It’s Only Right!

The road to the Convention on the Rights of the Child

Definitions Ratify/Ratification: ‘Ratification’ is an act by which

a State signifies an agreement to be legally bound by the terms of a particular treaty.

Convention: A ‘convention’ is a formal agreement between States. The generic term ‘convention’ is thus synonymous with the generic term ‘treaty’.

Child: Generally defined as any human being under the age of 18 unless an earlier age of majority is recognized by a country's law (some extend to 25).

Sign/Signature:‘Signature’ of a treaty is an act by which a State provides a preliminary endorsement of the instrument. Signing does not create a binding legal obligation but does demonstrate the State’s intent to examine the treaty domestically and consider ratifying it.

Human Rights

Human Rights are a “foreign people thing” brought to Belize by People who want to westernize us.

Public services often seen as privileges and not rights

Useless! We have no rights in poor countries like Belize – government have the all the power.

Only when it is violated do we recognize the significance of Human Rights.

Declaration - Document stating agreed upon standards or principles, but which is not legally binding, contains no provisions for monitoring or enforcement

A History of Human Rights

But did you notice something?

The Children’s Convention

Convention on the Rights of the Child

The CRC contains 40 substantial articles that outline the inherent human rights of children.

Articles 41-54 speak to the Government’s responsibility as a signatory and implementer.

What is in the CRC?

3 Main Themes

1. Participation

2. Provision

3. Protection

Guiding Principles(1, 2, 3, 4, 12)

The definition of a child Maximum survival and

development Non-discrimination Best interest of the child Participation

Child Endangerment

Right to Survival(6, 18, 20, 21, 24, 27)

Right to life and maximum survival and development

 Proper Nutrition  Health and health services  Adequate standard of living  Live and interact with his/her

biological family  Alternative care

Primary School Examination

Right to Development(17, 28, 29, 31, 39, 40)

Access to appropriate information Education The aims of Education  Play and leisure Administration of Juvenile Justice

Human Trafficking victim speaks out

Right to Protection(2, 19, 23, 32, 35, 33-37)

Non-discrimination All forms of Violence Rights of disabled children Child Labour Child abduction, Sale and Trafficking Drug Use and Abuse  Sexual Exploitation All other forms of exploitation Torture, degrading treatment and

deprivation of liberty

Squatters Manhandled

Right to Participation(12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 30)

Respect for the views of the child

Freedom of expression Freedom of thought, conscience

and religion Freedom of association and

peaceful assembly Access to appropriate

information Participation in family, cultural

and social life(Children of minorities/indigenous people)

And just how does this matter to your daily

lives?

National Child System

Protection Sub-systemsJudicialLegal Social

Mandatory Reporting

The law says that anyone who suspects that a child has been abused has a moral duty to report the abuse.

However, there are some persons who also have a legal obligation to report suspected cases of child abuse and neglect.

They are called mandatory reporters.

Mandatory reporters include:

Any person in charge of a public or private hospital, doctors, nurses and all other medical personnel who attend to a child exhibiting signs of abuse;

Any family member, teacher, social worker, school counselor, employee of a certified children’s institution, school administrator or principal, deputy principal of any educational institution, probation officer, police officer or any other employee of the Government of Belize whose daily duties entail dealing regularly with children

Penalty for Not Reporting

A fine not exceeding $1000.

Imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months.

Both the fine and imprisonment.

Remember it is our duty to report and NOT investigate

Good Faith Assumption

It is assumed that persons will report in good faith. Every person who reports suspected child abuse in good faith shall not be liable to any civil or criminal proceeding arising from that report.

Best Interest of the Child

Parental/Community Responsibility As future parents,

educators, policy makers and rights advocates – it is necessary to have an appreciation for the rights of children.

Not just to know them but to understand how your every decision must be made with their best interest in mind.

State ResponsibilitySocial Investment in Children and Adolescent:-

Child-centered approach to development

Children /Adolescent/Young people as assets

Children/Adolescent/Young People safeguarded across the lifespan

Who safeguards the children’s agenda?

Who ensures that Belize meets these obligations

It is clear there is a long way to go!

The Problem Tree

National Committee for Families and Children

“It goes without saying that direct services and interventions to people are essential. But direct services alone cannot achieve real progress for people” CEO MOHDST

We are… NOT an implementing agency

Statutory Body (since 1999)

Set up to oversee Belize’s compliance with its international and national commitments to children

An advocacy, coordination, policy-advisory and M&E body.

Our Focus is…

Vision The National Committee

for Families and Children, Belize’s lead agency for the promotion and protection of children and family rights contributes to and advocates for policy and legal reform that influences a child-centered approach to development which positively impacts the well-being of children and their families.

Mission The National Committee

for Families and Children is commissioned and committed to promote and protect the human rights of every child and family living in Belize primarily those rights enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Look Upstream!!!NCFC is one of those entities that work

upstream Policy/ Legal Reform

Frameworks in place Information Education and Communication

Public education and prevention work Monitoring & Evaluation

Data available to support evidence-based planning Children & Adolescent Participation

Children/adolescent engaged in decisions-making process

CoordinationSinging off the same hymn sheet

Resource MobilizationReduce repetition, maximize outputs, increase

impact

How does it all come together?

How do we take the CRC and make it a reality to children and families?

National Plan of ActionA Localized response to the CRC

The NPA is…

a consolidation of Belize’s international and regional commitments to children and adolescents.

dictated by national development priorities for children.

Common Strategies

Development and implementation of effective national policies.

Research and data gathering to inform policy and programme development and implementation.

Training, education and capacity building to promote goals and targets.

Coordination and Networking Monitoring and Evaluation

Principles

Protection and preservation of the family as a basic unit of society

Gender equality Non-discrimination Meaningful children’s and adolescents’

participation Multi-sectoral partnerships Protection and conservation of the

environment.

Main Attention Areas

Education

Health

Child Protection

HIV/AIDS

Family

Culture

What you should leave here with?

Know your human rights

Value your human rights

Be inspired to take action toward realizing human rights for yourself and others

Children have rights!

Your every influence will mold them in either positive or negative ways!

They will eventually become leaders and what we have sown we will reap!

Be an advocate in your sphere of influence!

As future/present Educators…

Produces changes in values and attitudes

Produces changes in behavior

Produces empowerment for social justice

Develops attitudes of solidarity across issues and nations

Develops knowledge and analytical skills

Produces participatory education

Food for thought!

For More Information Office – 62 Cleghorn Street Telephone – 223-0059/223-

1180 Website – www.ncfc.org.bz Email – ncfc@btl.net FB –

www.facebook.com/NCFCBelize

Youtube – www.youtube.com/TheNCFC

Twitter – www.twitter.com/NCFCBZE