Joint letter on the cancellation of the May pre-session of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child

 

Amidst growing concerns over the cancellation of the May pre-session of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, a coalition of civil society organizations has penned a joint letter urging UN Member States to address the issue promptly, highlighting its implications for children's rights advocacy and engagement.

Joint letter on the cancellation of the May pre-session of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child to Permanent Missions to the United Nations in Geneva and New York and the Secretary-General of United Nationas:

Excellencies,

The undersigned civil society organisations working for the promotion and protection of children’s rights worldwide express great concern over the cancellation of the pre-session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (the Committee), scheduled to take place from 27 to 31 May 2024, due to the UN liquidity crisis. This sets a terrible precedent, which will have a negative impact on the ability of the Committee to undertake its core work in monitoring the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (the Convention) through the review of States parties in a way that allows for children, civil society, and other stakeholders to contribute to this process.  We also regret that this measure will add to backlogs for future dialogue with States parties.

We join the Committee in expressing deep concern that the scheduled opportunities to consult with children, who are rights holders under the Convention, have been postponed alongside opportunities to interact with civil society representatives and UN agencies. Children and civil society representatives from the countries scheduled for the pre-session have been preparing for months to interact with the Committee. Postponing the pre-session will have a clear impact on their future ability to engage. The postponement, announced just days before child and civil society submissions were due, has also resulted in disruptions and squandered efforts by all, and in frustrations for children who now feel discouraged rather than empowered.

This measure comes after the announcement in January of the cancelling of hybrid modalities for UN human rights bodies and mechanisms just a few days before the February pre-session of the Committee was planned to take place in a hybrid format. At the time, many civil society representatives and some children were not able to interact with the Committee online for the pre-session after months of preparations.

In the context of the UN liquidity crisis, we are also concerned that the Day of General Discussion that would normally take place as part of the drafting process for the Committee’s new General Comment on “Children’s right to access justice and effective remedies” might be postponed or even cancelled. Given that this is one of the main opportunities for States, civil society, UN agencies, and especially children, to interact with the Committee on emerging issues, such a step would be a further and significant setback.

These series of measures have all come at the expense of meaningful and effective engagement with civil society and participation of children. They come at a time when the work of the Committee continues to be more crucial than ever amidst the multitude of crises that disproportionately affect children in the world today, including armed conflicts, climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss, growing poverty and persisting inequalities, shrinking civic space, among others. It also comes at a time when the Secretary-General, in his Guidance Note on Child Rights Mainstreaming, has mandated the mobilization of the UN system to collectively strengthen and elevate a shared UN child rights agenda, including through meaningful and effective child participation.

We deeply regret that the UN liquidity crisis is impacting the overall regular functioning of the Committee, in particular the spaces for children and civil society to engage, adding to the worldwide trends of shrinking civil society space. Such measures have not only impacted the Committee, but also on the proper functioning of the treaty bodies system, the work of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN human rights mechanisms as a whole, setting a dangerous precedent.

We call on UN Member States worldwide to comply with their financial commitments to the UN by paying their fees to the UN in full and without delay so as to ensure that the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the UN human rights system as a whole can continue its critical work.

Please accept, Excellencies, the assurances of our highest consideration.

List of signatories (As 11.04.2024):

