A GENERAL COMMENT (GUIDE) FOR ARTICLE 19 OF THE UN CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY TO CONTRIBUTE:
Regional Consultations on the drafting of General Comment 13 on Article 19
July 1 - August 15, 2010
Below you will find material to provide you with background on the general comment program of development, information about the regional consultations, and directions for making a contribution as an individual through completing an online survey.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (the Committee) has given the International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) and the International Institute for Child Rights and Development (IICRD) the opportunity to work on its behalf to draft a General Comment (GC) for Article 19 of the United Nations Convention (treaty) on the Rights of the Child. Article 19 presents the Convention’s central positions on child protection. It has the potential to promote significant advances toward a child rights approach to child protection throughout the world.
Two drafts for the General Comment (GC) have been produced to date through 18 months of a rigorous program of development including: an analysis of all previous General Comments to help determine high priority and necessary inclusions; formulation of a Working Group, Expert Advisory Panel, and Focal Group of the Committee on the Rights of the Child to guide development of the GC; development of proposals for the GC’s outline and the securing of Focal Group approval for the outlines; development of extensive documented material on essential components of the GC; selection of a Writer for the GC; construction and review and advice processes for Draft 1 and Draft 2 of the GC, including two retreats with members of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (the Committee); formulation of an Editorial Group representing the Committee to work with the Writer and Executive Committee for program of development toward a final draft; planning to move forward toward a 3rd draft of the GC for consideration by the Committee at its September/October session. Throughout the program of development respect has been given to the history of general comments, the UN Secretary General’s Study on Violence Against Children, the knowledge bases for child protection and child rights, and the opinions of recognized experts in every region of the world.
A series of regional consultations has been approved by the Committee to promote consideration of a GC for Article 19, to provide information to advance the drafting of the General Comment, and to foster planning and readiness to support the implementation of a General Comment for Article 19.
The consultations’ specific aims are: (a) to elicit regional perspectives on comprehensive child rights-based care-giving and protection; (b) to elicit, at the request of the Committee, perspectives on particular issues relevant to the draft General Comment (issues determined by the Committee’s Editorial Group); (c) to raise enthusiasm and conduct planning regarding the future implementation process of the General Comment, once finalized; and, where possible, (d) to include the voices/perspectives of children (i.e., under 18s, following rights respecting guidelines).
Substantive feedback from regional consultations is needed by the Committee’s Editorial Group and the Writer for the drafting program by 15 August 2010 to provide the opportunity for it to be incorporated into an initial ‘Draft 3’ of the draft General Comment by the beginning of September 2010. This timeline is necessary to respect the Committee’s schedule for processing the drafts for the General Comment. The initial Draft 3 is then expected to be fine-tuned in time for possible presentation by the Editorial Group to the full Committee on the Rights of the Child at its September-October 2010 session. If Draft 3 is found to be sufficiently close to desired status, further necessary refinements will be made to prepare it for possible adoption by the Committee in its January-February 2011 session.
The survey will remain online until 31 October 2010 for further comment on regional experiences in general and on implementation of the final version of GC13.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE REGIONAL CONSULTATIONS
Here you will find links to background materials and guidance for taking part individually in the consultation online survey. We recommend that you read through the materials in sequence. In the last document you will find a link allowing you to take part in the online survey.
If you are interested in participating in a regional consultation that may be occurring in your region, contact the Operations Manager for the GC13 Program of Development Nancy Taylor (ntiicrd@uvic.ca).
» GC13 DRAFT 2 – Under Review by the Committee on the Rights of the Child
» GC13 DRAFT 2 – ADULT Summary
» GC13 DRAFT 2 – CHILD Summary
» GC13 Regional Consultations Background FINAL
» GC13 Feedback Form – Word Version – locked
» Feedback Form Guidelines – includes link to online survey process
