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International Child Day - 20 November
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International Child Day - 20 November
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Universal Children's Day
By resolution 836(IX) of 14 December 1954, the General Assembly recommended that all countries institute a Universal Children's Day, to be observed as a day of worldwide fraternity and understanding between children. It recommended that the Day was to be observed also as a day of activity devoted to promoting the ideals and objectives of the Charter and the welfare of the children of the world. The Assembly suggested to governments that the Day be observed on the date and in the way which each considers appropriate. The date 20 November, marks the day on which the Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, in 1959, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in 1989.
In 2000 world leaders outlined Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015. Though the Goals are for all humankind, they are primarily about children. UNICEF notes that six of the eight goals relate directly to children and meeting the last two will also make critical improvements in their lives. (MDGs, UNICEF.)
http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/children_day/
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Re: International Child Day - 20 November (Re: Dr. Faisal Mohamed)
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Child protection
UNICEF uses the term ‘child protection’ to refer to preventing and responding to violence, exploitation and abuse against children – including commercial sexual exploitation, trafficking, child labour and harmful traditional practices, such as female genital mutilation/cutting and child marriage. UNICEF’s child protection programmes also target children who are uniquely vulnerable to these abuses, such as when living without parental care, in conflict with the law and in armed conflict. Violations of the child’s right to protection take place in every country and are massive, under-recognized and under-reported barriers to child survival and development, in addition to being human rights violations. Children subjected to violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect are at risk of death, poor physical and mental health, HIV/AIDS infection, educational problems,displacement, homelessness, vagrancy and poor parenting skills later in life.
Building a protective environment
An estimated 300 million children worldwide are subjected to violence, exploitation and abuse including the worst forms of child labor in communities, schools and institutions; during armed conflict; and to harmful practices such as female genital mutilation/cutting and child marriage. Millions more, not yet victims, also remain without adequate protection.
Protecting children from violence, exploitation and abuse is an integral component of protecting their rights to survival, growth and development. UNICEF’s commitment to protecting children is underlined in UNICEF Medium Term Strategic Plan. This was drawn on UNICEF Core Corporate Commitments, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Millennium Declaration, and numerous international human rights agreements as the basis for our response.
UNICEF advocates and supports the creation of a protective environment for children in partnership with governments, national and international partners including the private sector, and civil society. National child protection systems, protective social practices and children’s own empowerment coupled with good oversight and monitoring are among the elements of a protective environment and enable countries, communities and families to prevent and respond to violence, exploitation and abuse.
http://www.unicef.org/
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Re: International Child Day - 20 November (Re: Dr. Faisal Mohamed)
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Child Protection, the MDGs and the Millennium Declaration
Child protection issues intersect with every one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)– from poverty reduction to getting children into school, from eliminating gender inequality to reducing child mortality.
Most of the MDGs simply cannot be achieved if failures to protect children are not addressed.Child labour squanders a nation’s human capital and conflicts with eradicating extreme poverty (MDG 1); armed conflict disrupts efforts to achieve universal primary education (MDG 2); child marriage leads to the removal of girls from school and thus prevents gender equality (MDG 3); children separated from their mothers, particularly if they remain in institutional settings, are at greater risk of early death, which hinders efforts to reduce child mortality (MDG 4); female genital mutilation/cutting undermines efforts to improve maternal health (MDG 5); and sexual exploitation and abuse hamper efforts to combat HIV infection (MDG 6). In addition, environmental disasters make children vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, hence the need for environmental sustainability (MDG 7).
Overall, protecting children requires close cooperation between different partners, which consolidates the need for a global partnership for development (MDG 8).
