24 September 2007 - CRINMAIL CRC 12: Special Edition on the Day of General Discussion 2007
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DAY OF GENERAL DISCUSSION 2007: Resources for the Rights of the Child - Responsibility of States [report]
UN COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: A reflection on this year's theme [news]
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DAY OF GENERAL DISCUSSION 2007: Resources for the Rights of the Child - Responsibility of States [report]
[GENEVA, 21 September 2007] - The Committee on the Rights of the Child held its General Day of Discussion on Friday 21 September. The subject was "Resources for the Rights of the Child – Responsibility of States" (article 4). After initial presentations, the meeting split into two groups to discuss the "use of resources to the maximum extent" and "available resources and their allocation to children."
Ms Yanghee Lee, Committee Chairperson, opened the meeting by emphasising that the inclusion of the provision is essential to the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The meaning of ‘maximum extent’ and ‘available resources’ would be central to the discussions, she said.
She added: “We must bear in mind it is the responsibility of States to implement economic, social and cultural rights.”
Mr Kamal Siddiqui, Member of the Committee of the Rights of the Child, began the presentations. He said: “We are concerned not just with financial resources, but human and organisational too.”
Consideration of resources must be qualitative, as well as quantitative, he said.
Mr Siddiqui pointed out that when States sign the Convention, they must cooperate internationally as well as taking national responsibility. He spoke of a number of factors which he considered integral to the question of allocation of State resources, including political will, the system of taxation, and international cooperation.
“A strong political will does not exist in a vacuum,” he said.
Issues such as military expenditure, independent tracking, the involvement of civil society and, particularly, the question of whether there had been genuine consultation with children, were crucial.
Regarding the use of resources to the maximum extent, he also listed several factors which would be of prime importance including: whether targeting has taken place to ensure resources go to the most marginalised groups, such as girls; whether there is coordination among service providers and beneficiaries; whether there is an effort to implement low cost solutions; and whether there is regular and independent monitoring regarding how resources are being used.
Mr Patrick Reichenmiller, of the World Bank, then spoke on behalf of Ms Iqbal Kaur, Social Protection Specialist in the Middle East and North Africa, World Bank, who was unable to attend due to flight delays.
“Its needless to rationalise the importance of investing in children”, he began, adding the World Bank was committed to supporting the agenda. He said he intended to highlight the emphasis the World Bank places on children, while stressing the need for collective action that is “participatory, transparent and accountable.”
Although significant progress was being made, most of the Millennium Development Goals relating to children will not be met, Mr Reichenmiller said. He went on to describe how children and youth form a core part of the human and social development policies at the World Bank. He said collaborations with UNICEF and the ILO had been very constructive.
Ms Lee said she hoped the meeting could be the start of a close relationship between the World Bank and the Committee.
Mr Eibe Riedel, Member of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ECOSOC) then took the floor.
“It is an honour to be here on a topic that really matters”, he said.
He spoke of the importance of the words ‘to take steps’, which suggests long term aims which do not burden the State with immediate expectations. However, he said, all rights contain certain key elements which must be honoured without delay, for example non-discrimination.
Another key feature is the non-retrogression of provisions, Mr Riedel added. He said State parties must at all times guarantee the minimum rights such as access to housing, health, and basic education.
The modalities of achieving these target rests with States, and “there is no one recipe for the realisation of rights”, he said. “There must be a country by country approach.”
The issue of resource allocation has remained controversial, not least because of some vague language used in the CRC, Mr Reidel said, although he added this was the only way the provisions could be adopted.
He cautioned: “Resource constraints alone cannot justify inaction. State parties must say what they have nevertheless done to improve the situation. Even the least developed states can begin elementary protection of rights.” Where, for example, there has been an natural disaster such as the Tsuanami, the State has an obligation to seek international assistance.
He concluded by saying the Committee supports the States to take the approach most appropriate to that State. Some say this too easy for the States, but the Committee always looks at whether the States have taken sufficient steps in general. “There are limits to State discretion”, he said.
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UN COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: A reflection on this year's theme [news]
The article below was contributed by Rosa Maria Ortiz, Member of the Committee on the Rights of the Child.
[GENEVA, 20 September 2007] – As part of its work, the Committee on the Rights of the Child discusses and promotes debate on aspects of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, particularly those that impede States from implementing the Convention. To achieve this, it promotes an annual Day of General Discussion on a particular theme of the Convention. This year it looked at the resources of States, including international cooperation, and their use - to the maximum extent - for implementing children’s economic, social and cultural rights.
Through the Committee’s dialogue with States Parties, it has gained an understanding of the efforts made by States in terms of legislative, administrative and other types of measures they have taken to comply with the Convention. New laws have been passed and various kinds of institutions have been established. These include national child rights institutions, special courts for children and young people and central adoption authorities. Policies which address children and national, regional and local plans of action have been created through a participatory process which has involved children.
However, in many cases plans of action are only implemented at a superficial level. The reason most States present to the Committee for this is that they do no have sufficient resources to fully implement these plans. Many States Parties are frustrated that they have made such efforts only to be told they are still not fulfilling children’s rights.
The Committee has observed, however, that a lack of resources is not always the reason that these policies and national plans are not implemented, but rather that resources are not adequately allocated to child rights. The Committee has noted a lack of coordination on the part of States in using the resources assigned for children. They are not always allocated towards implementing the Plans of Action. Instead, the allocation of resources, including those for international cooperation, can actively go against these plans: for example, when large amounts of money are spent on building prisons for young people in conflict with the law, without taking into account that there is a law which prioritises socio-educational measures for children and young people. Another example is when institutions are built for children from poor families when the Convention and plans of action prioritise giving support to families to bring up their children.
The Committee emphasises the need to work with States to help implement the provisions of article 4 of the Convention and the concepts of “available resources” and their “use to the maximum extent”. It also considers it necessary to discuss the concept of progressive implementation. This is sometimes misinterpreted in the sense that economic, social and cultural rights do not impose on States the obligation of implementing their provisions immediately.
The Committee decided to devote this Day of General Discussion to article 4 because of an obvious need to make detailed recommendations to States Parties on this issue. In making this decision, it also considered the best interests of the child, the principles of non-discrimination and participation in economic and social plans of action, and investment in social services which guarantee children’s economic, social and cultural rights.
One hundred and twenty participants registered to take part. The secretariat of the Committee received many outstanding and original written contributions from around the world, focusing on a range of aspects from technical considerations of the article’s implementation to rights-based approaches. Adults and children have discussed the topic in different regions. Specialised agencies also showed great interest in and participated in the discussion. Children from Peru and Nicaragua sent videos with their contributions to the discussion.
The Committee hopes that this discussion will help advance the understanding of all actors involved of States obligations in relation to children’s economic, social and cultural rights, both conceptually and practically. The contributions to the Day of General Discussion are essential to assist in its work in issuing Concluding Observations and recommendations to States parties, which will help them to overcome the obstacles which are today impeding children from fully enjoying their rights.
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