September 3 at a briefing in the press center of the Government, the Ombudsman for Children’s Rights in Kazakhstan Saule Aitpayeva talked about the work in progress and also drew attention to the main issues concerning the life and health of children.

The ombudsman began her presentation by indicating the current situation. There are now more than 5 million children in the country. Kazakhstani children occupy the 12th place in the world for talent, education and intelligence among peers from more than 100 countries. There are concrete positive achievements and results of Kazakhstan: in the growth of birth rate, the decrease in the death rate of children, world achievements in culture and sport, scientific activity, championship in olympiads and contests.

"Children want and should be happy, healthy. Achievement of their goals is impossible without us ... From the media we see that every day, undesirable situations happen with children, I will not repeat them, you know most of them," Aitpayeva stressed.

According to the children's ombudsman, today the necessary legislative base has been created in the republic in the field of protecting the rights of children. The national legislation is based on the norms of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international legal documents on public policy on children.

"To ensure the quality of life of children, corresponding to the international level, about 60 international documents concerning human rights have been ratified, 15 of them concern the protection of children's rights," the Commissioner for Children's Rights informed.

The Head of State stresses in the program documents that the protection of children’s rights is one of the important areas of public policy. To ensure the rights and legitimate interests of children in accordance with the recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of Children in 2006, an authorized body was established — the Committee for the Protection of the Rights of Children. In order to improve the national system for the protection of children's rights, February 10, 2016, by the decree of the President, the Ombudsman for Children's Rights in the Republic of Kazakhstan was established.

"This decision of the Head of State is an important contribution to the strengthening and realization of the rights of the child in Kazakhstan and represents a worthy consistent implementation of the recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. It should be recognized that in a relatively short period, as the ombudsman’s institute was introduced, it was possible to create a certain system for the development of a national system for the protection of the rights of the child," Aitpayeva stressed.

An important authority of a child human rights activist is his right to influence the activities of state bodies and local self-government bodies. Ministries and departments that are directly responsible for organizing work with children, conducted an analysis of the situation and worked out concrete measures to address problematic issues with minors.

During the briefing it was also noted that the national system for the protection of children's rights in the country has been developed. However, there are questions on which this system still needs to work.

For example, the National Commission for Women and Family and Demographic Policy, the Commissioner for the Rights of the Child, state bodies, law enforcement agencies, public institutions, every citizen, a natural and legal person work on family, children and family policy issues.

As Aitpayeva noted, the Commissioner for the Protection of Children’s Rights has been working since the appointment, that is, for two months of this year, a certain work has been done.

In Almaty, for the first time, a joint dialogue was held with non-governmental organizations, in which ministers of education and science, healthcare, vice minister of labor and social protection of the population and heads of non-governmental organizations participated. The problematic functioning of kindergartens in Uralsk was a raised. The problem was resolved with the departure of the Ombudsman for Children's Rights and the direct participation of the Akim of the West Kazakhstan region Altai Kulginov. All children were promptly returned to kindergartens.

In addition, the main issue to be dealt with by the Commissioner for the Children’s Rights is the consideration of citizens' applications. There are more than 80 of them literally for two months. Also, Kazakhstanis came to the children's ombudsman for personal receptions. Based on the appeals, the Ombudsman for the Children’s Rights identified several trends characteristic of modern society.

"The first thing I would like to draw attention to is the problems of family relationships, maintenance of obligations, social, housing rights, the legal status of family members, the order of raising children, the realization of the right to health and education. When examining appeals, I, as an authorized person, explain the requirements of the current legislation, connect state authorities and departments to the resolution, or clarify the procedure for appealing against the actions of the authorities. Practically it is obvious when local bodies improperly clarify some or other legitimate rights and interests of citizens," Aitpayeva explained.

She added that, aggressiveness and conflicting inability to understand each other are noted according to citizens' appeals.

"These are the main causes of violations of the rights and interests of children. Disharmony in family relationships reduces the psychological and emotional state and self-esteem of the child as an individual. The theme of the fulfillment of paternal and maternal duties today remains topical," Aitpayeva believes.

Over the years of Kazakhstan's independence, a national system for protecting children's rights has been formed in accordance with international standards.

"Undoubtedly, the above problems are typical for countries with a high level of development. To solve these problems, it is necessary to consolidate the efforts of all branches of state power, society, non-governmental and international organizations. I am confident that with close cooperation of all parties we will create a favorable environment for protecting the interests and rights of children," the Ombudsman for the Children’s Rights concluded.