Submitted by crinadmin on
Chairperson's message The global environment for children continues to be affected by the increasing polarisation between powers as an effect of the continued war on terror. The discharge of child rights is not an immediate priority for the powers of today and we see a persistent neglect of some issues concerning children. This is in particular the case for issues related to juvenile justice. We receive alarming information, which unfortunately is not given the serious attention it should by governments and authorities in charge of children and adolescents targeted for disciplinary actions. Another urgent issue concerning children is the increasing violence against children and it is with great expectations that we are looking forward to the Report on the UN Study on Violence Against Children. In view of all the issues concerning children that are still neglected and would need more attention, it is on the other hand worth noticing that we see a growing awareness of approaching children’s issues from a child rights perspective. This approach, commonly known as the rights based perspective, is fundamental in the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The concern for involving children in issues that concerns them is now high on the agenda of many NGOs involved in the implementation of the CRC. The ethical implications of involving children as one of the fundamental child rights, needs however to be kept open for reflections and analysis to assure that the involvement of children is done in an ethical way and that it serves its basic purpose and does not merely become a sign of tokenism and satisfaction for the adult world. It is with pleasure that we note a continued resilience of NGOs working in cooperation for the promotion of child rights. The network involved in the NGO Group is constantly trying to find ways to mobilise joint resources and common agendas in the promotion and implementation of the CRC. NGOs have forcefully expressed a major thrust towards ascertaining a renewed commitment to the Millennium Development Goals, which to a certain extent has resulted in the over-shadowing of the World Fit For Children commitments. Governments need to be reminded of the promises made to children and the seriousness by which the goals and the commitments need to be attended to. We have recently experienced the attempt to reform of the much discredited Human Rights Commission and jointly identified the challenge child rights NGOs face in the uncertainty of the new Human Rights Council. It is not evident which degree of recognition that will be given to the Rights of the Child in the new human rights set-up. Mobilisation of input and lobbying with governments is currently on the agenda of the NGO Group. A similar potential threat might the discussions in OHCHR on the creation of a unified standing treaty body provide. There might be a risk of downgrading the attention to child rights and the mainstreaming of child rights in the human rights system. With this brief sketching of some of the trends today, it has without questioning become even more necessary to focus the energy of the NGO child rights community on advocacy and specific strategic actions in order to strengthen the NGO Group’s commitment to forging ahead for the advancement of child rights through a comprehensive implementation of the CRC and accountability by those responsible for the implementation.