UNICEF condemns HIV-infected girl’s trial

The world champion for child rights UNICEF has condemned the trial of an 18-year-old girl infected with the deadly Human Immunodeficiency Virus in a statement issued on Tuesday.

A Baku district court is expected to deliver a sentence on the case of the HIV-infected girl, Elnara Ahmadova, who is facing criminal charges of deliberately infecting some 200 people with HIV, on Wednesday.

“UNICEF is concerned that the girl child affected by the situations of sale, prostitution and pornography continued to be treated not as a victim, but as a perpetrator without any special protection. It is also regretful that the circumstances in which the minor girl was involved in prostitution could not be clarified,” the statement said.

UNICEF believes that children alleged to have committed crimes while they were children should be considered primarily as victims of adults who have broken international law by recruiting and using children in sexual exploitation in the first place, and that these children must be provided with assistance for their social reintegration. If in contact with a justice system, persons under 18 at the time of the alleged offense must be treated in accordance with international juvenile justice standards which provide them with special protection.

“UNICEF is regretful that Article 34 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on “protecting the child from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse” and Article 24 concerning “the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health and to facilities for treatment of illness and rehabilitation of health” were violated in relation to the defendant,” the statement said.

UNICEF has called for making all efforts to ensure the human rights and dignity of the girl victim and provide her with every opportunity available for rehabilitation and protection against all kinds of discrimination and stigmatization.*