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Re: International Child Day - 20 November (Re: Dr. Faisal Mohamed)
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CHILD PROTECTION and THE MDGs-Goal 1
Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Children who live in extreme poverty are often those who experience violence, exploitation, abuse and discrimination. They easily become marginalized and are frequently denied such essential services as health care and education. In a self-perpetuating cycle, marginalization of children who are victims of violence and abuse decreases their likelihood of escaping poverty in the future. Child labour – both a cause and consequence of poverty – damages a child’s health, threatens education and leads to further exploitation and abuse. Poverty is a root cause for trafficking. Without documents to prove birth registration, children and families often cannot access health, education and other social services,and States cannot plan poverty alleviation and social service programmes without accurate estimates of annual births. Poverty and exclusion can contribute to child abandonment and the separation of children from their families, as children are sent to work on the streets or parents are forced to migrate and leave their children behind. Children might end up in foster or institutional care arrangements which can lead to marginalization and decrease their chances of breaking the cycle of poverty. Armed conflict depletes physical, economic and human resources and leads to displacement of populations.
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Re: International Child Day - 20 November (Re: Dr. Faisal Mohamed)
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CHILD PROTECTION and THE MDGs-Goal 2
Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
Ensuring that all boys and girls complete a full course of primary schooling cannot be achieved without eliminating the barriers that keep children out of school. Reaching the hard-to-reach – including children affected by HIV/AIDS, orphans, children with disabilities, children from minorities and of migrant families, and those who are trafficked, used in armed conflict or live in institutions – is critical to achieving education for all. The school environment needs to be safe, protective and free of violence if children are to be encouraged to attend and remain in school. Child marriage leads to the isolation of, particularly, the girl child and to early drop-out from school. Armed conflict can displace families, separate children from their parents and disrupt their education. Child labour prevents children from going to school.
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Re: International Child Day - 20 November (Re: Dr. Faisal Mohamed)
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CHILD PROTECTION and THE MDGs-Goal 3
Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
Child marriage, sexual violence, female genital mutilation/cutting, child labour and trafficking are child rights violations that must be prevented and addressed as part of global initiatives to promote gender equality and empower women. Sexual violence and harassment of girls at school are major impediments to achieving gender equality in education. When they occur in other settings, such as the community and workplace, they undermine efforts to empower girls and women. During armed conflict situations, girls often have less access to reintegration programmes for children associated with armed groups. Female genital mutilation/
cutting is an infringement on the physical and psychosexual integrity of girls and women.
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Re: International Child Day - 20 November (Re: Dr. Faisal Mohamed)
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CHILD PROTECTION and THE MDGs-Goal 4
Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
Extreme exploitation, violence or abuse can lead to death throughout various phases of childhood. Child marriage affects children’s health as babies who are born to very young mothers are more vulnerable to diseases during critical early years of life. Armed conflict has a devastating impact on children’s survival. Of the 20 countries with the highest rates of under-five mortality, 11 have experienced major armed conflict since 1990. Children without parental care or separated from their mother at an early age, especially those who remain in institutional settings for an extended period of time, are at much greater risk of early death. In Addition to disability and improper care for children with disabilities can increase the mortality risk.
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Re: International Child Day - 20 November (Re: Dr. Faisal Mohamed)
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CHILD PROTECTION and THE MDGs-Goal 5
Goal 5: Improve maternal health
Abuses against adolescent girls endanger their physical and psychological health and, should they become mothers, their reproductive health as well. Protecting girls from child marriage is an important factor in improving maternal health as pregnancy at a young age jeopardizes the health of young mothers. Female genital mutilation/cutting increases the chance of maternal mortality during delivery. Armed conflict jeopardizes young mothers’ access to health-care services. Also, widespread sexual violence, including in armed conflict, has a direct impact on maternal health.
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Re: International Child Day - 20 November (Re: Dr. Faisal Mohamed)
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CHILD PROTECTION and THE MDGs-Goal 6
Goal 6: Combat HI V/AID S, malaria and other diseases
The fight against HIV/AIDS must include efforts to prevent abuses that make children particularly vulnerable to the disease. For children orphaned or otherwise affected by HIV/AIDS, protection is a priority. Many of the worst forms of child labour fuel the spread of HIV/AIDS as children are sexually exploited and trafficked. At the same time, children from families and communities affected by HIV/AIDS are particularly vulnerable to these forms of exploitation and at risk of growing up without parental care. Child sexual abuse contributes to infection among young people. Reducing recourse to detention for children in conflict with the law decreases their vulnerability to infection, given the high rates of transmission in prisons.
