Parliamentary supervision and evidence-based decision-making are important for the protection of children's rights

On November 16 this year, a roundtable dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Uzbekistan's accession to the Convention on the Rights of the Child was held in the Senate of the Oliy Majlis. It was attended by the Chairwoman of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis Tanzila Narbayeva, UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and the CIS Afshan Khan and a number of other officials.

At the beginning of the roundtable, the Chairpwomen of the Senate talked about the work done in 30 years, the shortcomings and achievements identified. Further steps to implement the recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child for Uzbekistan were also discussed at the meeting. UNICEF Regional Director underlined the importance of two major aspects of implementing the recommendations, namely parliamentary supervision and evidence-based decision-making.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended incorporating all the principles and provisions of the CRC into legislation and ensuring their practical application by the relevant authorities. The round table participants discussed legislative initiatives and priorities in the field of children's rights to eliminate deficiencies and strengthen the implementation of the CRC in the country.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended that the government of Uzbekistan develop a comprehensive policy, strategy and plan of action on all aspects of the Convention and allocate adequate human, technical and financial resources for their implementation.

Senators and representatives of ministries and national agencies shared their thoughts and plans for implementing this recommendation, including monitoring the agenda and preparing a report. To this end, they emphasized the need to involve civil society institutions and the mass media in monitoring the implementation of children's rights in the country.