Save the Children’s UPR advocacy:

making children’s rights children’s reality

Davinia Ovett Bondi, Advocacy Manager, Child Rights Governance Global Initiative (CRGI), Save the Children

61st Westminster Seminar Session 17: Parliament and NGOs, London, 8 March 2012

Save the Children is the world’s leading independent children’s organisation.

We work in 120 countries, through Save the Children’s members and partners, to provide support and achieve change in children’s lives.

Who are we?

In 2011, Save the Children reached out to 100 million children through our programmes in health, nutrition, education, protection and child rights and responded to over 30 emergencies.

What do we do?

Save the Children envisages a world that respects, protects and fulfils children’s rights.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) is the foundation of our work.

Common vision

Child rights governance is good governance:

Responsibility - to citizens, including children, in delivering services (health, education, nutrition, protection, etc)

Responsiveness and transparency - in decision-making processes

Equity - reaching the most vulnerable children Inclusion and participation - children as agents of change Accountability - for actions or inactions

What is Child Rights Governance?

Advocate for, support and strengthen structures and systems that institutionalise child rights governance

Enhance the knowledge, skills and willingness of government and civil society to monitor, implement and promote child rights

What does Save the Children’s Child Rights Governance Global Initiative (CRGI) do?

Photo: Anna Kåri

Save the Children promotes Child Rights Governance through 3 sub-themes:

1. Child Rights Monitoring 2. Strengthening National Systems

3. Building awareness and capacity

UN human rights reporting: Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

Legislation and national strategies

Child rights education for children and their communities

Resources: budget allocations

Children’s ombudspersons/ independent institutions

Capacity-building of professionals (judges, lawyers, social workers)

Documentation and monitoring: disaggregated data collection

Child-friendly administration and services

Capacity-building of civil society organisations (CSOs)

Effective structures and coordination

International peer-review mechanism

Covers all human rights, including child rights

Political pressure through UPR recommendations can be used as an additional tool to leverage child rights at national level to achieve legislative reform, policy reform and budget allocations

Universal Periodic Review (UPR):

Save the Children support for UPR reporting:

Capacity-building of child-led groups/ communities/ CSOs on using UPR

Support in drafting stakeholder submissions Advocacy support and coordination at the national

and international level Follow-up and implementation

Child Rights Monitoring:Universal Periodic Review (UPR) reporting

UPR 1st cycle (2008-2011):

Save the Children supported submission/advocacy on 31 countries

Overall child rights outcomes: 20% of UPR recommendations focus on child rights, especially education and health (source: CRIN)

Child health: 60% of Save the Children child health recommendations reflected in final UPR recommendations and accepted by State under review

Child Rights Monitoring:Universal Periodic Review (UPR) reporting

Save the Children individual or joint submissions and advocacy on Commonwealth countries :

1st cycle (2008-2011): Australia, Fiji, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, the Solomon Islands, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, UK and Zambia.

2nd cycle (2012): India, South Africa and the UK for the 13th session (21 May – 1st June 2012) and Pakistan and Zambia for the 14th session (22 October – 5 November).

Child Rights Monitoring:Universal Periodic Review (UPR) reporting

Considered at 10th UPR session (January 2011):

Historic capacity-building on UPR: 138 NGOs Submissions: joint and individual Coordinated advocacy and face-to-face meetings with embassies

in Kathmandu and missions in Geneva Nepalese NGO representatives attended UPR Working Group

session in Geneva/ advocacy towards Nepalese State delegation and missions

Oral statement at adoption of UPR report Follow-up: joint strategy and meetings with Prime Minister’s Office

Case example: Nepal

Outcomes:

Save the Children key child rights recommendations reflected in UPR recommendations approved (11), pending (10), rejected (1)

Government finally accepted all pending child rights recommendation including recommendation 108.4 to:

“Expedite the endorsement of long awaited child policy legislation, including the Child Rights Act, Education Regulation, Child Protection Policy, and minimum standards for child care homes, and take the necessary steps to ensure their full implementation” (Canada)

IMPACT: speeded up enactment of Child Rights Bill

Case example: Nepal (cont.)

Considered at 11th UPR session (May 2011):

Capacity-building of Child Rights Coalition Sierra Leone (13 NGOs) Joint submission Coordinated joint advocacy towards missions in Geneva Advocacy on pending UPR child rights recommendations: Attorney

General, Franklin Bai Kargbo, met with children’s groups/ Child Rights Coalition and Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone

Joint oral statement at Human Rights Council Follow-up: press release and press conference, briefing for media and

embassies, meetings with Ministries

IMPACT: UPR recommendations used for advocacy on amendment of Child Rights Act

Case example: Sierra Leone

To be considered at 13th UPR session (21 May – 4 June)

Save the Children ”Local to Global” project - empowering children, communities and healthworkers to advocate on maternal and child health at the local and international levels

Save the Children and World Vision joint UPR submission – focus on budget allocation to maternal and child health and frontline health workers

Indian Parliamentarian, Charles Dias (Congress Party, Kerala), identified as a ”champion”

Case example: India

Parliamentarian spoke at Human Rights Council joint side-event on child nutrition on 5th March 2012 in Geneva

Case example: India (cont.)

Parliamentarian advocated towards missions in Geneva to ensure UPR recommendations focus on budget allocations for maternal and child health, including frontline healthworkers

Case example: India (cont.)

Mr. Charles Dias, MP, and Dr. Rajiv Tandon, Save the Children India at the UN Human Rights Council, 5 March 2012

Parliamentarian has committed to:

Raise question in Parliament on the health budget at session on 12-30 March

Advocate with Sonia Gandhi and National Advisory Council to highlight maternal and child health in political manifesto

Meet with Prime Minister and Minister of Finance to ensure budgets focus on maternal and child health

Case example: India (cont.)

Work in partnership with children’s groups and civil society on advocacy, follow-up and implementation of UPR recommendations:

Meet with key Ministries to highlight implementation of child rights UPR recommendations

Support adoption of child rights legislation referred to in UPR recommendations

Raise questions in Parliament on budget allocations for realization of child rights

Advocate for commitment to child rights and implementation of UPR recommendations in political manifestos

What can Parliamentarians do to further child rights in the UPR?

Save the ChildrenChild Rights Governance resource centre:

http://resourcecentre.savethechildren.se/

CRG and UPR tools: