Children

A Baseline for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

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Today’s meeting focused on why sexual and reproductive health and rights are essential to achieve the SDGs and gender equality. The moderator introduced the panel speakers and stated that NGLS is working hard to build support between the UN and civil societies.

The first speaker was Ms. Namasivayam, and she explained that SRHR is often vaguely understood and an overlooked component in development, yet its role is fundamental to achieving sustainable well-being for all. SRHR has two key components already captured in the SDGs: health and gender equality. She noted how access to health services is critical especially for low-income communities, and acts as a social leveler to reduce inequalities. She also said that fundamental freedoms such as who and when to marry enable autonomy and decision-making for women.

The second speaker was Ms. Nessa, and she explained the statistics behind the sexual and reproductive rights for context. 64% of women aged 20-24 are married before the age of 19, 31% of adolescent girls aged 15-19 already have one child, and 30.8% of school dropouts start an early sexual and reproductive role. She explained that one of the key challenges of SRHR is a lack of political will of the policy makers and executives.

Another notable speaker was Ms. David, and she discussed the sexual and reproductive health programs in the Philippines. She stated that there is weak implementation of such programs, as the Philippines is one of 2 countries in the world with no progress in MMR reduction. Abortion is illegal in the country, but estimates put the number of induced abortions at 600,000/year, resulting in 100,000 hospitalizations for abortion complications. However, she said that there is a growing demand among civil societies and the media for policy changes. After the panelist speakers, the floor was open for questions.

Meeting: Universal Access to SRHR (Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights)

Date/Location: Wednesday March 23, 2016, 13:15 – 14:30, Conference Room 7

Speakers: Susan Alzner, UN-NGLS and moderator; Ms. Managala Namasivayam, Senior Programme Officer of ARROW; Ms. Habbibum Nessa, Naripokkho; Rina Jiminez David, member of board of directors at Likhaan; Dr. P. Balasubramanian, Rural Women’s Social Education Centre

Written By: WIT Representative Kangho (Paul) Jung

Edited By: WIT Representative Alex Margolick

Photo Credit: Jade Beall

Placing the Displaced: Accomodating the Refugee Crisis

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   The Third Committee hosted a meeting to address the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The report focused on the refugee crisis in Europe and the Middle East, where hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled to seek safety over the last few months. 60 million people worldwide are forcibly displaced as a result of war and persecution. In the past five years alone, the number of people forced from their homes every single day has quadrupled from under 11,000 in 2010 to 42,500.

   The meeting began with remarks from delegates. The first delegate was the representative of Kuwait, and he paid tribute to the High Commissioner for extending humanitarian efforts to the refugees even under every difficult conditions. He stated that Kuwait emphasizes continuation and support to the high commission, and that the country has participated voluntarily to 1 million dollars in aid. The representative also explained that he was very concerned by the suffering of refugees and displaced people in Iraq, which resulted from activity carried out by the Islamic State extremist militant group.

   Another notable speaker was the representative of Pakistan, who stated that the process of helping the refugees has been much too slow and inadequate, and that the international community has ignored this for far too long. The delegate explained that only 127,000 people were able to return home this year, which is the lowest number since 1983. One of the biggest issues is the lack of nutrition and education among children, which could lead to the risk of losing an entire generation.

   A representative who offered a different perspective was the delegate from Kenya, who explained that the burden of hosting refugees is enormous, especially financially. However, Kenya continues to welcome refugees in accordance to tradition.

Meeting: Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, questions relating to refugees, returnees and displaced persons and humanitarian questions

Date/Location: Wednesday November 4, 2015, 10:00 – 13:00; Conference Room 1

Speakers: Representative of Kuwait; Representative of Nigeria; Representative of Pakistan; Representative of Japan; Representative of Kenya; Representative of India

Written By: WIT Representative Kangho (Paul) Jung

Edited By: WIT Representative Alex Margolick

Photo Credit: Frank Augstein/AP

Making the World of Books Accessible to People who are Print Disabled

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innovtech-pwdsMs. Bas began by presenting the Treaty of Marrakesh, which addresses the current relative lack of availability of print material to print disabled individuals, as the next step in the Post-2015 Development Agenda’s efforts of leaving no one behind. All of the efforts thus far tell us that mainstreaming disabilities is a successful but slow process. It is thus imperative that we encourage promotion and awareness of this new treaty.

Ambassador Webson approved the treaty because the world is now in a position in which it can address the problem of the “book famine”–just 1.7% of print material is available to people that are blind or otherwise print disabled. Thanks to Marrakesh, however, barriers to information are being removed and a new world is being opened up to the print disabled. This is especially significant when considering that access to information is key to getting an education, and education in turn is an proven path out poverty.

