A RIGHT TO A FAMILY

More than 7 thousand children have returned to their biological families in Azerbaijan. These are the results of the state programme on "de-institutionalization and alternative custody", adopted in 2006 by President Ilham Aliyev. It should be remembered that this programme is aimed at reuniting children deprived of parental care and living in state institutions with their biological families or with adoptive families. However, implementation is difficult, mostly due to a lack of the necessary material resources in families who want, but are not in a position, to adopt an orphan or a foster child from an orphanage. Nevertheless, despite certain difficulties, the State Committee for Family, Women and Children and a special board of representatives from relevant ministries and agencies, created within the Ministry of Education, intend to intensify their work to implement the programme and help families adopt a further 15 thousand children who are still in state institutions.

Increase benefits 

and reduce the number 

of children's homes

In European countries, where programmes of de-institutionalization and alternative custody have been in operation for many years, this process is yielding expected results. These countries first of all try to return children to their biological families. If there are none, or the parents have been deprived of the right to raise their children, the child is handed over to carefully-selected alternative families. Follow-up work is also carried out with them. Special supervisory services follow the implementation of the programme. Virtually the same technique operates in Azerbaijan, Sadaqat Qahramanova, deputy head of the State Committee for Family, Women and Children, told R+. Sometimes the careful process of selection discourages potential parents. Research in this area shows that in recent years in Azerbaijan it has been necessary to hand over children to adoptive families, as it has been impossible to return them to their biological parents. Most often, the biological parents are experiencing some financial difficulties and want their children to remain in the orphanage at the state's expense until they turn 16 or 18, and then take them back into the fold. At the same time, very few of these parents care about the child's psychological condition. Meanwhile, scientists have proved that even the most exemplary childcare institution cannot substitute for a family, even one with some problems. And orphans are generally unable to return to their families. "I think it is much easier to work with a family, to help them financially and psychologically rather than to expand the network of orphanages and boarding schools," says Qahramanova. In any case, we can speak of more tangible results from the state programme on de-institutionalization from mid-2010. In the next few years, the State Committee will carry out various educational activities to better acquaint the public with this programme and to address the most pressing issues affecting children. As for children who have already been handed over, there are still problems with violations of their rights in families. In order to create a legislative framework to address such problems, the State Committee has developed a draft bill "On domestic violence" which is currently being debated in parliament.

In turn, the Baku office of UNICEF believes that the main problem in handing over children to families is the size of benefits allocated by the state to maintain the child. "Low income. That's the main problem making Azerbaijani families reluctant to adopt children," said Rashid Mustafa, a representative of UNICEF. According to surveys conducted on the initiative of UNICEF of 300 citizens of Azerbaijan, 64 per cent of respondents rejected the idea of taking a child from an orphanage, 6 per cent responded "I do not know", while 30 per cent responded positively. Meanwhile, many experts point out that Azerbaijan can be ranked among those countries in which there is a reluctance to adopt orphans. And there is a reason for this, said Nahayat Aliyeva, head physician at Baby House 1. "Most likely, the issue is one of psychology. Before adopting a child, many meticulously try to find out whether he has a "good" or "bad" heritage, for example, whether his mother was a prostitute, his father was a drunkard or a drug addict and whether there were any mental or physical abnormalities in his family. But is this right? No, I still think that this is a fundamentally wrong approach to such a sensitive issue. Various psychological studies have long ago proven that a child is guided by values instilled in him by the mother who raises him, not by his biological mother. He will perceive life the way his foster parents do," believes Aliyeva. But those who still decide to adopt a child most often prefer babies who are just a few months old, or at most a year or two. And this is very sad. 