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Re: International Child Day - 20 November (Re: Dr. Faisal Mohamed)
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CHILD PROTECTION and THE MDGs-Goal 7
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
Environmental disasters increase household vulnerability, which can in turn increase the pressure for child labour, as well as for sexual exploitation and child marriage.
Overcrowding of neighbourhoods and homes can put severe strains on environmental resources, which may lead to domestic stress, violence or sexual abuse in the home.
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Re: International Child Day - 20 November (Re: Dr. Faisal Mohamed)
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CHILD PROTECTION and THE MDGs-Goal 8
Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development
Child protection demands inter-sectoral cooperation at the national and international levels. UNICEF’s approach entails creating a protective environment for children. This means partnering with other UN agencies, governments, civil society, the private sector and international non-governmental organizations to put protective systems in place by strengthening government commitment, promoting adequate legislation, building systems and capacities,providing services, addressing attitudes and customs, monitoring and reporting, developing children’s life skills, and encouraging open discussion.
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Re: International Child Day - 20 November (Re: Dr. Faisal Mohamed)
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Violence against Children
Violence against children includes physical and mental abuse and injury, neglect or negligent treatment, exploitation and sexual abuse. Violence may take place in homes, schools, orphanages, residential care facilities, on the streets, in the workplace, in prisons and in places of detention. It can affect children’s physical and mental health, impair their ability to learn and socialize, and undermine their development as functional adults and good parents later in life. In the most severe cases, violence against children leads to death.
Facts and figures
• Research suggests that 20 per cent of women and 5 per cent to 10 per cent of men suffered sexual abuse as children worldwide.
• In Asia, it is estimated that 60 million girls are missing’ due to prenatal selection, infanticide
or neglect.
• In the Caribbean, 96 per cent of interviewed childcare workers believe that corporal punishment reflects parents “caring enough to take the time to train the children properly.
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Re: International Child Day - 20 November (Re: Dr. Faisal Mohamed)
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Protecting Children during Armed Conflict
Armed conflicts have left populations vulnerable to appalling forms of violence, including systematic rape, abduction, amputation, mutilation, forced displacement, sexual exploitation and genocide.
The wide availability of light, inexpensive small arms has contributed to the use of children as soldiers, as well as to high levels of violence once conflicts have ended. The breakdown of social protection leaves girls vulnerable to unwanted pregnancy and threatens all children with separation from their families, orphaning, increased risk of sexually transmitted infections, disability and serious, long-term psychosocial consequences.
Facts and figures
• An estimated 90 per cent of global conflict-related deaths since 1990 have been civilians, and 80 per cent of these have been women and children.
• I n the Democratic Republic of the Congo, almost 38,000 deaths occur every month above what is considered a ‘normal level’ for the country, translating into 1,270 excess deaths every day. Most deaths are due to preventable causes like malnutrition and infectious diseases. Young children are disproportionately affected by these illnesses.
• In Darfur (Sudan), around 2 million people have been forced from their land and live in displacement camps. More than 1 million of them are children under 18, with 320,000 aged five and under.
HUMAN RIGHTS
The principles and provisions to protect children in armed conflict are laid out in the Geneva Conventions (1949) and their Additional Protocols (1977), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and its Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict (2000), and the Rome Statute (1998) of the International Criminal Court.
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Re: International Child Day - 20 November (Re: Dr. Faisal Mohamed)
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Children Associated with Armed Groups
A ‘child soldier’ is any person under 18 years of age who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force or armed group in any capacity – including, but not limited to, combatants, cooks, porters, messengers and anyone accompanying such groups, other than family members. The definition includes girls recruited for sexual purposes and for forced marriage. It does not, therefore, only refer to a child who is carrying or has carried arms. Some boys and girls might have been abducted or forcibly recruited; others have been driven to join by poverty, abuse and discrimination, societal or peer pressure, or to seek revenge for violence against them or their families.
