CRINMAIL 75:
Children's Rights and the UPR
In this issue:
To view this CRINMAIL online, click here
The 12th session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) ended last week with the examination of the last 17 States; completing the first cycle of the mechanism under which every State's human rights record is examined by other States.
The session was followed by a conference organised by UPR-Info. Participants included States, UN agencies, National Human Rights Institutions and NGOs. All agreed that the new mechanism can only be deemed a success if implementation of the recommendations is carried out on the ground.
Are children's rights being addressed?
In November 2010, CRIN published "The Status of Children's Rights in the UPR", a comprehensive report examining the extent to which children's rights were addressed in the first 112 State reviews.
Last week, to coincide with the completion of the first cycle, CRIN produced a summary of the 2010 report, highlighting some of the key findings and presenting updated figures and some general recommendations for NGOs and others who wish to make use of the UPR.
Once the final set of UPR reports are adopted by the Council, a second edition report will be published drawing final conclusions from the entire first cycle.
Key findings of the research include:
- One in five mentions focus on children's rights: Approximately one fifth of all points made across the UPR process are children's rights focused, but is this really satisfactory given that children's rights are relevant to nearly every aspect of international human rights? Furthermore, the findings highlighted below raise concerns over which issues are being addressed adequately and which ones are not.
- States are avoiding more controversial issues: States tend to focus on, and accept, mostly recommendations on 'softer' issues, such as education and health, and neglect, or reject recommendations on more controversial issues, such as corporal punishment or juvenile justice.
- NGOs have an important role to play: NGOs lag behind UN bodies and UN Member States in the extent to which they address children's rights in the UPR. Indeed, with States shown to avoid the more controversial issues, NGOs have an important role to play to address the full spectrum of children's rights issues and ensure neglected issues are brought to the forefront of the agenda.
Full 2010 Report
Read: "The Status of Children's Rights in the UPR"
(In: English / Español / Francais)
Further Information:
UPR: An Introduction | Information and Advocacy Opportunities
"CRIN's Guide to using the UPR" | Latest news on the UPR
Full list of children's rights recommendations rejected in the UPR
CRIN's 192 Child Rights Reference Reports
(Includes extracts of child rights from every State review)
UPR-Info.org | ISHR.org | OHCHR.org
NGOs' UPR Experiences
As part of our research on the UPR, CRIN interviewed a number of children's rights organisations including national and International NGOs, Ombudspersons and academic bodies about their experiences engaging with all stages of the UPR process.
Key findings include:
- NGOs are still learning about the UPR: As the UPR differs from existing UN mechanisms in a number of ways, NGOs are, to an extent, still finding their feet.
- Two different perspectives: A clear distinction exists between those who engage at the Geneva level (primarily international NGOs) and those far from Geneva (national NGOs amongst others). Having a representative based in Geneva enables organisations to combine report submission with lobbying. For obvious reasons, this is often not an option for national NGOs.
- The UPR as an additional advocacy tool: A number of organisations alluded to the need to treat the UPR as an additional advocacy tool that complements their existing day to day work. The UPR was often seen as an 'enforcer' of existing advocacy work done in relation to the CRC, for instance.
- Wider benefits of engaging with the UPR: A number of internal and external benefits emerged from the survey, particularly national NGOs reporting how the UPR helps them build alliances with the wider human rights community.
Share your experiences
With the UPR being a fairly new mechanism, it is more important than ever for the children's rights community to work together and share information, from existing toolkits on approaching the various stages of the process, to examples of successful strategies, to raising awareness of coalitions, and so on.
CRIN and the NGO Group for the CRC are fulfilling some of these tasks, but more needs to be done. Contact us if you would like to participate (see contact details below).
Tips for NGO engagement
Based on NGO responses, CRIN produced a guide to assist NGOs in approaching all parts of the UPR process: from submitting reports, joining coalitions, lobbying and follow-up.
In addition, the NGO Group for the CRC has recently published two fact sheets to assist NGOs in using the UPR:
1. "The Universal Periodic Review: Information for NGOs"
2. "NGO Submission for the UPR: Information for NGOs"
Follow-up stage
As one NGO commented in the survey:
"The UPR is an ongoing process, it is not just about submitting a report. Furthermore, the key is to integrate the UPR process into your day to day advocacy work, to use it as another advocacy tool. It is not a stand alone instrument but will add to the artillery."
There are a number of ways to monitor progress on implementation, including:
- Monitor changes in policies and practice
Monitor steps taken by States to implement the recommendations following the review, paying close attention to changes in government policies and practices.
- Have a look at the mid-term progress reports
Some States have produced and disseminated voluntary mid-term reports, approximately two years after their review. These present an update on the measures taken to implement the outcomes of the review and particularly the recommendations.
- View the mid-term reports submitted by States
- Read CRIN's children's rights extract reports for the above
Second Cycle of Reviews
The Second Cycle of the UPR is scheduled to begin in May 2012, with States being reviewed in the same order as for the first cycle. States will be examined on the progress made in implementing the recommendations issued to them during the first review, and will be reviewed on human rights violations that have occurred between the first and the second review.
Changes to the format
Further to the Human Rights Council Review 2011, which assessed the work and functioning of all areas of the Council's work, a number of changes have been adopted on the UPR's format. Key ones include:
1. The period between reviews has lengthened from 4 to 4.5 years
2. The Working Group reviews have been extended to 3.5 hours.
3. A separate section in the Stakeholder compilation report will be attributed to the national human rights institution of the State under review.
Deadlines for Report Submissions
The deadlines for the 13th session of the UPR are as follows:
- 21 November 2011: Bahrain, Ecuador, Tunisia, Morocco, Indonesia, Finland and the United Kingdom.
- 28 November 2011: India, Brazil, Philippines, Algeria, Poland, Netherlands and South Africa.
UN Coverage
CRIN provides regular updates from the UN Human Rights Council on our HRC page, notably where children's rights are being discussed, but also in areas that children's rights should be placed on the agenda.
THE LAST WORD
"Implementation in the field will be the test of whether the UPR is a success or failure"
The Ambassador for Mexico addressing the conference to mark the end of the first cycle of reviews.
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