THE RIGHT TO RIGHTS

At present, the Azerbaijani population exceeds 8.5 million, of whom 50.9 per cent are women and 31.2 per cent are children and teenagers under 18. As we know, it is precisely these categories that are the most vulnerable strata of the population, requiring special attention from the state.

In this regard, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev issued a decree in February 2006, setting up the state committee for family, women's and children's affairs.

The committee was set up relatively recently. But even in this short period of time, the agency has managed to carry out a great deal of work. One of its focuses is to analyze the situation in the country in respect of the strengthening of the institution of the family, women and children, and to draw the attention of the government and public to problems facing these strata of the population. Our R+ correspondent spoke to the head of this agency, Hicran Huseynova.

- The state committee has been working for more than a year. Have you managed to identify the problems facing Azerbaijani women in this period?

- The main problem with Azerbaijani women is that many of them do not know their basic rights. The committee has two visit days - Tuesday and Friday. On these days, many representatives of the fair sex address us with their problems. We monitored the main problems that women encounter, and we found that these are mainly family problems, and relations with children and other relatives. To be honest, for me this fact is somewhat strange, and it means that family problems dominate all others. Among those who address us with their problems, there are many women with higher education but, for some reason, none of them are concerned about their lack of career development or say that they need help to improve their qualifications and gain access to further education. I am sure that it is necessary to encourage psychological stamina in women in order for them to find their place in society and try to be self-sufficient. Then it will be much easier to solve many family problems. It is very important for us to raise the educational and cultural level of the population. 

A great deal of work is being carried out in this direction in the country today. Following a presidential decree, theatres, museums and libraries are being restored, and new ones are being built. Against the background of Azerbaijan's economic activity, the citizens of our country are faced with a huge task. If the population is unable to keep up with global changes, then this will lead to a great split in society. We have positive examples.

Azerbaijan's first lady, Mehriban Aliyeva, has vividly demonstrated what a woman should be like: a faithful wife, a caring mother, a literate scientist, a public-political figure and a comprehensively erudite person who, nevertheless, always seeks to improve herself. When I meet a woman of about 50 who says that her life is over, I feel very sorry for her because, at this age, a woman should be full of interesting ideas and be self-reliant both spiritually and professionally. In order to help women, you need to create psychological rehabilitation centres in the country where they could get the necessary psychological support. The changes that occurred in the country during the transformation of society revealed serious problems with the population's adaptation to such changes. Our task is to support them, help them stabilise and teach them how to deal with stress.

If we talk about violence involving women, I should point out that the incidence of this negative phenomenon is falling in our country. This is related to the fact that an active campaign against violence is under way. Round table discussions on these issues are regularly held in regions of the country. We are currently preparing a TV programme on this subject. This issue has been raised in parliament and by Azerbaijani NGOs. Representatives of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the Ministry of Youth and Sports are actively working in this area. The committee is cooperating closely with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health. I cannot say that any government agency has been sidelined from this work. An important aspect is that a special programme to tackle violence has been adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers. I have to say that not every country has such a programme. It may be seen as a recommendation or instruction for all government agencies. Incidentally, a national action plan on family and women's and children's affairs has already been drawn up in Azerbaijan. It is in the process of approval at the moment. The national action plan clearly outlines ways of tackling and preventing domestic violence.

- Is the committee working with imprisoned women and children?

- Of course, yes. I am sure that these citizens also need close attention. The country's first lady touched on this subject in her recent address to parliament. She emphasized that every person needs to be given another chance, and we totally share this point of view.

Moreover, the committee carried out monitoring of the reasons for women's imprisonment. We found that often women in jail were unfairly punished because the trial or the investigation into their crime was not fair. In many cases, insufficient attention was paid to the reasons why the woman took such a desperate step and what prompted her to commit the crime. Often these women are simply framed and are held criminally liable instead of somebody else. Our research into this issue shows that, often, representatives of the fair sex are totally defenceless and don't even have the money to hire a lawyer, which is why more attention must be paid to this issue. 

Another important aspect is the return to normal life of people who leave prison. To this end, it is necessary to organize courses and create conditions for them to receive education in prison. If we think about this, we also take care of society because tomorrow these people will be living next door. For this reason, it is necessary to help them re-integrate into normal life and leave the criminal world behind them.

- You recently visited Strasbourg. What was the purpose of your visit?

- As you know, on 27 November 2006 the Council of Europe launched a campaign to combat violence against women, including domestic violence. This conference was a continuation of the Madrid conference that was held in November last year. That's when this campaign was launched. The Strasbourg conference was a kind of monitoring of what was done in this period. At such conferences, people exchange the positive experience they have accumulated. By launching this campaign, the Council of Europe in fact started holding regular monitoring conferences in order for each member country to be able to report this process on its territory.

In order to get more detailed information on this issue, a special handbook was prepared and handed over to all member countries of the Council of Europe. This handbook was translated into Azerbaijani and distributed among the population.

This is an important procedure that has several main goals. First, it is the strengthening of educational work among the Council of Europe member countries. It is important to carry out regular monitoring to recognise violence against women as a human rights violation. Another goal is to secure appropriate opportunities to achieve specific results. At the Strasbourg conference, all countries were urged to show the political will to solve these issues. It is interesting that the Council of Europe is carrying out monitoring in two areas at the same time - at the level of government and parliament.

During my speech in Strasbourg, I pointed out a very important aspect - Azerbaijan started work to tackle violence much earlier than the Council of Europe campaign. A gender law was approved in our country in 2006. The law contained specific points concerning the protection of women.

