On January 28, 2025, Ms. Bahar Muradova, the chairperson of the State Committee for Family, Women, and Children Affairs, met with Mr. Farid Babayev, the head of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) Country Office.

During the meeting, Ms. Bahar Muradova emphasized the collaboration between the State Committee and UNFPA, discussing the outcomes of ongoing projects and expressing confidence that these initiatives would continue in the coming years.

Ms. Muradova highlighted that the concept of gender equality is based on equality between women and men. She also emphasized the importance of a comprehensive approach to achieving gender equality and pointed out the need to increase the role of men in projects aimed at this goal. She addressed the issue of gender-based selection of children before birth, calling it a form of domestic violence and stressing the importance of preventive measures in this area. She noted that many issues are resolved within the family framework and added that strengthening family bonds and preserving family values could help solve the problem of domestic violence in a healthy and constructive way. In her speech, Ms. Muradova also mentioned the development of the National Action Plan on Domestic Violence for the upcoming years and discussed proposals and recommendations related to Azerbaijan’s accountability process under the CEDAW.

Mr. Farid Babayev, the head of the UNFPA country office, spoke about the successful collaboration with the Committee in ensuring gender equality and combating domestic violence. He highlighted joint initiatives, such as the training sessions aimed at strengthening the capacity of Gender-Based Violence Monitoring Groups from 2020-2023 and the operation of the “860 Support Line” for gender-based violence. He also drew attention to the work done from 2018-2023 in collaboration with the Committee to combat gender imbalance among children.

The UNFPA representative discussed ongoing projects and proposed several ideas for future collaboration with the Committee.

The results of the cooperation within the framework of the UNFPA Country Programme for 2021-2025 were discussed, and recommendations for the new Country Programme (2026-2030) were shared, followed by an exchange of views.