Young people open UNICEF Executive Board session
2019 second regular session of the UNICEF Executive Board
NEW YORK, United States of America, 13 September 2019 – The UNICEF Executive Board opened its second regular session of 2019 on Wednesday this week. Looking ahead to the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on 20 November, two young people were invited to open the session this year: 14-year-old Alexandria Villaseñor from the United States of America and 17-year-old Felipe Caetano from Brazil. In the audience were a number of other children who came with different delegations, following an invitation shared by UNICEF Executive Board President H.E. Mr. Omar Hilale, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Morocco.
Making their voices heard
Opening proceedings with an urgent call for action to address climate change, Alexandria took a bold stance advocating for children’s rights: “Article 6 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child recognizes that we children have an inherent right to life. It also states that the parties to the Convention will ensure our survival and development. I believe that those who are causing our planet to heat up, destroying our ecosystems and biosphere that we depend on for life, are violating my rights as a child. And now I want you to hold them accountable.”
As a committed climate change activist, Alexandria helped to organize the first-ever climate strike earlier this year, mobilizing 1.6 million students in over 125 countries. “In the year 2030 I will be 25 years old. At that time, 11 years will have passed since scientists informed humanity that time was running out to avoid irreversible, catastrophic effects of climate change,” she said. “I want to tell you how frustrating it is to know that when I'm an adult, it will be too late,” she added.
Alexandria’s urgent message on children’s rights was reflected in Felipe’s words, who spoke about the importance of giving children their childhood back. “My childhood was interrupted by child labour. I started working when I was 8…I wonder, what I would have become had I kept working," he said.
Along with the Labour Public Prosecutor’s Office in Brazil, Felipe is proud to have established the first national committee composed of adolescents to discuss, prevent and eradicate child labour.
For Felipe, the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child is a reminder that we need to keep fighting so that more and more children can be free: "I am fighting for my rights and for those of millions of other children all over the world…I am not just Felipe. I am the 152 million children around the world who are in child labour. I am the 263 million children who are out of school. I am every girl and every boy whose rights are violated. And every child whose voice cannot be heard because of violence.”
Ambassador Hilale thanked Alexandria and Felipe for their powerful contributions. “We need to listen to your generation,” he said. “By listening to your concerns and expectations, we can make sure that the decisions made in this room are grounded in the real world. He added, “the reality is that your concerns are the same as ours. And your expectations are the same as ours.”
Looking ahead: 30 years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child
In her opening remarks, UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta H. Fore echoed Ambassador Hilale’s words, reminding the Board that this year’s anniversary “is an opportunity to celebrate progress for what we have achieved over the past 30 years, but also the keep the world’s attention focused on the work that must be done.”
“UNICEF’s programmes are critical for the realization of these rights,” she added, “for the opening up of opportunities that actually change the lives of children and young people. And this is what Alexandra and Felipe are asking of us.”
Delivering results for children through partnerships
Both Executive Director Fore and Ambassador Hilale highlighted how partnerships are key to improving children’s lives.
From governments to business, from non-governmental organizations to United Nations sister agencies ─ partnerships are critical to everything UNICEF does.
“Harnessing the power and creativity of our friends in the business and private sector – including individuals – will give a new impetus to protecting and fostering the rights of children. These innovative partnerships can also galvanize the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: its 17 Sustainable Development Goals are relevant for all children,” said Ambassador Hilale.
“These partnerships can also open doors to new innovations that can change our world – and improve children’s lives," highlighted Executive Director Fore in her prepared remarks.
A special focus session on Business for Results is planned as part of the Board session to explore how to move beyond business engagement and partnership for resource mobilization or procurement, and to leverage the power of business and markets to benefit children.
Taking action for a healthy working environment
In line with its commitment to ensure a healthy working environment, in 2018 UNICEF commissioned the report of the Independent Task Force (ITF) on Workplace Gender-Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, Harassment and Abuse of Authority.