  1. ACARI – Associação Civil de Articulação para a Cidadania

  2. ACOLEA

  3. Al Mezan Center for Human Rights

  4. All Survivors Project

  5. ARARTEKO. Ombudsperson of Basque Country (Spain)

  6. Asdown Colombia

  7. Associação de Mulheres contra a Violência

  8. ASSOCIAÇÃO NACIONAL DOS CENTROS DE DEFESA DA CRIANÇA E DO ADOLESCENTE – ANCED-BRASIL

  9. Associação Pamen CHEIFA

  10. Associação Portuguesa de Estudos sobre as Mulheres (APEM)

  11. Association du Développement et de la Promotion de Droits de l’Homme

  12. Association EPA

  13. Association for Emancipation, Solidarity and Equality of Women – ESE

  14. Association Mauritanienne pour la santé de la Mére et de l’enfant AMSME

  15. Association of the Survivors of Makobola Massacres < ARMMK>

  16. Association “Our Children” Sarajevo/ Network Stronger Voice for Children, Bosnia and Herzegovina

  17. Boutokaan Inaomataia ao Mauriia Binabinaine Association (BIMBA)

  18. Bris (Children’s Rights in Society)

  19. Cabildo por las Mujeres de Cuenca

  20. Campaña Latinoamericana por el Derecho a la Educación (CLADE)

  21. Casa da Criança e do Adolescente

  22. CATW-LAC chapitre Haïtienne

  23. CEDECA-RJ

  24. Central Union for Child Welfare (Finland)

  25. Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation

  26. Centro de Defesa dos Direitos da Criança e do Adolescente – CEDECA RIO DE JANERIO, BRASIL

  27. Centro Dom Helder Câmara de Estudos e Ação Social – CENDHEC

  28. CESIP – Centro de Estudios Sociales y Publicaciones

  29. Child Law Clinic, University College Cork

  30. Child Rights Coalition Cambodia (CRC-Cambodia)

  31. Child Rights Connect

  32. Child Rights Information Center/ CRIC

  33. Child Rights International Network (CRIN)

  34. ChildFund Alliance

  35. ChildFund Korea

  36. Children of Prisoners Europe (COPE)

  37. Children’s Law Centre (Northern Ireland)

  38. Children’s Parliament (Scotland)

  39. Children’s Rights Alliance for England, part of Just for Kids Law

  40. COFRADE

  41. Colectivo de Derechos de Infancia y Adolescencia de Argentina

  42. Comisión de Derechos Humanos de la Ciudad de México

  43. Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines

  44. Conscience and Peace Tax International (CPTI)

  45. Coordinadora de Profesionales por la Prevención de Abusos (CoPPA)

  46. Coordinadora por los Derechos de la Infancia y la Adolescencia

  47. DCI Canada

  48. Defence for Children International

  49. Defence For Children International – Canada

  50. Defensa de Niñas y Niños – Internacional DNI Americas

  51. Defensa de Niñas y Niños – Internacional, DNI Costa Rica

  52. Défenseurs Plus

  53. Doncel

  54. Dr EM Knudsen, Department of Social Work, Trent University, Canada (Individual)

  55. Dutch NGO Coalition on Children’s Rights | Kinderrechtencollectief

  56. ECPAT Luxembourg

  57. ECPAT NZ

  58. ECPAT Sri Lanka

  59. Ecuador Violencias Cero

  60. Edmund Rice International

  61. Espace Boris Vian (centre social)

  62. European Network on Statelessness

  63. EYEYA MUNZEBE JULINNE

  64. FENASE

  65. Fondation Apprentis d’Auteuil International

  66. Fondation « Zanmi Timoun »

  67. Fondation pour l’Enfance

  68. Fórum estadual de prevenção e erradicação do trabalho infantil do Rio de janeiro

  69. Fundación PANIAMOR

  70. Fundación para Estudio e Investigación de la Mujer

  71. Global Campaign for Education

  72. Global Detention Project

  73. Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR)

  74. Greek Helsinki Monitor

  75. Grupo Curumim

  76. Grupo de Iniciativa Nacional por los Derechos del Niño. GIN-PERU

  77. Grupo Impulsor para Poner Fin a la Violencia contra las Niñas, Niños y Adolescentes

  78. Hope and Homes for Children

  79. Hope For Children – CRC Policy Center

  80. Human Rights Watch

  81. Humanist Union of Greece

  82. ICASM International Coalition for the Abolition of Surrogate Motherhood

  83. Icelandic Human Rights Centre

  84. Institute for NGO Research

  85. Institute of Child Protection Studies

  86. Instituto de Desenvolvimento e Direitos Humanos – IDDH

  87. INSTITUTO PROMOVIENDO DESARROLLO SOCIAL – IPRODES

  88. Intact Denmark

  89. International Catholic Child Bureau

  90. INTERSEX-BELGIUM

  91. Jubilee Campaign USA

  92. Justice for Girls

  93. Juvenile Justice Advocates International

  94. Lawyers for Human Rights

  95. Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights

  96. Methoria

  97. Minority Rights Group – Greece

  98. Molo Songololo

  99. Movimento de Emaus- CEDECA-Emaus

  100. Mulher Século XXI – Associação de Desenvolvimento e Apoio às Mulheres

  101. National Coalition Austria, Netzwerk Kinderrechte Österreich

  102. National Coalition Germany _ Network for the Implementation of the UN Convention on the rights of the child

  103. National Secular Society

  104. Núcleo Cearense de Estudos e Pesquisas sobre a Criança

  105. Núcleo de Pesquisas e Estudos sobre o Desenvolvimento da Infância e Adolescência

  106. Observatório da População Infantojuvenil em Contextos de Violência/Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte

  107. Ombudsman for Children, Croatia

  108. Organisation des Jeunes pour le Monde d’Avenir (OJMA)

  109. Peace Movement Aotearoa

  110. Plataforma de Direitos Humanos – Dhesca Brasil

  111. Plataforma de Infancia

  112. Portuguese Platform for Women’s Rights

  113. Positive Discipline in Everyday Life

  114. Punanga Tauturu Inc

  115. QADER for Community Development

  116. Rede Ecpat Brasil

  117. Rede Não Bata, Eduque

  118. REGARDS DE FEMMES

  119. REIPER

  120. Repatriate the Children – Sweden

  121. Right to Education Initiative

  122. Save the Children

  123. Save the Children in Albania

  124. Save the Children Norway

  125. Save the Children South Africa

  126. SOS Children’s Villages International

  127. South African National Child Rights Coalition (SANCRC)

  128. The Advocates for Human Rights

  129. The Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children (CCRC)

  130. The Child and Youth Friendly Governance Project

  131. The Egyptian Foundation for the Advancement of Childhood Conditions

  132. The Public Health Foundation of Georgia

  133. Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights)

  134. UNICEF Ireland

  135. Validity Foundation – Mental Disability Advocacy Centre

  136. Vulnerable Children Assistance Organization (VCAO)

  137. World Organization for Early Childhood Education – OMEP

  138. WORLD Policy Analysis Center, UCLA

  139. World Vision International

 
Child Rights International NetworkComment