TIRANA, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Albanian President Bamir Topi and his wife as well as foreign diplomats joined groups of children here Saturday to mark the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

    "Albania has made a visible progress in protection of children's rights, but more efforts are needed for improvements," First Lady Teuta Topi told participants at a gathering in the presidential palace in the southern part of the capital.

    The government should be the main actor in preservation of physical, moral, medical, educational and cultural integrity of the children, whose rights are non-negotiable, she said.

    The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) praised Albania for what it has done to protect and promote children's rights during the past 20 years.

    "There are many improvements, including improved health services for children and higher enrolment in schools," UNICEF's Albanian branch said in a press release.

    However, there is much more to be done, especially when Albania is preparing for European integration, the release said.

    A latest living standard survey indicated that 12.4 percent of all Albanians still live in poverty, and half of them are children.

    One recent demographic and health survey found that one out of six children in Albania are stunted or too short for their age.

    "We believe these challenges can be overcome when all people agree, recognize and accept that all children are entitled to enjoy their fundamental rights," said Detlef Palm, representative of UNICEF in Albania.

    The U.N. General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child on Nov. 20, 1989. Albania ratified the treaty in 1992.