UNICEF Deputy Executive Director a.i. Hannan Sulieman opened the discussion on the follow-up to the ITF report by thanking Board members: “You recognize, as we do, the critical linkage between how we support children and how we support our staff members.”
Dr. Mane and Dr. Zewdie, Co-Chairs of the ITF, stressed the remarkable opportunity for growth that the report presents for UNICEF: “It takes a brave and conscientious organization to commission such a task force on its own and we congratulate UNICEF for taking this bold step,” said Dr. Mane. “The Independent Task Force is encouraged by the positive response from UNICEF to our recommendations,” added Dr. Zewdie. Ms. Grace Speights esq., a Partner from the law firm Morgan Lewis, also presented on a report that looked at UNICEF’s investigation processes in sexual harassment cases from 2013 to 2017 and made recommendations.
During the session, UNICEF Principal Adviser on Culture Change, Geetanjali Narayan, updated the Board on the actions taken in four key areas to address the recommendations of the Independent Task Force: culture change; internal communication; people management; and reporting and resolving conflict.
Highlights include: opening dedicated channels to engage with staff; strengthening partnership with staff associations at all levels as change agents; initiating culture change conversations with staff around key questions; re-conceptualizing the approach to internal communication; strengthening managerial competencies; updating UNICEF’s competency framework; and strengthening the investigation function in the area of resolving conflict and misconduct.
In closing, Ms. Narayan underlined the organization’s commitment to achieving a better and stronger UNICEF: “It should never again be a trade-off between a good working environment or good results for children: we must strive for both.”
Delegations praised Executive Director Fore for her leadership in such an important task, expressed support to UNICEF’s efforts to implement the ITF report recommendations, and highlighted the need for strengthened investigative functions and protection of whistleblowers.
Country Programme Documents
The Board was presented with new country programme documents from five country offices: Angola, Iraq, Liberia, Mexico and Sierra Leone. The presentations followed a new modality, as requested by the Board in its decision 2018/14, highlighting UNICEF programming strategies, contextual and global value proposition and partnerships for results on the ground.
With a new interactive approach, the discussion on these important documents explored child protection, a common theme running across all programme documents, with a specific focus on children in active conflict, migration and violence against children.
Ted Chaiban, Director of UNICEF’s Programme Division, highlighted how child protection is a key area of UNICEF’s work – with strong linkages to the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly to Goal 5, 8 and 16, and to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
With one in six children living in conflict-affected countries and one in three females experiencing physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, the need to protect children and women from harm and neglect is urgent.
Programming for child protection in development and humanitarian work was the focus of remarks made by the representative of the Government of Iraq, Mr. Kamil Ameen Hashim, Director General of the National Law Gazette and Spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice. He also focused on access to justice for children; strengthening child protection systems; and the gender-sensitive, multi-sectoral approach being used in Iraq.
In a pre-recorded video message, Ms. Cecilia Kitombe, Director of Communication and Advocacy and Social Project Coordinator of ADRA (Action for Rural Development and Environment), a non-governmental organization in Angola, highlighted the role of civil society organizations in child protection programming.
Mr. Sunil Saigal, United Nations Resident Coordinator for Sierra Leone, spoke about the role of United Nations agencies in child protection programming, particularly in the context of the Global Programme on Child Marriage.
Rounding out the panel discussion, Mr. Christian Skoog, UNICEF’s Representative in Mexico, focused on the centrality of violence against children in child protection programming, not least in the context of migration.
“As we celebrate 30 years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child,” said Mr. Skoog, “it’s time to put all of these pieces together – the programmatic know-how, the partnerships, the funding, and the will – and making UNICEF’s response to violence against children commensurate with the complexity and scope of this gross violation of child rights.”
Protection is every child’s right
Ensuring that children receive the protection they need requires action at multiple levels, from communities to governments.
“Every child should have access to all the rights spelled out in the Convention, without exception” emphasized Ambassador Hilale in his opening remarks on Wednesday. “As we approach the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, we, the Member States, have a responsibility to honour our original commitments and our States’ obligations to the world’s children, and to assume our responsibilities arising from new challenges.”
