Convention on the Rights of the Child: Summary Report of the Impact Study

   
 


 
   
   
   
 
 


[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