Moreover, from the very beginning of our committee's work, we and the UN Population Fund - the UNFPA - launched a joint project which involved experts to draw up a law on domestic violence. I have to say that by the time I went to Strasbourg, the law was actually ready. For this reason, I could say with confidence that we had already tested it, i.e. we had held discussions with non-government organizations, received recommendations from them, discussed the draft law with almost all government agencies and submitted it to the presidential administration.

In addition, the OSCE sent this bill to an international expert in order to bring it closer to Council of Europe standards. During my speech, I tried to draw participants' attention to the fact that when we talk about violence and forms of violence against women and children, we often forget some specific issues. For example, in Strasbourg I raised the issue of Azerbaijani refugees and displaced persons who had left their homes as a result of aggression by neighbouring Armenia.

These people suffered serious psychological traumas and need substantial psychological rehabilitation. And not only women and children, but also men. Most problem families include people who have experienced a crisis and people whose families are suffering from social upheaval. Our state is taking great care of these citizens. Today there are almost no refugees and displaced persons without their own accommodation. They have all been resettled to special settlements. But this problem cannot be solved just by obtaining normal living conditions, because the psychological shock will reverberate for a long time.

During my visit, I managed to hold a number of important meetings. During the conference itself we met Terry Davis, the secretary-general of the Council of Europe. I had an official meeting with the deputy secretary-general of the Council of Europe, Maud de Boer-Buquicchio. I informed her in detail of the course of the Council of Europe campaign to combat violence in Azerbaijan. In turn, Maud de Boer-Buquicchio wondered about the condition of children in our country, which is no accident. The point is that a national conference called, "A world suitable for children" will be held in our country on 6 July. She has been invited to that conference. This conference is organized by UNICEF, the Foreign Ministry, the Council of Europe, the state committee for family and women's and children's affairs, as well as by a number of other government agencies.

- Is Azerbaijan planning to join the Council of Europe convention on the fight against the sexual exploitation of women?

- Indeed, such a document is being drawn up, and during my meeting with the deputy secretary-general of the Council of Europe, Maud de Boer-Buquicchio suggested that Azerbaijan join this convention after it is adopted.

But I think that it is too early to talk about it yet because the draft convention is still being drawn up. On the other hand, if this document is adopted, as a member of the Council of Europe, Azerbaijan will certainly join the convention if its main points do not run counter to Azerbaijani laws. But we should always remember that by signing this or that convention, the state undertakes colossal obligations. It is not enough to adopt a document, it is necessary to fulfil it and then report on the work carried out, once every four years. On the one hand, this is a very good incentive as it makes people pay closer attention to various problems. On the other, it might change some stereotypes that have existed in society for years and sometimes even for centuries. There are some aspects of our life which I do not regard as stereotypes. They are rather national features. And I am sure that certain elements of our mentality should not be changed just to follow developments unfolding in other parts of the world. The traditions of the Azerbaijani people handed down from generation to generation must be preserved.

- Can you say that the sexual exploitation of women and human trafficking are major problems in our country?

- Human trafficking is a global evil, not a phenomenon that is typical of one specific state. I don't think that one country can solve such a global problem on its own. It is wrong to talk about trafficking within one country, because human trafficking is carried out across the territories of many states. That cases of trafficking were more common in our country in the past is because there were some gaps in the legislative base. These "white stains" were eliminated following the adoption of relevant laws.

There is quite a serious legislative base for preventing this phenomenon in Azerbaijan. On 28 June 2005, Azerbaijan even adopted a law on the fight against human trafficking. This law laid the legal foundation for the fight against human trafficking; it identifies the legal status of its victims and regulates policies for rendering aid to these people. Before this law, a national plan to combat human trafficking was adopted on 6 May 2004. In turn, the committee is also carrying out certain work on this issue in cooperation with the Interior Ministry and the Ministry of Justice. I have to say that this work is already yielding positive results because the number of victims of human trafficking is falling in Azerbaijan. This is due to the stable economic growth of recent years, which is why the number of problem strata among the population is falling. It was they who were the potential victims of human trafficking.

- As we know, the Azerbaijani president adopted a programme of de-institutionalization last year. How quickly is it being implemented?

- A special council was set up within the framework of this programme. It is led by Deputy Education Minister Irada Huseynova. All ministries and departments involved in the programme of de-institutionalization are members of this council.

The main problem today is that there is no clear mechanism for handing over children from children's homes to families, often to children's biological parents, and for issuing a state allowance to this needy family.

There are still some bureaucratic obstacles which, in a number of cases, put a brake on the implementation of this programme. Unfortunately, small difficulties related to the handover of children often frighten parents away. They prefer to keep their kid in a children's home and are ready to take him back when he turns 16-18. Very few of these mums and dads think about what sort of psychological trauma they inflict on their child. I am absolutely convinced that not a single boarding school in the world, even the best, can replace the family for a child even if the family has problems. For this reason, it is much easier to work with the family and provide it with financial and psychological support, than to expand the network of children's homes and boarding schools.

There is some fear among employees of these institutions today: what will happen to us after children's homes are closed? Of course, we can understand this. But on the other hand, it is high time to monitor their qualifications. I don't want to offend anyone, but the level of professionalism of some of them does not stand up to scrutiny. Of course, people who decide to dedicate themselves to children and their upbringing should have an altruistic character. A teacher, a psychologist or a social worker should not be working with children just because it is a job. There is a saying that if a doctor carries out unsuccessful surgery, the patient will die immediately, but if a teacher is not professional, the pupil's complaint will last all his life. But I am very optimistic about this programme which is being actively supported by the state. We still have time because the programme is scheduled for the long term - by 2015. That's why I am sure that it will be implemented successfully in Azerbaijan. The more people, public organizations and civil initiative are involved in its implementation, the quicker it will be adopted.