The Сonference was attended by the parliamentarians, heads of central governmental authorities, ombudsmen for children from near and far abroad countries, representatives of international and non-government institutions and the media.
In her welcome speech Gulshara Abdykalikova stressed that in the "Kazakhstan - 2050" Strategy the Head of the State noted that "Children are the most vulnerable and the most unprotected part of our society, and they should not be disenfranchised. Any child born on our soil is a citizen of Kazakhstan. And the state should take care of it."
The Secretary of State also placed greater focus on the fact that with the accession to the UN Convention "On Children’s Rights" Kazakhstan had strengthened the work of the appropriate legal protection of children. Our country consistently complies with the recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.
"During the years of independence Kazakhstan has ratified 13 international instruments for protection of children's rights. This year’s landmark event is the establishment on behalf of President Nursultan Nazarbayev of the Institute for Children's Rights Ombudsman. Currently, more than 5 million children live in the country. Since 2000, the birth rate in Kazakhstan has increased by 1.4 times, up to 400 thousand children annually. In Kazakhstan there is a systematic work on children’s protection, providing them with comprehensive support. I am convinced that Child Friendly Kazakhstan will continue improving the enabling environment in which each child will have equal opportunities for the full development and a better future", the Secretary of State said.
The conference hosted the opening of the children's and youth creativity festival with the involvement of 500 children - prizewinners of creativity competitions, science competitions and contests of social projects. Also the conference members have presented the results of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey in Kazakhstan, the permanent thematic platforms in 12 directions has been launched, which affect all major aspects of the protection of children's rights.
A number of specific recommendations have been developed based on the international conference‘s outcome.