CRINMAIL CRC 16

23 July 2008 - CRINMAIL CRC 16

 

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This list provides specific information on the work of the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Updates are sent during CRC sessions and on an ad hoc basis. Please feel free to forward these updates to others who may be interested. To contribute, email us at [email protected].
If you do not receive this email in html format, you will not be able to see some hyperlinks in the text. At the end of each item we have therefore provided a full URL linking to a web page where further information is available.

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DAY OF GENERAL DISCUSSION 2008: Children's right to education in emergencies [event]

Date: 19 September 2008
Location: Geneva, Switzerland


**NGO Submissions now available below** (updated)

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The Committee on the Rights of the Child has decided to devote its next Day of General Discussion (DGD) to children's right to education in emergencies - articles 28 and 29 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The meeting will be held at the Palais Wilson in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday, 19 September 2008 from 10:00-18:00. Read the full outline.

The purpose of the Days of General Discussion is to foster a deeper understanding of the contents and implications of the Convention in relation to specific articles or topics. After the discussion the Committee adopts recommendations, taking into account the issues raised.

The right to education is set out in articles 28 and 29 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child as well as in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and a number of other international instruments. The 2008 Day of General Discussion is intended to provide States and other actors with more comprehensive guidance as to their obligations to promote and protect the right to education as outlined in articles 28 and 29.

Representatives of Governments, United Nations human rights mechanisms, United Nations bodies and specialised agencies, non-governmental organisations, national human rights institutions, children and experts are welcome to take part.

Participants will split into two working groups to discuss the issue (please see the outline for more details on the two working groups and their respective sub-themes):

Working Group 1: Continuation and/or reconstruction of the educational system

Working Group 2: Content and quality of education provided for children in emergency situations

NGO contributions
NGOs and children were invited to submit written contributions on the themes mentioned above to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR. The deadline for submission has, however, now passed. Oral contributions from NGOs are also welcome during the day itself but should be limited to interventions in the debate rather than formal statements. Guidelines and additional information are available here: http://www.crin.org/docs/guidelines_DGG_08.doc

NGO submission are posted below.

Registration
For security reasons and due to limited space, attendance at the meeting requires advance registration. The registration deadline is now passed.

More information
Secretariat, Committee on the Rights of the Child
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Email: [email protected]

If you have any questions about NGO contributions, contact Lisa Myers:
NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child
Email: [email protected]

Other information

**SUBMISSIONS**

 

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DID YOU KNOW?

  • You can find all Alternative Reports submitted to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, and all Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee, in one place. Visit: http://www.crin.org/docs/resources/treaties/crc.25/annex-vi-crin.asp
  • You can search Alternative Reports, for example based on country or date of session, here. You can also find a guide to reporting here
  • There is another page where you can search all CRC documentation, for example Concluding Observations, State party reports, reports to the Day of General Discussion….you can search by various means, such as country, region and language. Visit or bookmark

  • CRIN has established a child rights database. You can find information factsheets on child rights systems, for example on different parts of the UN or the Inter-American Commisssion. Click here. See, for instance, our information page on the Committee on the Rights of the Child
  • A team of pro bono lawyers are working on child rights analyses for different countries. So far, you can read reports for England and Wales, Sweden and South Africa

  • There is a special CRC news page devoted to…you guessed it…news about the Committee’s work and the Convention. You can visit or bookmark here
  • To find out about a specific Committee session, all on one page, you need to visit our events page. For example, see information on the 48th session
  • If you are confused by some of the jargon around the UN’s work, visit our A to Z of child rights.
  • Have you heard about the campaign to establish a complaints procedure under the CRC? Be part of it here

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COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: India and Singapore begin work on shadow reports [news]

More than 200 people representing a cross-section of individuals and organisations working with children met to discuss Singapore’s progress in the promotion and protection of children’s rights.

The meeting, moderated by Singapore's Institute of Policy Studies Director Ambassador Ong Keng Yong, involved policy-makers from various government agencies, students, educators, social workers, medical and other professionals, and volunteers working with children.

They gave and exchanged views on a draft report that Singapore is preparing for final submission to the Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva later this month.

The participants touched on issues such as the provision for better protection of children, efforts to improve child development outcomes, education, and enhanced standards and practices for early childhood development in Singapore.

State Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Yu-Foo Yee Shoon said at the meeting that Singapore’s success in furthering children’s rights was a result of strong people, and public and private sector commitment to the creation of an enabling environment for children to grow and flourish as individuals.

She said it was a distinctive formula of collective responsibility in the best interests of their children which had served them well.

The meeting was jointly organised by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, the National Council of Social Service, and the Singapore Children’s Society.

Singapore has been a signatory to the UNCRC since October 1995. As State Party to the convention, it is obligated to provide periodic updates on key developments promoting and protecting the rights of children.

India prepares

Indian NGOs are also preparing their country assessment report, parallel to the government report which will soon be submitted to the UN committee.

Academics, experts and NGOs from different disciplines, spanning health, education and panchayats, met in the city to assess the progress of children in the context of the Convention.

While the government is doing a report from 2004 to 2007, the NGOs' report will span a five-year period from between 2002 to 2007. Information is being sourced from government data, NGO reports and grassroots experiences. The government periodic report is due for submission this month.

Prof. A. Kundu of Jawaharlal Nehru University commented that a large number of young people from ages 14 to 20 are going into employment although they are semi-literate and illiterate. In a globalising economy, these people needed skill training.

Prof. Kundu felt that the Indian definition of poverty should be broadened to go beyond consumption and include infant mortality, maternal mortality and access to basics like water and health.

NGOs from Rajasthan complained about the large number of children who were being employed in the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

A large number of children participated in the deliberations and their concerns will be included in the audit.

[Sources: www.bernama.com; www.asianage.com]

Further information

 

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=17904

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