Independent advocacy for children: supporting non-governmental organisations and developing independent human rights institutions - children's ombudspeople or commissioners for children - to promote children's rights

A city administration committed to building a Child Friendly City will have the courage to be held to account for its treatment of children. Non-governmental organisations have in many States played a large role in improving the lives of children. Since the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, many NGOs have been established that are committed to monitoring, promoting and protecting children's rights. In many States there are alliances or coalitions of child-focused NGOs, which come together to promote the fullest possible implementation of the Convention. The term non-governmental organisation can encompass many different groups: those committed explicitly to promote human rights, traditional child welfare groups, professional organisations, trades unions, church and faith groups and so on. Increasingly, child- and youth-led organisations are appearing, developing self-advocacy of human rights: they need consistent but non-controlling adult support.

NGOs can play an increasingly effective role in a formal, influential relationship with city government, as partners in building a Child Friendly City.

Internationally, the UN system has emphasised the importance of establishing human rights institutions to monitor, promote and protect human rights at the national level. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has promoted independent human rights institutions for children. Many states now have either children's ombudspeople or children's rights commissioners, or a focal point for children within a national human rights institution. In a few cases, such institutions exist at regional or city level. It is essential to ensure that these institutions are genuinely accessible to children where they are living.

The key to the effectiveness of these institutions is their independence in acting as a powerful watchdog or champion for children. Having appropriate statutory powers and duties, linking them to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, makes them complementary to NGOs with the added influence that a statutory basis provides. A city government may not have the powers to legislatively establish a children's ombudsman, but it can advocate with the central government to do so.

EXAMPLES

The CFC Secretariat has gathered a number of examples for an independent advocacy for children at both local and national levels of government, and from low-, middle- and high-income nations.

Each example includes the following documents:

• A worksheet describing the project (accessed from the CFC Database)
• Other documents, such as publications, guides, reports and strategies, developed by the project (when available)
• A project review prepared by the CFC Secretariat, based upon in-depth documentation of the project and developed on the basis of a standard research protocol (when available)
• Tools developed by the project (when available)