14 February 2006 CRINMAIL 754
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DISABILITY CONVENTION: Outcome of 7th session of the Ad Hoc Committee [news]
HAITI: Elections Offer Hope but Children Struggle Daily [news]
CHILD RIGHTS: MA Sociology of Childhood and Children's Rights [course]
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS: Youth Campaign Kit [toolkit]
UNITED KINGDOM: Building a Research Agenda [event]
CHILD RIGHTS: Training Materials [resource]
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Your submissions are welcome if you are working in the area of child rights. To contribute, email us at [email protected].
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- DISABILITY CONVENTION: Outcome of 7th session of the Ad Hoc Committee [news]
[8 February 2006] - The Seventh session of the Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities took place from 16 January to 3 February in New York. More than 400 representatives from governments and leading disability organisations from around the world attended the session. The International Disability Caucus (IDC), the umbrella group for disability organisations, played a crucial lobbying role.
The aim of the 7th Ad Hoc Committee meeting was to conclude a draft text of the Convention in order to submit it to the General Assembly for its adoption in 2006. Although the final draft is still not agreed on, considerable progress has been made, and the Chair of the Committee, Ambassador Don McKay (New Zealand), said that the text should be finalised at the 8th session of the Ad Hoc Committee, due to take place from 14-25 August 2006.
For the first time, six children and young people with disabilities addressed the Commission on 18 January, urging participants to address the exclusion and neglect of an estimated 150-200 million children with disabilities around the world. The six young people, (representatives of Save the Children) from Bangladesh, China and the United Kingdom, reminded delegates that "living in a world which does not value everyone equally is to live in a world which dehumanises everyone."
The Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee has now published a revised text of the Convention, based on the negotiations that took place at the 7th meeting. From the perspective of children, very real progress has been achieved at this session. In summary, the changes that have now been introduced include:
- Preamble:
Recognition of the full human rights of children with disabilities.
- Article 3: General Principles
Respect for the evolving capacities of children (and the right to preserve their identity, which was proposed by the Russian Federation, although appeared to attract little other support).
- Article 4: General Obligations
When introducing legislation or policies which affect persons with disabilities, governments must also consult with children with disabilities through their representative organisations.
- Article 7: Children with disabilities (may be moved to Article 4)
Measures to ensure the enjoyment of all rights by children with disabilities; requirement to consider their best interests; recognition of the right to express their views on an equal basis with other children, and State obligation to provide them with the necessary support to realise that right.
- Article 8: Awareness raising
Measures to combat gender and age stereotypes.
- Article 13: Access to justice
Requirement to provide age appropriate accommodations to ensure access to justice.
- Article 16: Freedom from exploitation, violence and abuse
Age and gender sensitive assistance to prevent violence; protection services to be age and gender sensitive; and effective gender and child specific legislation and policies to ensure that exploitation, violence and abuse are identified, investigated and where appropriate, prosecuted.
- Article 18: Liberty of movement and Nationality
Right to birth registration.
- Article 23: Respect for home and the family
Recognition of equal rights of children to family life; support for families to prevent concealment, abandonment, neglect and segregation; and requirement, where children cannot live with immediate families, to provide care within the wider family or community.
- Article 30: Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport
Requirement to ensure that children with disabilities have equal access to participation in play, recreation, leisure and sporting activities.
- Article 33: National implementation and monitoring
Implementation must take into account gender and age specific issues.
There are some specific proposals that Save the Children, within the International Disability Caucus (IDC), were pressing for, and which have not been included, namely:
- prohibition on sterilisation of children
- prohibition on institutionalising children on the basis of their disability - however, IDC have managed to get strong language in Article 23 on support for families to prevent segregation, and an obligation to provide alternative care in the community
- specific obligation to ensure that all children's services are accessible and available for children with disabilities - the Chair would probably argue that this is covered by provisions in Article 19 which require that community services are available on an equal basis with others.
The issue of whether or not a stand alone article on children with disabilities will be retained will be decided at the 8th session. However, even if the current text of Article 7 is moved to Article 4, General Obligations, the Chair has made it clear that nothing in the present text of Article 7 should be lost.
Overall, this is a positive outcome for the rights of children with disabilities. Most of the Save the Children (IDC) recommendations for amendments to the text have been agreed in principle. This revised text means that children with disabilities are now visible in the text and that the key issues that affect them, other than sterilisation, have been addressed.
