Sunday, 1 April 2012
Child Rights Governance
Resource centre on children's rights
Each document in the resource centre has a brief description. One can also upload documents to the resource centre, once registered. The documents will be reviewed before they are accepted and shown on the website.
Thursday, 24 June 2010
Undocumented Children - Children's right to identity
If you loose your passport, identity document, birth certificate…
How do you prove who you are?
Millions of children worldwide are unregistred - and as a result stateless:
Without nationality or identity they are not included in official statistics - they basically do not exist and do not have any protection.
This Is Who I Am is an ambitious project aimed at providing children who are unregistred with an identity, proof that they do exist, that they do have a background, a history.
Knowing Children will soon put up a website that provides further information and ways to scale up the project to recognize the identity of undocumented children.
Monday, 7 June 2010
Understanding article 12
The Committee on the Rights of the Child has issued general comments on the following subjects:
1. The aims of education
2. The role of independent human rights institutions
3. HIV/AIDS and the rights of the child
4. Adolescent Health
5. General measures of implementation for the Convention on the Rights of the Child
6. Treatment of unaccompanied and separated children outside their country of origin
7. Implementing child rights in early childhood
8. The right of the child to protection from corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment
9. The rights of children with disabilities
10. Children’s rights in Juvenile Justice
11. Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention
12. The right of the child to be heard
The Committee sometimes decides to develop a general comment on an article, provision or theme that has been discussed earlier in one of its General Day of Discussion. Since 1992, the Committee on the rights of the Child organized 13 general days of discussion on specific provisions of the Convention or on related issues. The Committee always adopt recommendations at the end of such a thematic discussion day.
In 2009 the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child published a general comment on article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (the Convention) is a unique provision in a human rights treaty; it addresses the legal and social status of children, who, on the one hand lack the full autonomy of adults but, on the other, are subjects of rights. Paragraph 1 assures, to every child capable of forming his or her own views, the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with age and maturity. Paragraph 2 states, in particular, that the child shall be afforded the right to be heard in any judicial or administrative proceedings affecting him or her.
The right of all children to be heard and taken seriously constitutes one of the fundamental values of the Convention. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has identified article 12 as one of the four general principles of the Convention, the others being the right to non-discrimination, the right to life and development, and the primary consideration of the child’s best interests, which highlights the fact that this article establishes not only a right in itself, but should also be considered in the interpretation and implementation of all other rights.
In 2006, the Committee held a day of general discussion on the right of the child to be heard in order to explore the meaning and significance of article 12, its linkages to other articles, and the gaps, good practices and priority issues that need to be addressed in order to further the enjoyment of this right. The present general comment arises from the exchange of information which took place on that day, including with children, the accumulated experience of the Committee in reviewing States parties’ reports, and the very significant expertise and experience of translating the right embodied in article 12 into practice by governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community organizations, development agencies, and children themselves.
The general comment aims to support the effective implementation of article 12 and strengthening the understanding of the meaning of article 12 and its implications.
It aims to elaborate the scope of legislation, policy and practice necessary to achieve full
implementation of article 12 and to highlight the positive approaches in implementing article 12. It also propose basic requirements for appropriate ways to give due weight to children’s
views in all matters that affect them.
Dissecting paragraph 1 of article 12
The first paragraph of article 12 reads:
“1. States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child."
“shall assure”
Article 12, paragraph 1, provides that States parties “shall assure” the right of the child to freely express her or his views. “Shall assure” is a legal term of special strength, which leaves no leeway for State parties’ discretion. Accordingly, States parties are under strict obligation to undertake appropriate measures to fully implement this right for all children. This obligation contains two elements in order to ensure that mechanisms are in place to solicit the views of the child in all matters affecting her or him and to give due weight to those views.
“Capable of forming his or her own views”
States parties shall assure the right to be heard to every child “capable of forming his or her own views”. This phrase should not be seen as a limitation, but rather as an obligation for States parties to assess the capacity of the child to form an autonomous opinion to the greatest extent possible. This means that States parties cannot begin with the assumption that a child is incapable of expressing her or his own views. On the contrary, States parties should presume that a child has the capacity to form her or his own views and recognize that she or he has the right to express them; it is not up to the child to first prove her or his capacity.
no age limit
The Committee emphasizes that article 12 imposes no age limit on the right of
the child to express her or his views, and discourages States parties from introducing
age limits either in law or in practice which would restrict the child’s right to be heard in all matters affecting her or him.
