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[FLORENCE, December 2004] - The "Study of the Impact of the Implementation
of the Convention on the Rights of the Child" (CRC) developed by the UNICEF
Innocenti Research Centre aims to promote the universal realisation of
children's rights by documenting, analysing and reflecting on positives
experiences, together with challenges to the implementation of the CRC.
There are 62 countries that are under review in the study. They were chosen
to represent all regions of the world, and to capture the rich experience of
both the north and the south. All these countries have reported twice to the
Committee on the Rights of the Child.
These are 62 countries that are genuinely grappling with enormous
challenges. Certainly, progress is uneven among states, particularly in
ensuring compatibility between national law and the CRC, the efficacy of
co-ordinating mechanisms, the preparation and implementation of national
plans of action, and the provision of adequate financial and human resources
for children. Just as much can be learned from the successes, so too the
challenges are revealing. These will receive greater focus as the study
unfolds into its second phase.
At the completion of this first phase of the study, findings point to some
observable trends to celebrate, and anticipate areas where future efforts
will be required. A critical process of law reform has been set in motion:
- The CRC has been incorporated into the domestic law of more than half of
the countries studied
- Nearly one third of the countries studied incorporated important
provisions on the rights of the child into their constitutions
- Codes or comprehensive laws on children have been adopted by nearly half
of the countries whose laws have been reviewed in this study
- High level political commitment has been critical to moving the process of
law reform but social chance has been sustained only when such commitment is
complemented by comprehensive legal review, effective law enforcement, and
when the processes of reflection and reform have been resourced and
ultimately internalised at all levels of society
- Civil society engagement in developing and implementing law has been
important to promoting behavioural change and creating a 'culture of human
rights for children'
Independent national institutions for children's rights have been
established:
- There has been an acceleration of the development of national institutions
for children's rights over the last fifteen years, reflecting State Parties
commitment to CRC implementation
- There are more than 60 individual independent human rights institutions
for children in at least 38 states around the world - they constitute a
critical pillar of a global movement to implement the CRC
- The most rapid spread of independent children's rights institutions is in
Europe - present in 27 states; five states with these institutions exist in
Latin America, there is one ombudsperson in the Mauritius and a special
commissioner for children's rights in South Africa. The Commission on Human
Rights of the Philippines is the first national institute in Asia to have a
special child rights centre
- There is enhanced co-operation among and between these institutions,
including in Europe where a network of ombudspeople for children started in
1997; and with a nascent network in Latin America
- With the UN Special Session on Children, independent children rights
institutions from all regions joined in a global network, to enhance their
advocacy role in favour of the realisation of children's rights and to
support the further development of national independent institutions around
the world
- No longer a tentative movement, strength will be gained from rigorous
evaluation, including by children and young people themselves, to inform and
strengthen existing institutions and help in the formation of new ones
National Governmental mechanisms have been developed for the co-ordination
of policy action on children and to follow implementation of the CRC:
- At the entry into force of the CRC very little attention had been given to
co-ordination of child related activities; over the last 15 years an
increasing number of co-ordinating mechanisms has been established to
support the implementation of the CRC
- Some co-ordinating mechanisms have been prominently placed, in some cases
in the office of the President, or Prime Minister, signifying the political
importance placed on children and their rights
- In spite of progress made, implementation is often confronted with
fragmented sectoral action, insufficient convergence between economic and
social policies, and frequent lack of involvement of departments responsible
for planning and finance, resulting in an insufficient allocation of
resources for children
- Articulation across departments and co-ordination between central and
sub-national authorities have often remained weak, compromising the ability
to narrow prevailing disparities and to fight marginalisation of most
vulnerable groups of children.
The study thus far demonstrates that a process of social change has been set
in motion - at least in part by the CRC - and this needs further
consolidation.
Additional research is needed to more comprehensively evaluate the impact of
the CRC, and as this study moves into its second phase a richer overview of
the effectiveness of CRC implementation is foreshadowed.
For more information, contact:
UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre Piazza SS. Annunziata, 12,
50122 Florence, Italy Tel: + 39 055 20330; Fax: + 39 055 244817
Email: florence@unicef.org Website: http://www.unicef-icdc.org
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