The China-Innocenti Seminar on Implementation of the CRC
On 24-27 April 2006, a seminar at UNICEF's Innocenti Research Centre in Florence, Italy, brought together a distinguished group of Chinese and international officials and experts for an in-depth discussion of the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The objective of the seminar was to share information, experience and insights on the implementation of the CRC in China and worldwide, including the results of research conducted by the Innocenti Research Centre and Chinese institutions, and to discuss opportunities for future collaboration in research and policy development on behalf of children's rights. The Chinese delegation, which was led by Mme. Zhang Shiping, a member of the Secretariat of the All China Women's Federation (ACWF), included officials of ACWF, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Office of the National Working Committee on Children and Women (NWCCW) under the State Council, the China Family Education Association and the Law Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Science (CASS).
The international participants included researchers from the Innocenti Research Centre, senior staff of the China Country Office of UNICEF, senior Italian officials, other invited experts, and three members of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the UN body based in Geneva which is responsible for reviewing governments' periodic reports on national CRC implementation. The discussions centred on the general measures of implementation of the CRC, which has been a major focus of comparative international research at the Innocenti Research Centre, as well as on the reporting process on CRC implementation.
CRC reporting and follow-up Besides the opportunities to learn lessons from the research on CRC implementation around the world, the presence of members of the Committee on the Rights of the Child provided a valuable opportunity for an exchange of views between Committee members and the delegates from China, in particular those from the Department of Treaty and Law of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is responsible for China's reporting obligations as a state party to the CRC. The Committee on the Rights of the Child had reviewed China's second periodic report on CRC implementation in September 2005 and had recently issued its concluding observations, making a number of recommendations to the Government of China. The discussions highlighted the fact that the reporting process on the CRC does not end with the concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, but is part of an ongoing process involving the follow-up of the recommendations and continuous improvements in the implementation of the CRC. This requires not only enhancements in the legal framework for the protection of children's rights but also advances in societal attitudes through education and the raising of awareness. In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted the steps already taken by China since its second periodic report, notably the phased elimination of fees and charges in compulsory education, the ongoing revision of the Law on the Protection of Minors and the proposals for strengthening assistance to orphans. The legal framework One of the main subjects on the agenda was the legal protection of children. Besides the presentation of comparative international experience (ncluding two detailed case studies on the legislative framework for children in Canada and India), proposals for the revision of China's main legislation on children, the Law on the Protection of Minors, were advanced. These included emphasizing the nature of children as subjects, protecting child migrants' rights, and making the law more concrete. The All China Women's Federation has organized an extensive consultative process at community, provincial and national levels, with the aim of preparing detailed proposals for submission to the National People's Congress. UNICEF has provided financial and technical support for this process, through which a wide range of suggestions for improvements in the law have been made by children, parents and guardians, as well as government officials and professionals working with children in different fields and sectors. Planning, monitoring and coordination Another important theme was the framework of planning, monitoring and coordination for the realization of children's rights. China has had considerable experience in this regard, as was reported in detail to the seminar by the Office of the National Working Committee on Children and Women (NWCCW). The seminar discussed China's experience with the National Plans of Action for Children and Women (NPAs) as tools for planning the achievement of the official goals and targets for children and women, as well as the role of NWCCW in coordinating the preparation, implementation and monitoring of these plans. The Government of China is currently engaged in a comprehensive mid-term review of its NPAs for Children and Women in the decade from 2001 to 2010. The seminar highlighted the importance of mainstreaming such plans for children into the broader development planning system. In this regard, the Chinese participants noted that the objectives and key components of the NPAs have been incorporated into the 11th Five Year Plan for 2006-2010, which was adopted by the National People’s Congress in March 2006. In this regard, the seminar took note of the important step forward taken by the Government of China in announcing that it will phase out all fees and charges in compulsory education.
Child protection mechanisms The seminar discussed some other, more specific aspects of the protection of child rights. In particular, there was a session on the experience of "ombudsmen for children", a concept that has been applied in many industrialized countries as well as a growing number of developing countries in order to provide a mechanism for children to voice complaints and obtain support for the realization of their rights. A presentation on this subject made by the former ombudsman for children in Norway aroused great interest Juvenile justice The seminar also discussed the international norms and standards for juvenile justice, based on the UN Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (the Riyadh Rules of 1990), the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (the Beijing Rules of 1985) and the UN Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of Liberty (the Havana Rules of 1990). Results and follow-up There was a broad consensus among the participants that the seminar achieved its purpose. The quality of the presentations by both Chinese and international speakers was high. The discussions were frank and open, with a high level of participation by all in attendance. And there were valuable opportunities for more informal exchanges among the participants from the Chinese organizations, the CRC Committee, Innocenti Research Centre and the China Country Office. Besides being an important learning experience for all concerned, the seminar helped to build common understanding and nurture a desire for deeper cooperation in future research, experience-sharing and policy development, to the ultimate benefit of China's children. The potential for fruitful cooperation was underscored by the proposals that emerged during the course of the discussions and that were summarized in the closing session of the seminar. These included: - International comparative research on CRC implementation. It was proposed to add China as a new case-study in the Innocenti Research Centre's comparative international research on the general measures of CRC implementation, with the involvement of the Country Office and Chinese institutions. - Law on the Protection of Minors. Advocacy and training on the revised Law on the Protection of Minors can be promoted. - CRC reporting process and follow-up. Seminars and exchanges could help strengthen understanding of the CRC process and the quality of both reporting and follow-up, including in particular the follow-up of the concluding observations of the Committee in September 2005 on China's 2nd periodic report. This would include support for a planned North East Asia regional workshop on CRC reporting and follow-up, in cooperation with the Committee on the Rights of the Child, and the governments of China, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Japan, Mongolia and Republic of Korea. - Research on child poverty in China. There are opportunities to link ongoing research on this theme at Innocenti with proposed research planned in China on the children's and gender dimensions of poverty, for which UNICEF support has been requested by the State Council's Leading Group Office on Poverty Alleviation and Development. - Juvenile justice. This is an area of potential collaboration with specialist international sources of technical expertise, as the UNICEF China Country Office is beginning implementation of a project on juvenile justice reform with the Chinese authorities in its Country Programme for 2006-2010 CP. - Migration and child trafficking. These are additional themes on which the Innocenti Research Centre's comparative international research coincides with policy issues of growing importance for the Government of China and for the UNICEF Country Programme in China. This is a potential area for the valuable sharing of international experience and best practices. Participants also stressed the importance of enhancing advocacy on children's rights, providing training for decision-makers and professionals concerned with children, and developing an information network on children's issues in China. The seminar concluded with agreement that future collaboration between the participating Chinese organizations, UNICEF (Innocenti Research Centre and China Country Office) and members of the CRC Committee should be further strengthened.
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