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DCI's Annual Report 2017
Check out our 2017 annual report! Discover DCI's activities around the world and our impact in defending and promoting children's rights here.
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Committee on The Rights of the Child
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78th plenary session
During the 78th plenary session of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child in May, the Committee reviewed Argentina's child rights record. DCI-Argentina, with the support of the International Secretariat, had previously submitted a report ahead of the pre-sessional working group and an update of information ahead of the plenary session and also briefed the Committee at the pre-sessional stage. The Committee raised several topics highlighted by DCI-Argentina during the review and in its concluding observations. We also met with Committee members as part of the International Secretariat’s advocacy strategy on our key priorities.
Joint General Comments with the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (CMW)
Moreover, on April 16, 2018, the DCI-IS attended a panel discussion entitled “Putting migrant children’s rights upfront: challenges and duties in protecting the human rights of children in the context of international migration.” The event, co-hosted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (CMW), marked the Geneva launch of the CRC-CMW joint General Comments on the human rights of migrant children. DCI previously provided significant contribution into the General Comments.
Day of General Discussion (DGD) - "dedicated to “Protecting and Empowering Children as Human Rights Defenders” will take place on 28 September 2018. DCI will be participating.
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UN Human Rights Council Session
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28th Special Session of the Human Rights Council on the Occupied Palestinian Territory
On May 18, 2018, a special session of the Human Rights Council was convened to address the deteriorating human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The IS, on behalf of DCI-Palestine, delivered a statement, and the Council adopted a resolution to dispatch an independent, international commission of inquiry to investigate all violations committed during the protests. Moreover, the IS issued a press release on behalf of the Movement condemning the unlawful killing of children in Gaza and calling for urgent action on the situation in Palestine.
38th session of the Human Rights Council
The Human Rights Council (HRC) 38th session took place from June 18 to 6 July at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. DCI Secretariat followed the General Debates on the human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories – where we delivered a statement on behalf of DCI-Palestine urging HRC to condemn Israel’s excessive use of force and urging Israel to allow UN human rights mechanisms access in order to enable impartial monitoring and to advance accountability. Moreover, DCI Secretariat followed the UPR Outcome Adoption of Israel and prepared a statement alongside DCI-Palestine urging Israel to stop night arrests and ill treatment and torture of Palestinian children in Israeli military detention.
DCI Secretariat also engaged in the Interactive Dialogues (ID) with the Independent Expert on the Central African Republic and the Special Rapporteurs on migrants, internal displaced persons, trafficking, health and education. During this last Dialogue, DCI, on behalf of the NGO Panel of the Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty, delivered a statement welcoming the Rapporteur’s report and calling on HRC member States and observers to engage with the Study. DCI-IS also engaged on the cross-cutting issue of gender by participating at the Annual Day of Discussion of the Rights of Women on online violence against women in the digital space, where the Girls Advocacy delivered a joint statement calling for the inclusion, protection & empowerment of girls in digital spaces. DCI-IS also attended the presentation of the report of the Woking Group on Discrimination against Women in Law and in Practice taking stock of its work for the past six years and the Interactive dialogue within the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women.
As part of DCI advocacy strategy as per its thematic priorities, DCI-IS also participated in several side-events, including those regarding child rights indicators, youth, technology, and justice, children on the move in different contexts, children in conflict, administrative detention in Palestine, girls on the street, the human rights situation in Yemen, legal frameworks for female genital mutilation (FGM), child marriage, engaging boys and men in ending gender-based violence, and justice for girls.
To read the full statements delivered by Defence for Children International during this session, please click here.
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Universal Periodic Review – UPR
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On 13th of April 2018 the UPR held its pre-session for Colombia. For this occasion, Vilma Gomez, President of DCI Colombia came to Geneva, having submitted a collective stakeholder report, together with COALICO, on children and armed conflicts with the support of the International Secretariat. The UPR Session for Colombia took place on May 10th, 2018 in Geneva, in which States gave recommendations to Colombia, particularly regarding child recruitment, one of the topics raised by DCI.
