THE ROLE AND POTENTIAL OF NGOS IN ADVOCATING FOR CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
PRESENTATION BY OWEN KEENAN, MIDDLEQUARTER
Thursday 30th November 2006
I am very grateful to the organisers for the privilege and honour of addressing you at this important conference. I have very pleasant memories of previous visits to your very beautiful and friendly country and my only regret on this occasion is that my visit is a short one.
I must apologise for my inability to speak to you in your language and I hope that what I have to say will not only be understood, but will be relevant to a Portuguese audience.
I’ve already described this conference as an important one and I hope that it will be influential in strengthening children’s rights and protection in Portugal. Portugal is already recognised as a country which has an intense commitment to children – I know, for example, that you were among the first countries to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and that your Constitution makes specific reference to children’s rights. This is both important and admirable – in Ireland our Government has just, earlier this month, announced its intention to hold a constitutional referendum next year to insert a recognition of children’s rights into the Irish Constitution.
Of course, while constitutional and legislative recognition of, and protection for, the rights of children is vitally important we cannot assume that this automatically ensures that children will be protected or their rights guaranteed. A country’s domestic legislation needs to be consistent with its international commitments and constitutional obligations; governments need to make the necessary resources available – so economic conditions are also relevant – while public attitudes need to be conducive to the best interests of all children.
In an ideal world we might say that an externally given commitment to children’s rights as signalled by the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (and the obligations which flow from that), coupled with an internal commitment as reflected in a constitutional recognition of children’s rights would be sufficient to secure the well-being and best interests of children in every instance.
But in the real world we know it is not quite as simple as that. I’m sure that Portugal takes its international and constitutional responsibilities more seriously than most countries but, in my own international experience, there is often a significant gap between the formal position and the reality on the ground. Domestic law may not reflect such international commitments; governments may make policy choices with reflect other, perhaps competing, interests; economies may struggle to provide the wealth necessary to fund vital health or educational programmes for children; while institutional or public attitudes may discriminate against certain categories of children, for example on disability or ethnic grounds.
Given such a familiar situation, what can those activists who are passionately committed to children’s rights do to improve the position of children – while continuing to respect the principles and requirements of a democracy?
I have been asked to speak from the perspective of non-governmental organisations about the role and potential of NGOs in advocating for children’s rights. Most of my working life so far has been spent working with children’s NGOs in Ireland but I have also been actively involved in a number of networks of children’s NGOs internationally which has given me an overview of how various countries have – or, indeed, have not – lived up to their commitments to protect children’s rights. However I would like, for the purposes of this presentation, to focus on the situation I obviously know best – children’s rights in Ireland. In doing so, I will outline and discuss the impact that the NGO sector has had on developments for children in Ireland over the past 15 years or so.
Ireland’s Constitution, which was originally written in 1937, recognises the special role of the family in society and makes a specific reference to the rights of parents as the primary educators of children – however it does not make any reference to children as subjects in their own right. This has led to several legal difficulties in cases where parents have failed in their parental duties towards their children, or where the rights of parents may not be consistent with the rights of their children. In recent decades difficulties have also emerged in relation to the definition of the “family” which was originally understood to be the family based on marriage.
As you will be aware, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was finalised in 1989 and the World Summit on Children was held in New York in 1990. Ireland ratified the CRC in 1992 but no immediate steps were taken to incorporate this commitment into domestic law. At the time it was very evident that the actual situation of children in Ireland fell considerably short of the requirements of the UN Convention – for example, a considerable proportion of children in Ireland experienced poverty, the state’s services to protect children at risk of abuse or neglect were very inadequate, while significant groups of children were denied full access to education and health services.
Children’s organisations including my own – Barnardos – which had been campaigning for improvements in policies and services for children over many years now saw the Convention as a basis for more effective advocacy. I had been Chief Executive of Barnardos from 1990 and, although we were the largest children’s organisation in the country with a deep commitment to advocacy, it was clear that the challenge of securing the type of change necessary would be too great for a single organisation to achieve. For that reason we began building a coalition of children’s organisations and others with an interest in children’s rights and this resulted in the Children’s Rights Alliance being established in 1995.
Among our early goals were the incorporation of the UN Convention into domestic law, the appointment of an Ombudsman for Children and the development of a coherent government plan for children. During the mid-1990s the Government’s funding for children’s services increased significantly and there was a welcome and noticeable shift in the investment of resources in preventive programmes as well as crisis services for vulnerable children. This change reflected, I believe, a growing awareness of historical institutional abuse, especially in residential centres; a significantly improved economy which meant more resources could be provided; and the results of increasing and more effective advocacy on the part of NGOs and other children’s activists.
However there was no fundamental coherence in the underlying principles or policies being pursued by Government departments – especially health and education – nor was there any evidence of a children’s rights perspective underpinning policy or resource decisions. The Government did announce in 1996 that it would create the office of Ombudsman for Children but subsequently took no action to make this a reality.
