Global Trends in Child
Rights Indicators
Presentation to Thai Government, UNICEF and
NGO colleagues
Bangkok
February 17th, 2014
Dr. Philip Cook
Executive Director of
International Institute for Child
Rights and Development,
Royal Roads University, Canada
Children’s Indicators: Global Trends
• Previous indicators focused mostly on child
survival and traditional “sectoral data” such
as health (U5MR), education (school
enrolment) outcomes
• Role of CRC in advancing the importance of
data on children as a right and strategic
importance in planning, budgeting, M&E
and advocacy
• Every child counts
• Rights based approach, every child’s
universal and inalienable rights
• Llife span approach
• Broader human rights, development and
humanitarian agenda
An Ecological Approach to
Child Rights Systems Change
Global Indicators, State Party Reporting and the
UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
• Monitoring the implementation of the CRC and the 3
Ops
• Highest authority for interpreting data on children
• 18 independent experts
• Meets 3 times a year for 4 weeks
Work of the Committee
• Examination of progress made and difficulties encountered in
fulfilment of States Parties obligations under the CRC
• Examination of the two Optional Protocols to the Convention
• General Discussion Days on thematic topics
• General Comments on particular CRC provisions and/or issues
• Upon the coming into force of the Optional Protocol - individual
complaints
Overall structure CRC Report
8 Clusters:
• General Measures of Implementation
• Definition of the Child
• General Principles
• Civil Rights and Freedoms
• Family Environment and Alternative Care
• Disability, Basic Health and Welfare
• Education, Leisure and Cultural Activities
• Special Protection Measures.
Human Rights Indicator Guidelines Developed
by UNOHCHR
•
Structure: Laws, policies
•
Process: Programs, initiatives
•
Outcomes: Children’s lived experience, impact data
Current trends
•
Child level outcomes: Child well being, child participation
•
MDG’s and Post MDG’s: Children in a broad development
agenda
•
Equity, social inclusion and social determinants: Filling the
gaps, evidence informed social policy
•
Creating an overarching integrated framework for child
rights indicators: Global Reference Group on Accountability
to children’s rights (GRGA)
Current trends: Well being and child
participation
•
Child Well Being Research: UNICEF, Child Well Being
Research Society (Asher Ben-Arieh et al)
•
Inter-agency initiative on child participation guidelines and
indicators: Scope, Quality, Outcomes (G. Lansdown, Save
the Children, World Vision, Plan International)
•
IICRD CAPE (World Vision, Plan)
•
World Vision, Plan International, IICRD –
Most vulnerable children
Child Protection: Child participation in
monitoring and evaluation
• Drawing on IICRD and Columbia
University experience in CP M&E
• New child and youth centred
approaches to CP M&E (IICRD
CAPE)
• Community engagement in CP M&E
(Wessells)
• Rights based approaches to CP
M&E (CRC GRG, CPCLN, CP MERG,
GC 13)
Future Child Rights Indicators: Using ICT and Social Media
•
POI: Combines GPS, text (qualitative and
quantitative) and photographic images
•
Maps risk and protective factors (people, places,
social spaces), temporal, spatial and social
•
Triangulation of data sets and capacity to
disaggregate date
•
Participatory, youth adult partnerships
•
Can be used to link community research with
local, provincial and national advocacy
General Trend:
Children as objects to children as partners
Thank You
More information:
International Institute for
Child Rights and
Development (IICRD)
University of Victoria
Victoria BC V8W 2Y2
Tel: (250) 472-4762
Fax:(250) 853-3215
Email: philip.cook@iicrd.org