The Baby House keeps children for up to three years. Upon reaching the age of four, children are allocated to children's homes and, therefore, have slimmer chances of returning to their biological families or being adopted by foster parents. That is, the older the child, the slimmer his chances are of having a family. "We are doing everything possible to ensure that as many children as possible find a family before they leave the Baby House. But first the department of guardianship investigates whether the prospective parents are healthy and in good mental condition, and also, very important, the welfare of the family. I should note that in recent times, children have often been adopted by single women. Since they are single, we investigate whether they have a stable income and living space. Although our children's home has everything to ensure that a child grows up in normal conditions in his early years - clothing, food and skilled medical care, nothing can replace a mother's love and the warmth of a mother's arms," said Aliyeva.

Foreign nationals are quite willing to adopt Azerbaijani orphans. Thus, despite the scandal related to adoptions by US citizens in Azerbaijan in 2005, the local authorities do not now impose the restrictions which were in operation some time ago. Anyway, monitoring has been strengthened, said Sadaqat Qahramanova. "The peculiarity of foreign adoptions is that foreign nationals adopt not only healthy children, but also children with physical or mental disabilities. This is a kind of mercy. Interestingly, families treat such babies very warmly, and love and cure these children. I think that is why we need to create suitable conditions for foreign adoptions, as there is a reluctance to adopt sick children in Azerbaijan. Our task is to track their future lives, and we do this twice a year. I can also deny the idle view that foreign nationals adopt Azerbaijani children in order to sell their organs. This is not true. Children adopted by foreign nationals are totally safe and their lives are controlled by the Azerbaijani state," she said.

According to Qahramanova, a foreign couple is granted the right to adopt 6 months after their first application. After this period, with the necessary documentation, they are allowed to take the child into their family. However, the expert said, if within 6 months an Azerbaijani citizen wishes to adopt the child, the family from abroad is denied custody. Most appeals concerning the adoption of Azerbaijani orphans come from European countries.

Attention to every child

A national conference on the reform of child protection, the creation of an organisation of adoptive families in Azerbaijan, a special meeting of the Azerbaijani parliament on children's rights, the first forum of Azerbaijani children, an international conference on Justice for Children... All these events took place in Baku in November and were timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and were aimed at summarizing the results of the Year of the Child in Azerbaijan proclaimed by President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan in 2009. The purpose was to focus increased attention on reforming the law on the protection of children in Azerbaijan and the state programme on "de-institutionalization and alternative custody". Thus, on the basis of the national conference, a Baku Declaration was adopted, reflecting the results of discussions on children's rights in Azerbaijan. The above-mentioned activities stressed that the state's task is to ensure that all children live in a normal environment and exercise their right to freedom of education. That is to say the obligations specified in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on the development of healthy and educated children must be fulfilled. In relation to children more humane steps should be taken. And if, for example, Azerbaijan adopts a law "On the juvenile justice system", the document must lead to serious reforms in the justice system, particularly in the context of a humane attitude towards children. "The Azerbaijani parliament has still not developed such a law. However, this does not mean that the country has not taken steps in relation to juvenile justice. These issues are reflected in our legislation. The question now is that all these issues should be expressed in the form of a separate law. A bill has been developed, albeit in informal form. Perhaps the ongoing discussions will end in the adoption of such a law in parliament," said Bahar Muradova, deputy speaker of the Azerbaijani parliament, in a meeting.

The country has developed modern legislation in the field of children's rights - 10 laws have been adopted. Overall, children's rights are mentioned in more than 70 laws and 10 codes in Azerbaijan. Moreover, within a few years, Azerbaijan will be able to ensure that the state budget includes a special children's budget, because investments made in early childhood development yield greater returns than investments made in older children. With regard to the state budget for 2010, it is planned to allocate substantial funds to children's programmes. Over 70 per cent of the 1.25 billion manats earmarked for science and education have been allocated to pre-school, first professional and secondary education. Currently, the state is implementing about 20 educational programmes, most of which are related to children.

Children are our future, and the subsequent general welfare of the state depends on how adults educate and treat them. Children see the world through very lively and penetrating eyes, and adults should do everything possible to understand the essence of a little child. Only in this way can we understand and realize their rights. But family has been, and remains, the most important thing in a child's life.