Ireland’s first report to the UN Monitoring Committee on the Rights of the Child was due to be submitted in 1997 and the Children’s Rights Alliance decided that it would produce an alternative report, highlighting the shortcomings in legislation, policies and resources for children. The Alliance had the opportunity to discuss this report, which was titled Small Voices, Vital Rights, with the Committee in October 1997 prior to the formal session on the Government’s report in early 1998. The Alliance sent a strong delegation to Geneva for the Government’s hearing and also ensured that the event was attended by leading Irish print and broadcast media.
Although it acknowledged significant improvements in provision for children in recent years the Committee was highly critical of the Government for its failure to incorporate the Convention into domestic law, the lack of a coherent approach to children’s policy and the continuing inadequate provision for specific groups of children, especially minorities. But its central recommendation was the development of a national strategy for children. The Committee’s criticism was widely reported in the Irish media and led to a debate in Parliament. Later in 1998 the Government announced its intention to prepare a National Children’s Strategy and this was completed in 2000 following extensive consultation including with children and young people.
The National Children’s Strategy describes a vision of
An Ireland where children are respected as young citizens with a valued contribution to make and a voice of their own; where all children are cherished and supported by family and the wider society; where they enjoy a fulfilling childhood and realise their potential
.
The Strategy has three National Goals which are:
Goal 1 - Children will have a voice in matters which affect them and their views will be given due weight in accordance with their age and maturity.
Goal 2 - Children's lives will be better understood; their lives will benefit from evaluation, research and information on their needs, rights and the effectiveness of services.
Goal 3 - Children will receive quality supports and services to promote all aspects of their development
Since it was published the National Children’s Strategy has been the basis for further change for children in a number of important ways
Ø There is now an integrated and coherent approach to policy development
Ø We now have a Minister for Children who, although he is not a senior Minister, attends Cabinet meetings and ensures a children’s perspective is brought to all relevant discussions
Ø There is a Cabinet sub-committee on Children which is chaired by the Prime Minister
Ø An Office of the Minister for Children (OMC) has been established – headed by a senior civil servant, it has brought together civil servants from a range of government departments with particular responsibilities for children including health, education and justice. It has a unique and important coordinating function across all Government Departments, leading a much more integrated approach to policy and legislative development and the provision of increased resources for children
Ø The Office of the Ombudsman for Children has been established with two main responsibilities – to promote children’s participation in decisions which affect them, and to carry out investigations of complaints
Ø A young people’s Parliament, modelled on the National Parliament, meets every year and has regional structures throughout the country
Ø A National Children’s Advisory Council has been established to advise the Minister and the OMC – it comprises representatives from a wide range of organisations, both governmental and non-governmental, academics, and children and young people themselves.
Ø There has been a significant increase in resources for programmes serving children – assisted by continuing national economic growth – while there has also been a consistent approach towards the elimination of child poverty within a realistic timeframe.
I do not want to suggest that these developments, important though they are, have solved all the difficulties faced by children in Ireland and their families. That would be misleading. We still have children living in poverty, children being neglected and abused. Our services for many children with disabilities are still not adequate while we are struggling to accommodate and serve appropriately refugee and asylum-seeking children and families from other countries whose numbers have increased dramatically in Ireland over the past ten years.
But the changes that have occurred, especially since 1998, have been quite dramatic and far-reaching. Children are much higher on the political agenda, there is a better government infrastructure to support an integrated and coherent approach to policy, increased resources have been provided for a range of services and new initiatives targeting vulnerable populations of children and, very importantly, children are much more aware of their rights and how to secure them.
Would these changes have happened without advocacy? I don’t think so, certainly not as rapidly as they did. Part of the challenge was to generate a political climate that was more conducive to an enlightened approach to children’s rights and a key task was to interest the media and the general public, both in understanding the shortcomings that existed and the potential of what could be achieved.
An advantage was that the advocacy capacity developed by the NGO sector in advance of the UN Committee’s hearing in 1998 was maintained and further developed – advocacy for children was happening all the time. Also, as individual NGOs campaigned on specific issues – for example, child poverty – they did so in the context of children’s rights which helped to reinforce the key messages. They also maintained a strong emphasis on the importance of consulting and involving children and young people which, in time, became established practice, including the Government’s.
So, what have we learned?
Ø The value of having a big, ambitious goal that a diverse range of organisations and individuals can support
Ø The recognition that major change does not occur overnight – you need to be realistic about a timeframe, focused and consistent over time in the pursuit of your goal
Ø Realising that major change doesn’t usually happen as a “big bang” but is achieved as a result of a series of smaller, more incremental changes
Ø The importance of capitalising on important events – for example, the hearing before the UN Committee – and creating other opportunities, for example, conferences and exploiting the opportunities that they represent