With the support of the Council of Europe office in Georgia, the first international Conference “A Child-friendly Justice System and Child Rights, The Best European and American Experience,” took place on 20 November 2023.

This event brought together about 100 Georgian and international professionals, including judges, prosecutors, lawyers, and representatives from state and non-governmental organizations, as well as experts from international organisations working in the field of children’s rights. The event also benefitted from active participation of students and schoolchildren who shared their views on challenges faced by children in the digital environment and engaged in a meaningful exchange with professionals.

The conference featured five sessions, focused on the protection of children's rights within the realms of criminal, civil, and administrative law. The Council of Europe moderated two of the sessions addressing the rights of adolescents in schools, challenges in the digital environment, and obstacles in the fight against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children in Georgia.

Ms María José Castelo-Branco, Chairperson  of the Lanzarote Committee (the Committee of the Parties to the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse), presented the work of the Lanzarote Committee and the  recommendations specifically addressed to Georgia in the context of the second monitoring round on the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse facilitated by information and communication technologies (ICTs): addressing the challenges raised by child self-generated sexual images and/or videos.

The conference was organised  as part of the Council of Europe project " Ensuring child-friendly justice in Georgia: preventing and protecting children from violence, including in the digital environment” on the occasion of the European Day for the Protections of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse and the World Children’s Day.