Mr. LaBarre discussed the Accessible Book Consortium (ABC), saying that it achieved three objectives:  (1) getting permission from rights holders so entities can exchange book copies across borders; (2) capacity building to enable countries to put books into accessible formats; and (3) accessible publishing, meaning all books are initially created digitally. Mr. Power added that the technology is in place to secure the achievement of such goals, but we must now enable this technology to be available internationally. Cost is also an issue for braille and audio reader technologies, but lower cost solutions are on the way.

Mr. Mitra asserted that addressing the print disabled is a central mission for UNICEF. The education system fails millions of children around the world, yet the technology exists to create book in formats that are accessible to all people. Of course, costs and resources are issues, but to create accessible books requires a one-time production cost at the beginning of the process. If we wish to meet goal number 4, he concluded, there is no other way than to ensure that all textbooks are available to all children.

 

Meeting: Innovative Technologies: Making the world of books accessible to people who are print disabled
Date & Location: 25 March 2015, Conference Room 9, UN Headquarters, New York
Speakers: Ms. Daniela Bas, Director, Division for Social policy and Development, united Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA).   H.E. Dr. W. Aubrey Webson, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda to the United Nations, New York.   Mr. Scott LaBarre, Board Member, Accessible Books Consortium and Representative, World Blind Union. Mr. Dave Power, President and Chief Executive Officer, Perkins, Watertown. Mr. Gopal Mitra, Programme Specialist, Children with Disabilities, Gender Rights and Civic Engagement, UNICEF, New York. Moderator: Ms. Lucinda Longcroft, Head, WIPO New York Office.
Written By WIT Representative: James Victory
Edited by WIT Representative: Philip Bracey

Child Labor & Slavery – DPI/NGO Special Briefing with 2014 Nobel Laureate

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96300941Susan Bissell began this briefing by reminding the audience of the 168 million children toiling in child labor or slavery. These crimes deprive children of their right to a protected and healthy childhood and to an education. A great majority of countries have ratified legal frameworks for responsibilities and commitments to children and there is no lack of political commitment to tackle child labor and slavery. There is, however, still a need to challenge cultural norms at national and subnational levels that allow for its continued presence. There is demand by many actors to have stakeholders do more. Bissell recommends that greater data on child slavery be used in order to encourage more effective action.

Mr. Satyarthi added that for every statistic on child labor, there is a cry, and for every figure, a face. This cry is one for freedom; to simply be a child. He believes that we cannot achieve development goals without a strong commitment against child labor. We must dream that every child will achieve primary education instead of being forced into marriage or given guns instead of toys.

There is also a vicious cycle between poverty and child labor–children are preferred as workers because of their low cost. As a result, there must be clear language in the Sustainable Development Goals to combat child labor and slavery. In Mr. Satyarthi’s words, “The number of child laborers has been decreased and it is good news, but we have to work harder. The number of child slaves did not decrease at all. We did not make progress in the most heinous crime against humanity.” To combat child slavery, Satyarthi says we must (1) strengthen the UN system and build belief in multilateralism; (2) address the need for deeper and broader interagency cooperation; and (3) ensure that the UN be proactive rather than reactive.

 

Meeting: DPI/NGO Special Briefing with 2014 Nobel Laureate
Date & Location: 17 March 2015, ECOSOC Chamber, UN Headquarters, New York
Speakers: Maher Nasser, Moderator, Director, Outreach Division, Department of Public Information; Susan Bissell, Chief of Child Protection, Programme Division, UNICEF; Kailash Satyarthi, 2014 Nobel Peace Prize Winner and Chairperson, Global March Against Child Labor.
Written By WIT Representative: James Victory
Edited by WIT Representative: Philip Bracey

World Information Transfer’s 23rd International Conference: Our Children’s World

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Ecology E 2012Dr. Durbak began the conference by reiterating that healthy people need a healthy environment. Accurate information regarding health and the environment is necessary to allow policymakers to make well-informed decisions. Governments must make use of the precautionary principle, which is based on the idea that we must “do no harm.” Common sense must be used in decision-making when scientific evidence is not available, and children must be educated to understand this idea.

Sustainable development goals, explained Mr. Seth, are not just different bullet points on a list. Instead, they exist as a map of interconnections and progress in one is dependent on progress in the others. In the future, development must not be addressed with more and more new policy frameworks, but rather with real implementation.

Dr. Shuman focused on the effect of the West African Ebola outbreak on children. Children are typically infected at lower rates because they are not caregivers, but once infected their mortality rates are very high. Over 3,700 children have been orphaned because of the current outbreak. These children are stigmatized and shunned because of the fear surrounding Ebola.

