OSCE Centre in Astana supports family-friendly workplace

The OSCE Centre in Astana and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) are marking Universal Children’s Day on 20 November 2012 with a new playroom for the children of employees.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by Kazakhstan in 1994, provides for appropriate measures to ensure that children of working parents have the right to benefit from childcare services and facilities for which they are eligible.

“Having in mind the best interests of parents and their children, the OSCE and UNICEF offices in Astana made a decision to join efforts in setting up a playroom for children to be used by our staff members. We hope that this is an example to follow for other employers in Kazakhstan,” said Ambassador Zarudna, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Astana.

“The provision of a childcare room at the workplace is part of our office’s efforts to adhere to the child-friendly initiatives which we promote in the country,” said Jun Kukita, UNICEF Representative in Kazakhstan, at the opening ceremony.

They added that they believed that the partners of the OSCE Centre and UNICEF will support and replicate this model in their workplaces across the country.