Facts and figures
• Latest estimates suggest that more than 250,000 children are currently serving as child soldiers.
• In Colombia, an estimated 14,000 girls and boys were used as child soldiers2 by illegal armed groups.
• In Somalia, an estimated 200,000 children have carried a gun or been involved with a militia since the 1991 collapse of central government.
• In Sudan, in March 2004, an estimated 17,000 children were associated with armed forces and groups.
HUMAN RIGHTS
The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict (2000) raises the minimum age for direct participation in hostilities from 15 to 18 (Article 1) and prohibits conscription or forced recruitment below the age of 18 (Article 2). The Statute of the International Criminal Court (1998) makes it a war crime to conscript or enlist children under 15 into national armed forces or to use them to participate actively in hostilities in international and internal armed conflicts.
The International Labour Organization’s Convention No. 182 (1999) defines the forced and compulsory recruitment of children as a worst form of child labour, which it prohibits.
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Re: International Child Day - 20 November (Re: Dr. Faisal Mohamed)
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Children Affected by HIV/AIDS
The HIV/AIDS pandemic is not only threatening the physical health and survival of millions of children around the world, it is destroying their families and depriving them of parental love, care and protection. Stigma and discrimination, often associated with HIV infection, can lead to exclusion and isolation and ruin a child’s chances to receive an education. Children whose families are affected by HIV/AIDS experience severe emotional and psychological distress. Economic hardship resulting from their parents’ inability to work may cause children to drop out of school or become child labourers. They are often forced to assume the burden of caring for sick parents or for their younger siblings. Children orphaned by HIV/AIDS are more exposed to exploitation, abuse and violence. Conversely, many situations in which children have inadequate protection – including sexual exploitation, trafficking, violence, armed conflict, recruitment in armed forces or groups, displacement, detention and imprisonment, child marriage and female genital mutilation/cutting – also make them more vulnerable to HIV infection.
Facts and figures
• In 2005, the number of children less than 15 years old living with HIV was estimated at 2.3 million. Of these, 700,000 were newly infected. More than half a million children (570,000) died of AIDS during the same period.
• Some 62 per cent of the world’s young people infected with HIV and about 80 per cent of the children orphaned by AIDS live in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Since the outset of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the early 1980s, the proportion of women with HIV has risen steadily. Today, nearly half of those who are HIV positive are women or girls.
HUMAN RIGHTS
In the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), States Parties recognize the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health (Article 24). States Parties shall also respect and ensure the rights set forth in the Convention to each child within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind (Article 2).
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Re: International Child Day - 20 November (Re: Dr. Faisal Mohamed)
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Child Labour
Child labour and the worst forms of child labour, as defined by International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions, damage children’s health, threaten their education and lead to further exploitation and abuse. UNICEF does not oppose work that children may perform at home, on the family farm or for a family business – as long as that work is not a danger to their health and well-being, and if it doesn’t prevent them from going to school and enjoying childhood activities.
Facts and figures
• In 2004, there were 218 million children engaged in child labour, excluding child domestic labour.
• Some 126 million children aged 5–17 are believed to be engaged in hazardous work.
• It is estimated that children represent 40–50 per cent of all victims of forced labour, or 5.7 million children are trapped in forced and bonded labour.
• Children working in the home of a third party or ‘employer’ are extremely vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. ILO estimates that more girls under age 16 are in domestic service than in any other category of work or child labour.
HUMAN RIGHTS
International Labour Organization (ILO ) Conventions 138 (1973) and 182 (1999) define child labourers as all children younger than 12 working in any economic activities, children 12–14 years old engaged in more than light work, and all children engaged in the worst forms of child labour – in which they are enslaved, forcibly recruited, prostituted, trafficked, forced into illegal activities or exposed to hazards.