Air pollution, Dr. Thurston said, can be more dangerous for children than for adults. Taking action to reduce carbon dioxide emissions will help the global environment as well as local health. In developing countries, coal burning and indoor biomass burning are serious health threats.

Dr. Ratzan discussed education’s role in increasing health literacy and advocated the utilization of mobile device technology to ensure good, valid health and environmental information is always only an arm’s length away.

Mr. Doyle highlighted the ability of social media to be harnessed as a vehicle to provide information to the public at the click of a button, helping us build a better future.

Mr. Gupta closed by urging young people to work together to create the world we need. This is a generation that is uniquely fitted to deal with current global crises. As essentially borderless people due to modern technology, the youth must ensure that cross-boundary connections are of humanitarian value. How we choose to associate with our interconnectedness will impact on way issues are dealt with.

Meeting: World Information Transfer 23rd International Conference: Our Children’s World
Location/Date: 1 December 2014, Conference Room 1, UN Headquarters, New York
Speakers: Dr. Christine K. Durbak, Conference Chair and Founder, World Information Transfer, Inc.; H.E. Yuriy Sergeyev, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations; Mr. Nikhil Seth, Director for Sustainable Development, DESA, United Nations; Dr. Scott Ratzan, MD, Adj. Prof., Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health; Dr. Emily K. Shuman, MD, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan; Mr. Alex Konanykhyn, President, KMGi; Mr. Wayne Doyle, Director, Liberatrix Media Consulting, Inc.; Ms. Gianna Simone, Activist and Actress; Apurv Gupta, Youth Representative.
Written by WIT Representative: Philip Bracey

Guaranteeing children’s right to participate: the big step needed

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download (1)Mr. Taalas introduced the event, discussing the need to guarantee children’s rights to participate in decisions affecting their lives. Ms. Samardzic-Markovic stressed the need to guarantee that children are heard and understood. Evidence has proven that adults “acting in best interest of the child” have often failed. Critics argue that: children lack competence/experience to participate, children must learn responsibility before giving them rights, listening to children will cause lack of respect for authority; but, Ms. Samardzic-Markovic stated that these arguments are incorrect. Adults in powerful positions over children exploit that power. Children’s interests are disregarded and excluded in public policy. This exclusion is caused by adult prejudices, poor listening, minimal information being provided to the child, and intimidating formal settings that hamper a child’s involvement. To maintain democratic status, public policy should inform and acknowledge children participation.

An assessment tool needs to be designed to evaluate the progress of ensuring child participation within governmental policy. Ms. Koskelo addresses the CRC’s legal binds to regard and protect children as individuals. She also states children “cannot bear being left alone” and highlights the need to support children without shifting adult responsibilities onto them. Ms. Koskelo also addressed the difficulties of child-abuse court proceedings and mentions that many child-victims are often left unnoticed. Ms. Pais states that children have two goals: education that empowers them and a world with security, safety, and peace. She emphasized the need for child-friendly versions of important documents to properly inform children. Ms. Sandberg mentions that adults should be more open to the medias children choose to express themselves with. She believes in educating children about the power and influence of their rights. The conference concluded with a presentation on youth outreach through technology by youth representatives of RedNATIC, a Latin American NGO.

Meeting: Event on “Guaranteeing children’s right to participate: the big step needed” (co-organized by the Permanent Mission of Finland, the Council of Europe and the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children)
Location/Date: Wednesday, November 19th; Conference Room 7, United Nations Headquarters.
Speakers: Mr. Janne Taalas, Moderator and Director of Policy Planning and Research at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland; Ms. Snezana Samardzic-Markovic, Director General of Democracy at the Council of Europe; Ms. Pauliine Koskelo, President of the Supreme Court of Finland; Ms. Marta Santos Pais, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children (SRSG); Ms. Kirsten Sandberg, Chair of the Government of Norway to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Pro-Dean for Education of the Faculty of Law; Jorge Joaquin Laslop Yanez, Gal Rozic, and Marcela Rut Czarny, Latin America Network of Children and Adolescents on ICTs (RedNATIC)
Written By WIT Representatives: Ellie Guner and Brian Lee

Edited By WIT Representative: Aslesha Dhillon

Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by the NGO Committee on Children’s Rights and DPI

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imagesThe NGO Committee and Department of Public Information celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The briefing opened with Mr. Jennifer Tang outlining three articles detailed the rights of the child which were to respect for the views of the child, the right to freedom of expression, and the right to free association.