Research shows that the child is able to form views from the youngest age, even when she or he may be unable to express them verbally. Consequently, full implementation of article 12 requires recognition of, and respect for, non-verbal forms of communication including play, body language, facial expressions, and drawing and painting, through which very young children demonstrate understanding, choices and preferences;
“The right to express those views freely”
“Freely” means that the child can express her or his views without pressure and can choose whether or not she or he wants to exercise her or his right to be heard. “Freely” also means that the child must not be manipulated or subjected to undue influence or pressure. “Freely” is further intrinsically related to the child’s “own” perspective: the child has the right to express her or his own views and not the views of others.
The realization of the right of the child to express her or his views requires that the child be informed about the matters, options and possible decisions to be taken and their consequences by those who are responsible for hearing the child, and by the child’s parents or guardian. The child must also be informed about the conditions under which she or he will be asked to express her or his views. This right to information is essential, because it is the precondition of the child’s clarified decisions.
“In all matters affecting the child”
States parties must assure that the child is able to express her or his views “in all matters affecting” her or him. This represents a second qualification of this right: the child must be heard if the matter under discussion affects the child. This basic condition has to be respected and understood broadly.
“Being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child”
This clause refers to the capacity of the child, and stipulates that simply listening to the child is insufficient; the views of the child have to be seriously considered when the child is capable of forming her or his own views.
By requiring that due weight be given in accordance with age and maturity, article 12 makes it clear that age alone cannot determine the significance of a child’s views. Children’s levels of understanding are not uniformly linked to their biological age.
The general comment on article 12 has many more insightful points to better understand the right to be heard within the context of the CRC - see the full text of the general comment.
Sunday, 6 June 2010
The Middle Way - Bridging the Gap Between Cambodian Culture and Children’s Rights
By Steve Gourley, 2009 NGO Committee on the Rights of the Child, Cambodia, 2009.
This is an exciting piece of research that addresses the lack of comprehensive information available in Cambodia relating to knowledge, attitudes, and practice of ‘children’s rights’. Awareness-raising about children’s rights (CR) has been undertaken on a large scale by civil society organisations and the government and many people in Cambodia can mention at least a few rights that relate to children. Whereas awareness is relatively high, the practice appears to significantly lag behind, especially at the family level where traditional values at times interfere with certain rights, especially when it comes to participation.
The research recommends that governmental and private agencies should adopt more culturally-appropriate methods of education and promotion if children’s rights are to be fully realized at the family level.
Children were involved in planning the research, data validation, formulating recommendations. In addition, a very high proportion of child respondents (50% of all focus group participants and survey respondents) was intentionally selected to ensure that children’s interests were clearly and directly represented in the findings.
Steve Gourley presents a very useful comparison between the values of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and common Cambodian values.
UNCRC values in comparison to Cambodian values:
Equality and participation in contrast to Hierarchy
Transparency in contrast to Honour and Reputation
Gender equity in contrast to Patriarchy
Empowerment in contrast to Patronage
Justice in contrast to Harmony
Individualism in contrast to Collectivism
Steve Gourley notes:
“In view of the dramatic differences that exist, it is important to understand how each contributes to the overall functioning of society – and thus how and why specific values influence behaviour in a particular way. Each of the values above meets specific needs and therefore offers different benefits depending on the context in which they occur. Understanding the positive contribution of each can help decrease the tendency to judge a particular value or value system as “better” than another, illuminate how decision-making and behaviours can differ in various socio-cultural contexts, and help explain the conflicts that often occur between traditional parents and modern children.” (p.17)
Wednesday, 19 December 2007
Minimum Standards for Consulting with Children
Minimum Standards for Consulting with Children
The Interagency Working Group on Children's Participation in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, consisting of ECPAT International, Knowing Children, Plan International, Save the Children Sweden and
The minimum standards have been developed through six years of practice by the multi-agency group, starting with evaluation of children’s involvement in international consultations, the initial drafting and piloting of the standards at the East Asia and Pacific Regional Consultation concerning the United Nations Study on Violence Against Children, in 2005, and a number of other formal consultations with children in different parts of the world.
