Brussels hosted 'Justice for Children' - High level Regional Conference

The aim of the conference was to confirm states' commitment to bringing judicial systems in harmony with the international European standards in child rights' sphere and improvement of the children's access to them.

About 120 delegates participated in the conference. Director of the National Center on Human Rights Vyacheslav Kalyuzhny, judge of the supreme court of Kazakhstan Mrs. Akkuova, UNICEF Representative in Kazakhstan Jun Kukita were on behalf of Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan's delegation informed the participants of the forum of the development of the juvenile justice system in our country. The participants noted the significant achievements of Kazakhstan in the field of juvenile justice. In his speech, V. Kalyuzhniy voiced the main priorities in the field of protection of children's rights and the development of justice for children in Kazakhstan.

In 2011-2013, the EC - through the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) - and UNICEF joined forces to step up juvenile justice reforms in eight countries of the region: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan and Ukraine. The project includes support to legislative reforms, capacity building, the setting up of alternatives and research on torture and ill-treatment. The conference is an integral part of this project, and will be largely funded by the EIDHR.