Submitted by crinadmin on
Summary: Statement delivered on behalf of 16 organisations at the 13 th session of the HRC. See below for details.
Thank you Mr President. Mr President, This statement is delivered on behalf of the International Save the Children Alliance and other 16 International NGOs. We are pleased to welcome Ms Marta Santos Pais and her first report to this Council. The right to be heard and the right to live free from all forms of violence are inseparable. The UN Study on Violence against Children has exposed the scandalous levels of violence inflicted on children, in every continent of the world. Some traditional attitudes about the nature of children and childhood are harmful and hold back progress – an observation made consistently by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in its reviews of State Party progress in implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and in its General Comment on the right to be heard (2009). Child protection is not separate from children's human rights – it is the same thing. Using the framework of the CRC to protect children's human dignity and mental and physical integrity ensures all aspects of children's well-being are considered; that children are respected as individual people; and that international norms govern what is done with and for children. Children's participation is clearly defined within the CRC and other human rights instruments. It concerns matters affecting children as individuals, as well as collectively. Every child in contact with child protection services should hear clearly that their wishes and feelings count and that no one has the right to harm them. A child protection system that fails to deliver these messages does not have the interests and rights of children at its heart. Within the follow up on the UN Study recommendations, there are actions that can be taken to substantially increase children's participation in violence prevention and protection. None of these are unrealistic. Mr President, may I be allowed to direct the following questions to the Special Representative on Violence against Children? - how do you intend to monitor the implementation of the recommendation nr 7 of the UN Study for countries to support children participation in violence prevention and protection? - How can children's participation in violence prevention and protection be sustained over time? Thank you *Joint statement on behalf of International Save the Children Alliance, African Child Policy Forum*, Children’s Villages International, Child Rights Information Network*, Child Helpline International*, Consortium for Street Children, Defence for Children International, Foundation ECPAT International, International Alliance of women, International Catholic Child Bureau, Myochikai (Arigatou Foundation), NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child*, Plan International, Terre des Hommes International Federation, War Child Holland*, Women’s World Summit Foundation – WWFS – Children’s section, World Vision International