Azerbaijan reports to UN on child protection efforts, warns of ongoing landmine risks

The fate and whereabouts of around 4,000 Azerbaijanis who went missing in the early 1990s, including 71 children, remain one of the most pressing humanitarian issues in the post-conflict period, Azerbaijan’s representative to the United Nations said.

Speaking during the discussions of the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly’s Human Rights Committee, Shahriyar Hajiyev, First Secretary of the Permanent Mission of Azerbaijan to the UN, outlined the national measures being implemented in Azerbaijan to protect and promote children’s rights.

Hajiyev detailed the key provisions of the National Strategy for Children for 2020–2030, approved by the President of Azerbaijan, describing it as a comprehensive roadmap for safeguarding children’s rights and addressing related social issues.

“Children constitute about 30 per cent of the country’s population. We are implementing targeted measures to protect children’s rights,” Hajiyev said. “Accession to nearly all international and regional legal instruments on children’s rights has paved the way for legislative reforms. The National Strategy for Children for 2020–2030 defines the core priorities and strategies for addressing challenges in child protection and development. Azerbaijan attaches particular importance to the social protection of children from vulnerable groups, including those deprived of parental care, children with disabilities, and those from internally displaced families.”

Hajiyev emphasised that child protection and development remain priorities for Azerbaijan in the post-conflict phase. He noted that, following reconstruction and rehabilitation work in the liberated territories, approximately 3,500 internally displaced students resumed their education in these regions in September 2025.

However, he underscored that extensive mine contamination continues to pose grave challenges to the safe return and settlement of former IDPs, including children.

“Mines deliberately planted since the 1990s have killed or seriously injured more than 3,400 people, including 362 children and young people,” he said. “This issue requires the activation of UN mechanisms on children’s rights to ensure an effective and coordinated response.”

By Tamilla Hasanova