service, and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) organized a joint two-day training on the protection of children’s rights in the context of migration during Child Rights Month.

Speaking with the opening speech, the Ombudsman, Sabina Aliyeva, noted that the migration processes have been significantly increased as a result of social and economic, political, and martial law situations occurring around the globe and that children are in a special risk group.

The Ombudsman provided detailed information about the multifaceted activities involved in protecting and ensuring the rights of all participants in the migration process, including migrant children, saying that the Ombudsman Office and State Migration Service have close cooperation. In this regard, it was accentuated that, in collaboration with international organizations, joint events are ongoing in the capital city and in the regions to increase the capacity-building and professional skills of the staff responsible for the migration processes.

The Commissioner also talked about the reforms carried out in the country for the protection of children’s rights, including the amendments made to the Constitutional Law on the Ombudsman regarding the fulfillment of an independent monotoring mechanism for monitoring and promotion of the CRC.

Sabina Aliyeva said that under the national preventive jurisdiction, monitoring visits were regularly conducted to immigration detention centers for irregular migrants. Migrants held there were interviewed in a confidential manner, and the situation regarding ensuring their rights in compliance with national and international legal norms was investigated.

As the opening ceremony continues, Vusal Huseynov, the Chair of the Migration State Service, says that Azerbaijan has joined the ‘Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration,’ a landmark agreement that for the first time recognizes the central role of children in migration governance and embraces child-sensitive migration policies as one of its ten key principles.

Huseynov provided information to the participants on the main activities of the State Migration Service in the respective field.

Besides local experts, the training featured presentations from UNICEF, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and experts from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

At the end of the training, certificates were presented to the participants.