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DCI engagement on the Global Compacts
DCI-IS continues to follow and attend meetings concerning the Global Compacts on Refugees and on Migration, which are entering the final rounds of negotiations.
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Updates on the UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty
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The UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty is now in its implementation phase with desk-based research and consultations underway. DCI is playing a key role in drafting some of the desk-based research and is in four working groups. DCI-IS continues to play a key role as co-convener of the NGO Panel, coordinating NGO involvement in advocacy, research, and consultations. DCI's National Sections will also actively contribute to the collection of data and information on the situations of children deprived of liberty and have been mobilizing for the collection of data in their countries of children deprived of liberty on June 26th, the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.
Continental Conference on Access to Justice for Children in Africa
The Continental Conference on Access to Justice for Children in Africa was co-organized by DCI and the African Child Policy Forum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from May 8-10, 2018. In total, 20 representatives from the IS, Belgian, Middle East, and African Sections attended. The conference, a follow-up to the Kampala Conference in 2011, also marked the launch of the report "Spotlighting the Invisible: Justice for Children in Africa," to which DCI contributed with National Studies on Access to Justice in Egypt, Liberia, Mauritania, Sierra Leone and Tunisia. A Call to Action was adopted setting out concrete steps for key actors, including governments, African Union bodies, and civil society. The third day of the conference served as a regional consultation for the UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty.
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World Congress on Justice for Children, Paris, France
The World Congress on Justice for Children took place on May 28-30, 2018 in Paris, France. DCI-International Secretariat attended and carried out various activities for the Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty, including awareness-raising, information-gathering, and co-organizing an NGO Panel meeting. Professor Manfred Nowak, Independent Expert leading the UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty, was one of the key panelists, focusing on the importance of the Study. A Declaration was adopted as an outcome to the Congress – a call and commitment for all children’s rights defenders to unite and build on the Conference to bring about true justice for all children everywhere and safeguard children from violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation. You can read the Paris Declaration, the outcome of the World Congress on Justice for Children here.
European Commission Conference on Child-Friendly Justice and Integrated Child Protection Systems
DCI-International Secretariat, along with colleagues from DCI-Belgium and DCI-Italy, participated in a two-day conference in Brussels on June 25-26 concerning child-friendly justice and integrated child protection systems in European Union-funded projects. This provided a valuable opportunity to meet with key partners and to reflect on lessons learnt.
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Girls Advocacy Alliance: Advocating together for the eradication of gender-based violence and the economic exclusion of girls and young women through lobby and advocacy.
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As part of the Girls Advocacy Alliance (GAA) activities, DCI-IS together with country partners in Sierra Leone and Ghana, including DCI-Sierra Leone and DCI-Ghana, contributed with two written submissions to the Day of General Discussion of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child on "Empowering and Protecting Children as Human Rights Defenders".
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To this end, DCI-Sierra Leone and Plan International Sierra Leone organised a consultation with children on the 16th June (the Day of the African Child). 35 children, both boys and girls, participated in the consultation as part of their local child-led organizations’ activities - MIRROR, Hope & Hope Girl - Sierra Leone and YACAN – which advocate for the advancement of girls’ rights. Likewise, DCI-Ghana, the Ghana NGO Coalition on the Rights of the Child (GNCRC) and Plan International – Ghana prepared the submission based on their experience in the empowerment of girls to become human rights defenders against gender-based violence and economic exclusion of girls. Both submissions highlighted the importance of a gender approach to children's participation and empowerment as human rights defenders, given that due to cultural and social norms girls might have less access to human rights defense opportunities than boys.
Moreover, in the margins of the 38th session of the Human Rights Council in a private meeting with the UK Special Envoy for Gender Equality, Joanna Roper, DCI-IS presented the Girls Advocacy Alliance work on education for girls, as a strategy to tackle gender-based violence and economic exclusion of girls.
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Highlighting DCI's work: DCI-Yemen
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This year marks the three-year anniversary of the beginning of the war in Yemen. This is why, this month, the DCI-IS is sharing with you the different projects and activities led by DCI-Yemen at the national, regional and international level.
