Zaza Vashakmadze, Chairman of the State Agency for Religious Issues and UNICEF Representative in Georgia Gassan Khalili signed a Memorandum of Cooperation.

The subject of the Memorandum is to promote and protect the rights of children through the involvement and co-operation of religious denominations and to strengthen the cooperation of the Parties in this regard.

The Memorandum envisages cooperation on issues such as: - promoting cooperation with religious leaders in promoting and protecting children's rights; Organizing thematic meetings at the Inter-Religious Council at the Agency of Religion with the participation of various religious denominations; To raise awareness of religious leaders about children's rights and to increase their role; Planning and conducting joint trainings, seminars, workshops on children's rights for religious denominations; Development of an annual action plan for the protection and promotion of children's rights on the basis of mutual agreement and cooperation between the parties.

“With the involvement of the State Agency for Religious Affairs and the United Nations Children's Fund, a working group will be set up to work actively with religious confessions in Georgia, as religious leaders have an impact on the parish, so they can achieve positive change in society and contribute to the promotion of child rights and child development,”said Dr Ghassan Khalil, UNICEF Representative in Georgia.