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 Report8 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 YouMore information:

International Institute for Child Rights and Development (IICRD)University of VictoriaVictoria BC V8W 2Y2

Tel: (250) 472-4762 Fax:(250) 853-3215

Email: philip.cook@iicrd.org