Article 32(1) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) calls for the recognition of the right of children to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with their education, or to be harmful to their health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.
By March 2006, 143 countries had ratified Convention No. 138, setting minimum ages for general, light or hazardous work and 158 countries had ratified ILO Convention No. 182 on the worst forms of child labour.
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Re: International Child Day - 20 November (Re: Dr. Faisal Mohamed)
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Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting
Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) refers to all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external genitalia or other injuries to the female genital organs for cultural or other reasons that are not medical necessities. FGM/C reinforces the inequality suffered by girls and women and is a violation of universally recognized human rights – including the rights to bodily integrity and to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. While health consequences vary, they commonly include failure to heal, inflammatory diseases and urinary infections. Gynecological complications that result from female genital mutilation/cutting can become particularly serious during and after childbirth, and include fistula. Increased susceptibility to HIV infection is a concern. The pain of the procedure is known to cause shock and long-lasting trauma, and severe bleeding and infection can lead
to death.
The reasons for FGM/C are many and complex, but the most significant seems to be the belief that a girl who has not undergone the procedure will not be considered suitable for marriage. Traditionally, FGM/C is performed by local practitioners, most of whom are women. In some countries, efforts have been made to ’medicalize‘ the procedure by having medical staff perform it in or outside of hospitals. This does not, however, make it less a violation of human rights, and communities should be helped to abandon the practice.
Facts and figures
• FGM/C occurs mainly in countries along a belt stretching from Senegal in West Africa to Somalia in East Africa and to Yemen in the Middle East, but it is also practised in some parts of south-east Asia. Reports from Europe, North America and Australia indicate that it is practised among immigrant communities as well.
• It is estimated that more than 130 million women and girls alive today have been subjected to female genital mutilation/cutting.
HUMAN RIGHTS
There are many international treaties and conventions that condemn harmful practices. They include the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979), the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (1990). A specific focus on female genital mutilation/cutting is found in UN General Assembly Resolution 56/128 on Traditional or Customary Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Girls (2001) and in the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, or Maputo Protocol (2003).
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Re: International Child Day - 20 November (Re: Dr. Faisal Mohamed)
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Child trafficking
Child trafficking affects children throughout the world, in both industrialized and developing countries. Trafficked children are subjected to prostitution, forced into marriage or illegally adopted; they provide cheap or unpaid labour, work as house servants or beggars, are recruited into armed groups and are used for sports. Trafficking exposes children to violence, sexual abuse and HIV infection and violates their rights to be protected, grow up in a family environment and have access to education. A ‘child victim of trafficking’ is any person under 18 who is recruited, transported, transferred, harboured or received for the purpose of exploitation, either within or outside a country. The use of illicit means, including violence or fraud, is irrelevant. Ending trafficking will require international, regional and national cooperation. Root causes – poverty, discrimination, exclusion and violence – need to be addressed along with the demand side.
Facts and figures
• The invisible and clandestine nature of trafficking and the lack of strong data collection make it difficult to know the global number of child victims. However, according to the latest estimates available, some 1.2 million children are trafficked worldwide every year.
• In East Asia and the Pacific, most trafficking is into child prostitution, though some children are also recruited for agricultural and industrial work. In South Asia, trafficking is often related to debt bondage.
• In Europe, children are mainly trafficked from east to west, reflecting the demand for cheap labour and child prostitution.
HUMAN RIGHTS
The Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) asks States Parties to take “all appropriate national, bilateral and multilateral measures to prevent the abduction of, the sale of or traffic in children for any purpose or in any form” (Article 35) and to “promote physical and psychological recovery and reintegration of a child victim” (Article 39).
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (2002) on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography further defines these standards. The optional protocol to the UN Convention against ransnational Organized Crime (2000), known as the Palermo Protocol, for the first time defines trafficking in human beings. ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour (1999) includes child trafficking.
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