What are minimum standards?
Minimum standards are statements of the lowest acceptable level of practice by both adults and children to ensure meaningful children’s participation in a formal consultation or conference. Minimum standards ‘draw a line’, stating what is and is not acceptable for children’s participation.
In general, minimum standards need to be:
Adhered to: They should have monitoring mechanisms and sanctions if they are not all met;
Non-negotiable: They draw a line to show what is acceptable or not acceptable;
Transparent: Clear criteria for each standard give details of the steps an agency needs to take;
Permanent: They are fixed and followed consistently and constantly;
Agreed upon: One organization or group is accountable for them (the organizing committee) and key implementing agencies for the standards (local partners) understand and agree on them.
(p.11)
The Minimum Standards are based on five principles:
- Transparency, honesty and accountability
- A children-friendly environment
- Equality of opportunity
- Safety and protection of children
- Commitment and competency of adults
Download the Minimum Standards here.
Download the Operations Manual here.
The Interagency group has its own website where more of its publications on children's participation can be downloaded: iawgcp.com
Print copies of the minimum standards can be obtained from:
Plan International
Asia Regional Office
18th floor, Ocean Tower 2 Building
75/24 Sukhumvit 19 Road
Klongtoey Nua, Wattana
Bangkok 10110 Thailand
Tel: +66 (0)2 204 2630-4
Fax: +66 (0)2 204 2629
E-mail: asia.ro@plan-international.org
www.plan-international.org/asia/
From the introduction of the minimum standards:
Since the 1990 World Summit for Children in
Children’s participation in international meetings and conferences is limited by adult control over:
■ The resources required for children to attend;
■ The topics of discussion;
■ The agenda and procedures of the meeting;
■ The selection process;
■ The topics on which children are asked to give their opinions.
In Seen and Heard, a 2004 research assessment on the participation of children from the
- selection processes were not always transparent or representative;
- some adults had negative or paternalistic attitudes towards children;
- children were not adequately protected from potential threats to their health and well-being or from abuse and exploitation;
- children were inadequately prepared for their roles in the forums;
- the events lacked follow up.
The full text of the research assessment can be downloaded here.
Friday, 30 November 2007
Children as change agents: Guidelines for child participation in periodic reporting on the CRC
World Vision has just published this very useful document to guide the involvement of children in reporting to the Committee on the Rights of the Child.
These guidelines respond to the gap in information concerning children’s involvement in the reporting process, and aim to promote and strengthen children’s meaningful participation within this area. The report includes an analysis of a number of alternate country reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, and appendixes with specific forms and suggestions. The guidelines also include a glossary, a bibliography and suggestions for additional reading.
The guidelines address:
Creating Meaningful Child Participation
* Principles of Child Participation
* Building Ownership
* Addressing Power Imbalances
* Consulting with Children
* Accessible Information
* Building Support
Practical and Ethical Considerations
* Child Protection Policies
* Unintended Consequences
* Informed Consent
* Confidentiality
* The Roles and Responsibilities for Children, Young Adults, and Adults
* Resources: Funding and Time
Stages of the Reporting Process
* Selection and Representation
* Training and Building Capacity
* Methods for Collecting Information from Children
* Analyzing the Data and Reaching Conclusions
* Preparing the Report
* Child Delegates and Pre-sessional/Sessional Meetings
* Follow-up and Evaluations
Sunday, 14 October 2007
Janus Korczak
Let us demand respect for shining eyes, smooth foreheads, youthful effort and confidence. Why should dulled eyes, a wrinkled brow, untidy gray hair, or tired resignation command greater respect?
Janusz Korczak, The child’s right to respect, 1929.
Janusz Korczak (1878 – 1942) was a Polish pediatrician and philosopher, who, early last century, established two orphanages in which he created a form of governance in which children played key roles. His educational ideas were based on his belief that children should be respected and listened to, rather than shaped and trained to according to the wants of adults. In the orphanages children operated a "parliament," held court, and published a newspaper that was distributed as a supplement to a daily with a circulation of 60,000 copies in 1926.