Ms. Formsma represented children who are indigenous by saying, “Often the participation and voices of indigenous children is not being heard; in developed countries, some indigenous children live in third-world conditions” She also stated how we must listen to young people because they know and understand what their community needs; they just need the support and resources to help develop the needs of the community. Chenor Bah told a story about his personal experience of being involved in the war of Sierra Leone; he became a refuge and thought to himself during all of the hardship, “This is not right; children should have a voice in this war.”

Dr. Flores revealed data about a survey taken children and adults throughout the world. The results revealed issues that matter most to children and their families: good education, better healthcare, better job opportunities, an honest and responsive government, protections against crime and violence, and phone and internet access. Dr. Flores outlined a few principles of democratic participation for children: power in relationships and decision making process must be transparent and understood by children; children should be involved in the initial stages of any process or project; all children should be treated with equal respect; demonstrate to children that they are being heard by actively listening; provide encouragement so children will speak, participate, and learn to make decisions.

Meeting: DPI/NGO Briefing: Have you heard us? Children’s Voices in Creating a World Fit for ALL: Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by the NGO Committee on Children’s Rights and the Department of Public Information
Date/Location: November 20, 2014; 11:00-12:45; Conference Room 1
Speakers: Ravi Karkara, Global Expert Advisor; Children and Youth with UN-Habitat and Advisor to the UN Millennium Campaign on Child and Youth Engagement; Therese Folkers Plair, Co-Chair; NGO Committee on Children’s Rights; opening song by Young at Arts – Amani Choir; Jennifer Tang, Research Associate, Children’s Environments Research Group; Jocelyn Formsma, Indigenous Child Rights Advocate; Public School 333 Manhattan, 4th – 5th Graders; Chernor Bah, Co-founder and Youth Engagement Coordinator, A World at School; Dr. Roseanne Flores, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Hunder College of the City University of New York; Kaylee Beree Weinberg, Ramapough Lenape Student Speaker; closing song by Carrie E Tomplins, Elementary School
Written By WIT Representative: Eman Osagie

Edited By WIT Representative: Aslesha Dhillon

Poverty Eradication and Inequality Reduction – Key Goals for Development

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images-7A ministerial dialogue was convened this morning about poverty eradication and inequality reduction. Before the start of the discussion, ECOSOC President Mr. Sajdik addressed how inequality remains to be the biggest obstacle in achieving poverty eradication and sustainable development.

Ms. Holguin identified poverty eradication, inequality reduction and sustainable consumption and production as key challenges to development. Since income presents only a simplified and partial image of poverty, she introduced a tool called the Multidimensional Poverty Index that was used by Columbia to address the complex and multi-dimensional nature of poverty. She stressed the need for consolidated economic and financial systems, and strong participation of developing countries in the decision-making process to dismiss poverty and inequality. Enhancing quality of education, promoting sustainable consumption and production patterns, as well as mobilizing private sectors are conducive to achieving the goal of irreversible poverty eradication.

Ms. Karmasin stated the need to strengthen and mainstream children’s rights at all levels, and stimulate policy dialogue on children. She ended by saying “sustainable development starts with children and ends with children. Children are the leverage of breaking the cycle of poverty, malnutrition and lack of education. It ends with children because healthy and educated children are the foundation for sound, inclusive sustainable development.”

Dlamini pointed out how the right to development is critical for building more sustainable societies. Increased investment in children, healthcare and social protection are means to address childhood poverty in her country, South Africa.

Ms. Kurmangaliyeva called for inclusive and fair economic development. This can be achieved through maximizing the potential economic development and building a roadmap for poverty eradication that stresses i) productive employment, ii) creation of a middle class in search of a stable society iii) access to medical care and social assistance and iv) development of rural infrastructure.

Mr. Li highlighted industrialization as the most successful way to reduce poverty and attain sustainable economic gains. He discussed the role of inclusive and sustainable industrial development in reducing inequality, ensuring environmental sustainability and building industrial linkages to achieve long-term equality.

 

Meeting Title:“Long term measures to make poverty eradication irreversible and reduce inequalities
Speakers : H.E. Martin Sajdik, President of the Economic and Social Council; Mr. Anthony Lake, Executive Director, UNICEF; H.E. Ms. Maria Angela Holguin, , Minister of Foreign Affairs, Colombia; H.E. Ms. Sophie Karmasin, Federal Minister for Family and Youth, Austria; H.E. Ms. Bathabile Dlamini, Minister of Social Development, South Africa; H.E. Ms. Aida Kurmangaliyeva, Executive Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population, Kazakhstan; Mr. Yong Li, Director General, UNIDO
Location: Trusteeship Council, UNHQ, New York
Date: 8 July 2014
Written By WIT representative: Tracy Lau
Edited By WIT Representative: Marli Kasdan

Bringing Young People To The Forefront Of SDG Monitoring

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download (1)Plan International convened a panel to seek best practices on consultation method involving young people, so that the future monitoring process of the sustainable development goals can include effective participation of young people.

