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Closing remarks by Anne Skatvedt, UNICEF Representative, Jordan,  Amman 22-23 November 2004

I enjoyed listening to your deliberations over the final Declaration on Child Protection. While your debate on the final declaration was long and engaged, the discussion was over the choice of words – there were no dissenting voices related to your commitment as Parliamentarians and Shura members to children and their rights.

On behalf of UNICEF I would like to thank the Arab Parliamentary Union, the International Parliamentary Union, and, not the least, the Jordanian Parliament for organizing this important conference.

As the UNICEF Representative in Jordan, my office enjoys the firm support of Their Majesties, King Abdulla and Queen Rania, and we enjoy excellent collaboration with the Jordanian government at all levels. We are also in Jordan privileged to work with a dynamic civil society, and we have had close collaboration with distinguished friends and individuals in Parliament. I see this meeting as a big step towards a more regular partnership with the Jordanian Parliament as an institution – both the Senate and the House of Representatives. I hope the establishment of such partnership between UNICEF and Parliaments will be the case also in other countries in the region.

In addition to agreeing on a good Declaration, I would like to commend you as delegates for discussing problems relating to children in this region in a very open way. This is an essential step. If we can agree that there is a problem, we can also help each other find the best solution to this problem. We owe that to our children, they have the right to be protected.

I will briefly touch upon the areas in which you have just made commitments as parliamentary advocates for child rights – legislation, budget allocation and monitoring - and how UNICEF could support you in these three areas:  

On legislation and your discussion on the lifting of reservations to the CRC, UNICEF can provide technical support and other possible assistance. We can, for example, help provide you with the arguments that have worked, the analysis and the considerations used in other countries, such as the example used by Mr. Filali (CRC comm. member) in the case of Pakistan – who decided to withdraw all their reservations.

From Jordan, one example of UNICEF support related to legislation is a series of roundtables to discuss draft laws with participants from civil society, the judiciary, the media and parliamentarians, to analyse the draft law and its implications. Two draft laws of major importance for all children in Jordan are now before Parliament: the draft Childhood Law and the draft Juvenile Law.  Listening to your debate, we understand that important laws related to child rights are in the making also in other countries.

Related to budget allocations, the Conference just made a commitment to having national budgets alalysed against the needs for fulfilling children’s rights in your countries. In Jordan, I would in this context draw your attention to the newly launched National Plan of Action which was distributed by the Jordanian parliamentary delegation this morning.  The National Plan is an excellent tool also for parliamentarians. As you will see from the detailed tables related to each chapter, the goals do not reflect day-dreaming. Each goal has a set of activities and each activity has been costed. You will find a column on what the total cost is, what money is already available in existing budgets, and what money needs to be found elsewhere. UNICEF may be able to provide technical support to develop such plans and calculate related costs. In some cases we may also be able to help you leverage funds for fulfilling children’s rights.

In the area of Monitoring, there are several mechanisms which some of you raised in your interventions:

One is related to the need for more facts and data related to the situation of children, the need for more surveys and studies. UNICEF also wants to base its advocacy on solid facts, and we have expertise in this field. Thus this is an area of possible collaboration and technical support.

Another effective mechanism is to go out and see for yourselves. We heard today from delegations about the power of their visits to child prisoners and orphanages or centres for sexually abused children.  We urge you to go and meet some of the most vulnerable children in our societies, ask questions to the caregivers, listen to the children and how they describe their situation, and ask them what they themselves see as possible solutions to their problems. It may help you make better laws and better provisions. Again, UNICEF may be able to help organize such visits through our counterparts.

A third effective mechanism is the international child rights monitoring through the Committee on the Rights of the Child. UNICEF sees its role as a very important one.  The mandatory reporting process to the CRC should be seen as an opportunity, not as a control mechanism. It should be seen as a positive dialogue with international experts, many of whom are from the Arab world, on how to further improve the situation of children in our countries. In most MENA countries, I believe UNICEF is actively supporting your CRC reporting process.

Lastly, I would like to comment on your debate on an Ombudsman for Children for each country. An independent ombudsperson for children is a fascinating principle, and there is much experience in this area elsewhere in the world. Such Ombudspersons for children are close to UNICEF’s heart, and we would be pleased to provide you with technical support to explore this further and see how best such a mechanism can be adopted to your country situation.

In conclusion: UNICEF is the United Nations Children’s Fund, and it has been encouraging to hear how most delegations yesterday and today have mentioned work you do together with us for child rights in your country.  On behalf of my office in Jordan and my UNICEF colleagues in other countries in the Middle East and North Africa region, we will be pleased to further support you in your efforts as parliamentarians and shura members to make your country and this region a best possible place for children.

Thanks you