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Summary: [GENEVA, 16 September 2005] ā A discussion day on children without parental care, organised by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child opened today at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and attracted some 250 participants from civil society organisations, government departments and young people.
Ā [GENEVA, 16 September 2005] ā A discussion day on children without parental care, organised by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child opened today at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and attracted some 250 participants from civil society organisations, government departments and young people. Ā For more information and to view submissions to the General Day of Discussion, visit: http://www.crin.org/docs/resources/treaties/crc.40/Discussion.asp
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Ms Rosa Maria Ortiz, Member of the Committee on the Rights of the Child highlighted the importance of the family in childrenās lives as the natural environment promoting the growth and development of the child and as a provider of protection and assistance. She explained that the Convention on the Rights of the Child states that alternative care should be provided to children without such parental care, but the Committee often observed that there was a lack of precise guidelines for providing adequate care.
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She added that there was a need for international guidelines on children without parental care as there was an increase in the number of children around the world who are growing up without parents because of phenomena such as conflict, violence, natural disasters, poverty, etc.
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Ms Ortiz then raised a few issues that should be taken into account during the discussion day, and enumerated suggested principles for future international standards on children without parental care, including: trying to prevent family break up, avoiding institutional care, looking at the issue case by case, developing clear and practical policies complying with the childās needs, ensuring that foster care solutions are regularly monitored and assessed, respecting the opinion of the child, ensuring sufficient funding to enable efficient measures to be taken, etc.
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Emmanuel Sherwin, Chairperson of the Youth Committee, International Foster Care Organisation opened his presentation by explaining that as someone who had spent 12 years in foster care, he had set up a youth care organisation in Ireland, and had supported other young people to set up similar orgnisations. He was subsequently voted as Director of the Youth Committee, an international non governmental organisation.
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He explained that the voices of children living in care are rarely heard, and society fails them because of their minority status. Furthermore they lack basic information about their status and are given no choices as to their situations. āWe need international standards from the only agency that can make standards bite, the United Nationsā he repeated,
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āResidential care is a great place to call home, I know, I was thereā, Sherwin said, but all policies must take childrenās views into account. Dogmatic national laws should make way for cultural and social space; children who are placed in care should be given choices regarding education and religion. He agreed that all efforts should be made to avoid family separation in the first place, and finally, services and support should be available for young people leaving care as they are often not equipped to cope in the real the world on their own, āleaving care is like being pushed off a cliffā he said.
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Ms Annachiara Cerri of the Council of Europe (COE) described some of the instruments the Council makes use of with regards to protecting children without parental care. These instruments, she explained, are being increasingly used to address childrenās rights. Recently, the heads of States of the COE also launched a three year Programme of Action, which addresses issues such as education, children and violence, supports States to implement and develop legal protection for children against all forms of violence, and asserts children as rights holders.
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Mr Bragi Gudbrandsson, COE, further described some of the work of the Council, with particular focus on a COE recommendation to tackle prevention and compliance of States to this recommendation. He explained that this recommendation could be seen as an attempt to operationalise the CRC into the institutional framework and transform basic principles into institutional settings. It is divided into three main parts: first of all the Basic Principles which look at all out of home placements, with an added emphasis on prevention and support for families. The second part refers to specific rights of children living in institutions, such as the right to an identity, the right for siblings to stay together, the right to privacy, the right to be informed, etc. Finally, the third part looks at guidelines and quality standards for institutions.
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In closing, he said he welcomed the Committee on the Rights of the Childās call for guidelines, but also added that this was not enough and there was a need for stronger tools. As more and more children around the world are being placed in institutional care, he suggested consideration be given to having an optional protocol dealing with this particular issue.
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Alexandra Yuster, Senior Adviser, Child Protection, UNICEF, reminded participants that the right of children growing up in a safe and protected family environment was one of the underlying principles of the CRC, however many children did not enjoy this first line of defence. She brought attention to the plight of children living outside any form of care, such as children living on the streets, children who are trafficked or separated from their parents or carers because of armed conflicts or natural disasters, etc.
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Finally she pointed to some flaws within institutional settings, such as poor living conditions, little or no access to basic services and inadequately trained staff.Ā Furthermore, she said that many placements could be avoided, as parents sometimes place their children in care because of their financial situation.
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Participants then divided into two working groups: the first one to look at the Stateās role in preventing and regulating separation, including practical measures, efficacy of prevention measures and legal and other mechanism. The second working group will look at meeting the challenges of the out-of-home care provision, including conditions and safeguards to make sure placements comply with childrenās rights, monitoring mechanisms, and ways to support informal foster care and monitoring the wellbeing of children who are in such care systems.