As a children's advocate, Janusz Korczak spoke of the need for a Declaration of Children's Rights long before any such document was drawn up by the Geneva Convention or the United Nations General Assembly. Here is a link that compiles the rights Korczak envisaged as most important for children.
Janusz Korczak was killed in 1942 by the Nazis, during the Holocaust, together with the children he cared for.
http://fcis.oise.utoronto.ca/~daniel_schugurensky/assignment1/1912korczak.html
More information is being made available on the internet about Korczak, however, his writings are only partly accessible online. Let us hope more of his writings will be downloadable from the internet in the future.
Sunday, 7 October 2007
Children's voices in child protective proceedings - overview of 195 countries
The website has concise information about the law that relates to children's opinions in child protective proceedings in 195 countries together with relevant references. In many cases the information is provided in the original language with (sometimes unofficial) English translation.
The site also provides:
Which categorizes the countries by both mandatory and discretionary legal models.
Which provides a brief description of each country's child protective proceedings, explaining the way that children convey their opinions, where applicable.
From the website:
"Representing Children Worldwide is a research project which compiles information and resources on how children's voices are heard in child protective proceedings around the country and around the world in the year 2005. The website provides a summary of the practices of the 194 signatories to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child (UNCRC) with respect to this question, as well as background information on the jurisdiction's child protective practices and web resources and contact information for further research in this field.
Our research focuses particularly on how different countries' practices relate to Article 12 of the CRC, which guarantees children's right to express views freely in all matters concerning them, and particularly to be heard in all judicial and administrative proceedings that concern them. "
Saturday, 6 October 2007
Legislative History of the Convention on the Rights of the Child
Legislative History of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Volumes I and II.
By: United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and Save the Children Sweden (SCS). 2007, New York and Geneva: United Nations
In addition to the travaux preparatoires of the Convention on the Rights of the Child - produced by Sharon Detrick (which, unfortunately, has only been available in hard copy) there now is an extensive compilation of the legislative history of the Convention on the Rights of the Child written by Simone Ek who has been involved in the 10 year long drafting process of the CRC right from the start. Simone Ek compiled the proceedings of the debates during 1979–1987, which form the basis for the Legislative History of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The publication can be a support for governments, Convention states, UN organs, international voluntary organisations and universities in their work to make the Convention on the Rights of the Child easier to understand. The aim has been to explain the thinking behind the decisions. It also illuminates the important part that non-governmental organisations have played in this work
Find all the discussions on children's participation rights at pages 437 - 471.
Download PDF from:
http://www.scslat.org/web/noticias_detalle.php?id=I&tip=P&cod=267&are=7&sare=23&rgc=&srgc=&ani=
A hard copy can be obtained at SCS in Stockholm for 349 SEK exclusive postage.
http://shop.rb.se/Product/Product.aspx?ItemId=4882937
Sunday, 12 August 2007
The African Movement of Working Children and Youth
The AMWCY was set up in 1994. As of March 2007, the African Movement of Working Children and Youth had 80 associations, in as many as 64 towns of 20 African countries. It is made up of about 728 grassroots groups including more than 37,000 active members. Members include housemaids, girls who are vendors in the market, independent working children and youth in streets and markets, as well as female & male apprentices. 70% of members are below 18, and 53% of members are girls. More facts (in French) including all contact details of the associations can be found in the latest annual bulletin of the movement: "WCY face the challenge, volume 7".
The Working Children and Youth began by organising themselves in their working and living places. They set up associations in their own towns in order to strengthen their solidarity and also gain respect from authorities, as well as from communities. From 1996 onward, the AMWCY noted that the promotion of their rights should be fulfilled through concretisation.
Grassroots groups from the same town get together in Associations of WCYs (AWCY), in the same area. Several AWCY are often created in the same country. They form themselves into a National Association or into a National Coordination of AWCY.
During the African meetings of the AMWCY (every 2 years), these Associations or Coordinations elect a female or male delegate (below 18 years) who will represent them at the Regional Commission of the AMWCY which meets once a year.
The AMWCY has developed clear criteria to become a member of the movement (such as being active for at least one year, providing an annual report, and having an action plan). At present 20 associations are being considered to become members.