The Chair opened by asking young advocates if they know of any institutions of consultation in which young people’s view can be collected. One institution discussed is the UN Young Delegate programme, in which member states nominate young people of their country to speak in the Third Committee of the General Assembly. While there is enthusiasm surrounding this proposal, there are concerns as to whether the programme can reach out to the most marginalized children in a country. Further, there are also questions as to whether the Youth Delegates can reach out to their constituencies during their tenure in New York, which is core to their task of representing young people in their country.

Further consultation mechanisms, such as universal periodic review mechanism used by the UN Human Rights Council are advocated as possible means to involve young people in monitoring the progress of the SDGs. The mechanism’s provision for civil society to write shadow reports in response to member states’ submission allow young people to pinpoint lapses in the country’s progress and areas for improvement. The role of national Youth Advisory Board, a mechanism mentioned and strengthened in the Colombo Declaration of Youth, is also highlighted as a possible means of monitoring and consultation.

Attention is also paid as to whether the outcome of the monitoring process can be fed back to the decision-makers, as there are worries as to consultation of youth being reduced to a mere public relations exercise. Concerns about the decision-makers’ capacity to engage with young people were also raised, as some young delegates mentioned their experience of being patronized when making suggestions.

Meeting Title: Youth participation in monitoring to ensure accountability for the post-2015 development framework
Speakers: Representative from Plan International, Representative from Overseas Development Institute, UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth and Youth Delegates
Location: Conference Room 7, North Lawn Building, United Nations Headquarters
Date: 2 July 2014
Written by WIT Representative: Harrison Chung
Edited by WIT Representative: Aslesha Dhillon

Voices of Women, Children and Youth with Disabilities at the UN

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HRWThe moderator, Nancy Maguire started the panel discussion by highlighting the importance to acknowledge that the ‘disability’ group is not like one homogenous group and is subject to different perspectives and experiences on the basis of where they are from.

Ambrose Murangira, then shared his personal experience in Uganda. He highlighted the discriminatory practices from childhood to the community level; and faced these challenges by performing, cooperating with his friends and leading his cause. Teachers are also very important in influencing young people. Apart from disability organizations, it is important that all people take the responsibility of ensuring that the disabled community gets their rights. The post 2015 agenda in his opinion, would give this cause the right platform to be heard.

Andrea Mazzarino shared her research on children with disabilities in Russian and Japanese state orphanages. In the case of Russia, the children are abandoned by the sate. According to UNICEF at least, 305,000 children lived in Russian orphanages, which is 2-5% of Russia ‘s total child population. The children with disabilities are victims of violence, neglect and isolation in Russian orphanages. Although a vast majority of these children have one living parent, due to the doctors stating that the children will never be able to develop like normal children under immense pressure from the society, those parents give up their children. In the case of Japan, 25% of 39000 Japanese children live in state institutions; group homes for independent living and foster care have a disability. The lack of inclusion in the educational system has severed consequences in the overall development of these children.  She recommended, that these children should be provided adequate support from communities, parents and foster parents, collectively and to create independent mechanism to ensure institutionalization is used as the only resort.

Finally Rashmi Chopra, shared her research and study on women and girls with disabilities. Women with disabilities are profoundly vulnerable to abuse and often their choices are not heard and abuses remain hidden. The social stigma and exclusion impacts their multiple rights such as health education and a family life. Chopra highlighted the stories of three women from Zambia and India, respectively. Mary and Charity from Zambia were both victims of HIV AIDS and rape. They were abused by their husbands and got limited schooling. Rekha from India suffered from an intellectual disability. Her mother, without any consent and knowledge from Rekha, sterilized her, to protect her from sexual violence. These cases represent the vulnerability of disabled women and girls to abuse and violence.

Meeting Title: Voices of Women, Children and Youth with Disabilities: from Uganda, Zambia, India, Japan and Russia
Speakers: Nancy Maguire, UNICEF Global Youth Council Member; Ambrose Murangira, Executive director, Uganda National Association of the Deaf; Andréa Mazzarino, ACLS Public Fellow, Europe & Central Asia Division, Human Rights Watch; Rashmi Chopra, Fellow, Disability Rights Division, Human Rights Watch.
Date: 11 June 2014
Location: Conference room 5, United Nations Headquarters, New York.
Written by WIT Representative– Aslesha Kaur Dhillon