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At the national level DCI-Yemen works jointly with Save The Children, advocating for girls' and women's rights with the project My safety, Our Future: The Protection of Women and Girls from Gender-based Violence. This project aims at raising awareness and mobilizing the community to identify key risks and address negative norms, attitudes and practices that perpetuate the social acceptance of gender-based violence. DCI Yemen is also monitoring the Democracy School, which gives a voice to children in Yemen and exposes violations against children, provides legal and social aid to children in distress, and raises government and public awareness of children’s rights. It gave Yemeni youth a platform to push for high-level commitment aimed at improving conditions in key areas, like education and health. In recent years, members have focused on stopping child recruitment through legislation that severely penalizes individuals utilizing child soldiers.
At the regional level, DCI-Yemen will be part of the second phase of a Regional Project coordinated by DCI MENA desk, seeking to implement a network in Yemen and Mauritania for the promotion of a child friendly justice system. Thanks to this program, hundreds of students will be trained on juvenile justice and will have knowledge about juvenile’s laws, the risks of committing crimes, and the influence it leaves in children’s future. DCI Yemen is also part of the Manara project with 9 other countries belonging to the Middle East and North Africa, whose aim is to protect children in emergency situations by involving children in workshops, raising awareness in schools, visiting institutions, giving talks, among others.
At the international level, DCI-Yemen actively participated in the Continental Conference on Access to Justice for Children in Africa and in the regional consultation for the Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty. DCI-Yemen has also engaged in the Human Rights Council, with the IS technical support. During the 36th and 37th sessions, DCI-Yemen submitted two statements, raising awareness on children’s rights violations and abuses in the country, and to call all parties to the conflict to protect children and to respect humanitarian law and human rights law. See the statements here.
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Defence for Children International Highlights from Around the World
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DCI-Canada: The Les Horne "Rights in Action" Award for Youth is open to youth who have project proposals that will further the rights of children as outlined in one or more of the articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The best proposal receives recognition on DCI Canada`s website and an amount of up to $1000 to make it happen. This year’s proposals are to be submitted by September 30th, 2018. More information here.
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DCI-Costa Rica: On the occasion of its 24th anniversary DCI-Costa Rica will host an event on the 27 of July on the human rights of children and adolescents in the context of international migration in the XXI century. The event will be also livestreamed through DCI-Costa Rica's Facebook page. For more information on the event click here.
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DCI-Colombia: Between May 21 and 22, 2018 DNI-Colombia, in representation of COALICO, participated in the International Forum on Justice and Fight Against Impunity held in Cartagena, Colombia and organized by the Office of the Attorney General. DNI-Colombia’s focused on the situation of children and adolescents affected by the armed conflict, and how they should be treated as victims and not offenders through restorative justice processes - especially those children who were demobilized in the framework of the peace agreements.
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DCI-Sierra Leone: On June 7th, Defence for Children International - Sierra Leone (DCI-SL) was honored by ECPAT international for its role in ending Child Sexual Exploitation in Sierra Leone during a ceremony held in Bogota, Colombia in the occasion of ECPAT international's 7th General Assembly and the Global Summit on Child Protection in Travel and Tourism.
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DCI-Greece DCI-Greece organized a Lawyer's training on International Children's Rights and Refugee Law, that took place at the Law Bar Association of Athens on May 12, 2018. 100 lawyers attended the training and given the success and the demand, several other sessions are to be scheduled.
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Deadline for UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty
Government and civil society replies to the call for the UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty must be returned to the OHCHR by September 1, 2018. Learn How NGOs Can Engage with the UN Global Study at National Level here.
Justice for Children Award – Award ceremony
The award ceremony of the Justice for Children Award 2017 edition will take place in Geneva during the first week of October 2018. The Prize will be officially awarded to Mr. Filip Waszczuk during a panel event, in which he will present the winning article followed by a debate on juvenile justice, including a gender perspective. For more information about the 2017 edition click here, and for general information about the Award click here.
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Defence for Children International thanks you for your support!
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This newsletter was translated into French and Spanish thanks to the work of our volunteer translators: Florencia Figueroa, Anne Marillet and Nina Augustin.
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