[Source: Gerison Lansdown]
Regular news updates on disability issues and the drafting of the Convention
Revised text of the Convention
Save the Children Report on progress in recognising the rights of children with disabilities at the 7th Ad Hoc Committee meeting
Information on young people's participation
Information on the 7th Committee meeting and background documents
Information on the 8th Committee meeting
UN website on the Disability Convention
Report of the Thematic Group on Violence against Disabled Children for the UN Secretary General's Report on Violence against Children
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- HAITI: Elections Offer Hope but Children Struggle Daily [news]
[GENEVA, 10 February 2006] - Political instability, chronic poverty and lack of protection are just some of the challenges facing children in Haiti, whose lives are a daily struggle. The elections may offer some hope for change as a necessary step to put in place policies that protect the rights of children. But elections alone will do little in addressing Haiti's social and development challenges if more support from the international community is not provided.
Recurrent crises, weak state institutions and limited access to food and social services have left 3 out of 4 of the 3.8 million children under the age of 18 vulnerable, deprived of basic services and victims of violence, exploitation and abuse. Child mortality rates in Haiti are the worst in the Americas and in rural and urban areas alike, cost and distance to facilities are barriers to receiving much-needed healthcare.
Violence prevents humanitarian organisations from delivering basic services, especially in some metropolitan areas. In Port-au-Prince, children roam the street as part of armed gangs. In addition, Haiti's HIV prevalence rate remains the highest in the region, with 45,000 AIDS-related deaths each year. At least 200,000 children have been orphaned by AIDS.
UNICEF has requested an additional US $5.9 million in its annual Humanitarian Action Report to increase immunisation levels, provide more protection against violence and exploitation, and to improve emergency preparedness in a country routinely hit by natural disasters.
UNICEF and other agencies have also supported a Policy Agenda for Children. It highlights the plight of the country's children, but also sets out an emergency plan of action. 23 candidates signed on to the agenda prior to voting day. The plan of action calls for specific standards in child protection, education, child and maternal health as well as HIV/AIDS.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=7262&flag=news
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- CHILD RIGHTS: MA Sociology of Childhood and Children's Rights [course]
A Master's Degree in Childhood Studies, based on the sociology of childhood and children's rights, is running for the third year at the Institute of Education, University of London.
The course aims to: introduce participants to the range of current theories about childhood and the practical issues of promoting children's rights; critically explore the social construction of childhood, and the implications this has had, and continues to have, for professional practice with children; enable participants to take account of children's interests, views and rights, and understand the complex relationships between the protection, provision and participation rights defined by the UN Convention.
Application deadline: October 2006
For more information, contact:
Virginia Morrow, School of Early Childhood and Primary Education
Institute of Education, University of London, 20 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AL, UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 7612 6588; Fax: +44 (0)20 7612 6466
Email: [email protected]
Website
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=7222&flag=event
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- MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS: Youth Campaign Kit [toolkit]
TakingITGlobal, in partnership with the Global Youth Action Network (GYAN) and the United Nations Millennium Campaign, has created an online toolkit which includes an action guide, brochures, fundraising guidelines, a sample press release, sample letters to a government representative, stickers, bookmarks, and postcards.
This free information and guidance is designed to support young people who wish to use their voice to raise awareness about and advocate for the need to take action to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in communities around the world. The goal is to spur young people to get involved.
For more information contact:
TakingITGlobal
19 Duncan Street, Suite 505, Toronto, Ontario, M5H 3H1, Canada
Tel: +1 (416) 977 9363; Fax: +1 (416) 352 1898
Email: [email protected]
Website
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infodetail.asp?id=7213
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- UNITED KINGDOM: Building a Research Agenda [event]
Date: 31 March 2006
Location: Leeds, UK
A one day conference will be held at the end of March to launch the newly formed Families, Life Course and Generations (FLAG) Centre, which is based in the Leeds Social Sciences Institute, Beech Grove House, University of Leeds UK.
This conference will provide an opportunity to present and discuss theory, research and ideas stimulated by the Green Paper 'Every Child Matters' and the subsequent Children Act, 2004, which represents a new way of thinking about childhood and the relationship between the state, families and children.
The aim is to explore the implications of this major policy shift using the 'five outcomes' which form the central theme for the Act: being healthy, staying safe, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution, economic well-being. The conference will commence with a keynote from Di McNeish, of Barnardo's and will be followed by the five themed workshops.
For more information, contact:
Centre for Research on Family, Lifecourse and Generations (FLAG)
Beech Grove House, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
Email: [email protected]
Website
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=7251&flag=event
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-CHILD RIGHTS: Training Materials [resource]
The Child Rights Information Network (CRIN) is compiling a set of training materials for CRIN members, NGOs and all those working on child rights issues: law enforcement officers, lawyers, social workers, teachers etc. We are interested in materials on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child but also in thematic, regional or national training materials.
Suggestions are welcome. If there are any useful resources that you would like to publicise, please email: [email protected].
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=7244&flag=report
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