It would be appropriate to add a provision to the law regarding the involvement of children in various scientific research, or to consider this issue when drafting norms arising from the law. Children are a vulnerable population group and therefore require additional protection when participating in research.
Modern.az reports that MP Parvana Valiyeva stated this during the discussion of the draft law "On Children's Rights" at today's plenary session of the Milli Majlis.
She noted that the protection and improvement of children's health necessitate the conduct of certain clinical studies. Alternatively, social studies are conducted to ascertain children's opinions, aiming ultimately to improve policies in this area.
“Our country also has experience with children's participation in clinical, operational, and social research. Quantitative and qualitative surveys, as well as clinical studies, are conducted by various scientific research institutes, associations, and public organizations, involving children. However, the existing rules for protecting the rights of children participating in research are at the instruction level; NK norms only cover clinical research, while operational and social research are not covered. For example, in the USA and the European Union, this issue is clarified at the legislative level.”
“When Article 17, paragraph 5 of this law states – “The collection, processing, and protection of personal data related to children are determined by law,” it probably refers to the AR law “On Personal Data.” However, this law itself also needs updating, because – when this law was adopted in 2010, artificial intelligence had not permeated our lives to this extent.
It can also be noted in paragraph 17.5: Surveys and research among children can only be conducted with the accompaniment of a psychologist possessing appropriate certification, and with the written consent and participation of their legal representatives. Children have the right to refuse participation at any stage of the research.
Ethical Commissions (Supervisory Board for Ethical Issues) evaluate the compliance of scientific research with ethical principles. Each scientific research institution establishes an internal ethics committee and evaluates the research. However, I propose that the ethical evaluation of research involving children be conducted in a centralized manner. The ethical evaluation of research involving children should be entrusted to the relevant State Committee. The goal is not to increase the workload of researchers, but to ensure the rights of children, protect them from external influences and cases of abuse,” the MP noted.