Activities of the Movement of Working Children and Youth
- Technical assistance
- Promotion of the rights
- Lobbying
- Fight against child trafficking
- Income Generating Activities (IGAs)
- Technical assistancePromotion of their rights
Promotion of these rights can be voiced through “information” and “implementation” activities. Information about the 12 rights is dispatched to the WCYs themselves, so they can be aware of them in order to be able to defend and promote those rights by themselves. This information also gets to the public through direct contacts, or via the media.
ENDA Jeunesse Action International
The Jeunesse Action team from ENDA Tiers Monde supports children living in difficult conditions. Its objectives are to strengthen children's organisation on the local, national and regional levels. They facilitate exchange, training and communication between organisations and supporting institutions that assist children living in difficult conditions in more than 60 towns in 20 African countries. The International Office in Dakar, coordinates the regional activities of the Calao Programme. It includes three working groups which are coordinated by a Committee made up of three persons in charge and of a regional coordinator.
WCY face the challenge is an annual news bulletin of the African Movement of Working Children and Youth published by Enda Tiers Monde, Jeunesse Action in Dakar. The editorial committee is made up of WCYs with the assistance form the Dakar Jeunesse Action team. In this bulletin, we find articles, interviews, impressions, portraits, poems, games, etc. produced by the WCYs and their supporting structures from Africa and Latin America. It is aimed at the general public, authorities, decision-makers informing them about the life, problems and daily fight WCYs go through.
“Calao Express” is a monthly electronic (through Email) news bulletin published by Enda Tiers Monde, Jeunesse Action in Dakar, which was first released in February 2005. At a click, one can get lots of information on WCYs activities, as well as their supporting institutions and NGOs and other organisations in Africa and worldwide in French, English, Portuguese, Italian and German.
Saturday, 11 August 2007
European Network of Masters in Children's Rights
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was agreed in 1989 and has been ratified by all European countries. Despite the commitment and intentions from state parties in Europe and different efforts from civil society, it has become evident that professional human resources dedicated to the development and promotion of children’s rights requires specialised education.
Higher university programmes are needed that promote:
- Adult attitudes that recognize children as subjects of rights
- Professional ethics that respect children as competent subjects
- Children’s rights to resources and participation in decision-making
The European Network of Masters on Children's Rights was founded in September 2004 in Berlin.
The initiative to create ENMCR came from the regional office for Latin America and the Caribbean of Save the Children Sweden (SCS) and individuals in Europe devoted to the promotion and realisation of children's rights.
ENMCR cooperates with the Latin American Network of Masters on Children’s Rights, a network of six universities that offer MA study programmes on childhood studies and children's rights in five Latin American countries.
The network aims to
- foster cooperation
- produce innovative knowledge
- promote learning between advanced programmes on children’s rights across European Universities.
The network brings together academics, researchers, NGOs, public agencies and students.
- Developing common resources such as virtual exchange, funding and scholarships, conferences and seminars
- Exchanging experiences in teaching and curriculum development
- Raising the profile of the field through disseminating information
- Staff and student exchange
- Exploring common research areas and developing joint student projects
- Cooperating with other networks
- Organisation of workshops, seminars, conferences.
- Conference Report: "Focus on Children in Migration- from a method and research perspective", Warsaw, 20-21 March 2007 (pdf 585 KB). Organised jointly with Save the Children, Sweden and the Separated Children in Europe Programme.
Friday, 10 August 2007
Useful Link: Childrights Information Network
Very informative and resourceful with dedicated sites to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Rightsbased programming, violence against children and Better Care Network.
An informative email newsletter (CRINMAIL) and extensive resource database.
The Child Rights Information Network (CRIN) is a global network that disseminates information about the Convention on the Rights of the Child and child rights amongst non-governmental organisations (NGOs), United Nations agencies, inter-governmental organisation (IGOs), educational institutions, and other child rights experts.
CRIN has a membership of more than 1,700 organisations in over 140 countries. Membership is free. About 85 percent of members are NGOs; and 65 percent are in Africa, Asia and Latin America. In addition to working with member organisations, CRIN services the information needs of 2500 organisations and individuals who have joined their mailing lists.
Information is arranged around the following themes: