Using UNCRC Rights in Early Childhood as a tool for

achieving ‘equity from the start’

Clyde HertzmanHuman Early Learning Partnership

Council for Early Child Development

What influences early child

development?

The experienceschildren have in

the environments

where they grow up, live and

learn.

Which Environments Matter?

Life Course Problems Related to Early Life

Experiences

2nd Decade

3rd/4th Decade

5th/6th

DecadeOld Age

• School Failure

• Teen Pregnancy

• Criminality

• Obesity

• Elevated BloodPressure

• Depression

• Coronary Heart Disease

• Diabetes

• Premature Aging

• Memory Loss

“Equity from the Start”

The Early Development Instrument

Early Development Instrument

• 104 items• Extensive validity and reliability

data from several countries• Not a test• Teacher at age 5 is respondent• Five developmental domains,

with sixteen subdomains• A guide with explanations

available

What Does the EDI Measure?

EDI is:-a population-based tool -a mobilisation tool-a monitoring tool

EDI is not:-an individual assessment-a prescription for action-perfect

Question:

Does the following represent a rights violation under the

UN-CRC?

BC: 45% of neighbourhood variability in EDI vulnerability

assoc. with SES

Source: Kershaw et al. 2009, 15 by 15 : A Comprehensive Policy Framework for Early Human Capital Investment in BC, Table 1.

% vulnon EDI

High

Low

Disadvantaged

AdvantagedSES

According to UN-CRC:GC 7

…………the answer is ‘yes’

thus…….

UN-CRC GC: 7 Indicators Group

Who is involved in UN-CRC GC: 7 Indicators

group?

BvLBvL

What is a CRC General Comment?

1989: The Child Right Convention, CRC

2004: General Comment 7 (GC: 7); Implementing child rights in early childhood

General Comments:

Why a General Comment on Rights in Early Childhood?

Why indicators? Why monitoring?

Procedural rights

vs

Substantive rights

Why indicators? Why monitoring?

Procedural rights = immediate realization

Substantive rights = ‘progressive

realization’

Why indicators? Why monitoring?

UNCRC:GC7 is mostly about substantive rights

You can only tell if there is ‘progressive realization’ by monitoring

over time.

Monitoring can create a bridge between population health and human rights.

• 2005: group approached CRC, arguing that GC:7 is impractical and underused………..need user-friendly and useful GC:7 indicators

• 2006: UN-CRC invites us to develop indicators

• 2006-2008: indicators of GC:7 were completed

• May 2008: GC:7 indicators were presented to CRC

UN-CRC GC-7 Indicators

•Assist States Parties with preparation of their report to UN-CRC

•Monitor the progressive realization of rights in early childhood

UN-CRC GC: 7 Indicators were meant to:

Report writing at country level

CRC sends comments to the country

The country sends a team to Geneva

Concluding Observations

CRC Reviews the information

Report writing at country level

CRC sends comments to the country

The country sends a team to Geneva

Concluding Observations

CRC Reviews the information

We created15 Indicator Clusters matching CRC reporting guidelines

•General Measures of Implementation (4)

•Civil rights and freedoms (1)

•Family environment and alternative care (2)•Basic health and welfare (3)

•Education, leisure and cultural activities (4)•Special protection measures (1)

1. Dissemination of GC7

2. Constructing and implementing the positive agenda

3. Human Rights training

4. Data collection system

Birth registration

1. Participation in household decision making2. Violence against young children

1. Basic material needs2. Child survival and health3. Age-appropriate health education

1. Early education service provision

2. Educational service provision for vulnerable

3. Knowledge of right and capacity to support it

4. Play, leisure and rest opportunitites

Inclusive policy and provisions for vulnerable groups

Structural Components of Indicators

Rationale for Indicator Structure

• they correspond to the duties of state’s parties, i.e.

Indicator 5: Birth registration

Does the State have written policy with regards to the implementation of an

official, nationwide, universal, and free of charge birth registration system?

Is specific policy in place to ensure non -discriminatory universal access to birth

registration, and particularly to facilitate the registration of vulnera ble or excluded young children, preferably as soon as possible after birth, e.g. within the first 2/3 months of life?

Have there been i mplemented and evaluated programmes to proactively facilitate

registration of all newborns and young children for pare nts and caregivers?

Steps towards making such

policies _

Have efforts, actions, and allocations of resources been made to implement new systems or improve on existing systems to ensure national birth registration?

Steps to make such policy

commitments _

Steps towards implementing and evaluating these

programs _

Steps towards making

such policies _

NO

NO

NO

Are policies is in place to ensure and/or facilitate the late registration of children

not covered by existing registration systems? Is this system also free of

charge?

Are there policy commitments in place to raise awareness with parents, caregivers,

prospective parents and professionals on the benefits and advantages of birth registration?

Have there been efforts to raise awareness amongst key audiences,

parents?

Steps towards

awareness raising _

NO

Steps towards making

such policies _

Steps towards making such efforts

_

NO

NO

How to read the flowchart No: answer to indicator question - see suggestions Downward arrow : answer to the indicator question yes Numbers in boxes: there are suggestions after the flowchart

NO

SuggestionsSuggestions

Policies on awareness

raising

Policies on awareness

raising

Policies to facilitate

late registration

Policies to facilitate

late registration

NoNo

Steps to have such policies in

place

Steps to have such policies in

placeYes

Are there policies in place to promote

birth registration?

Are there policies in place to promote

birth registration?

SuggestionsSuggestions

Conditional Cash

Conditional Cash

Facilitating late

registration

Facilitating late

registration

Mobile Birth Registry

Mobile Birth Registry

No

Steps to have such programsSteps to have such programs

Steps to investigate

lack of response

Steps to investigate

lack of response

SuggestionsSuggestions

Investigate improvements in reporting system

Investigate improvements in reporting system

Look at the disaggregated

data

Look at the disaggregated

data

Mobile brigades in Mozambique: http://www.unicef.org/mozambique/protection_4904.html

Retrospective cash transfer of Peruhttp://www.unicef.org/files/Conditional_Cash_Transfers_In_Peru_-

_Tackling_The_Multi-Dimensionality_Of_Poverty_And_Vulnerability.pdf

Retrospective birth registration of Senegal:http://www.planusa.org/stuff/contentmgr/files/d9ee355af9fc9e39564ba31f686d519b/miscdocs/countmein.pdf

Experience of Senegal

Sample flowchart:

www.childrightsimpact.info/ecrim/flowchart5

Tanzania as a suitable pilot country

• Has ratified CRC in 1991

• Suitable reporting timeline (next report due 2012)

• National awareness to invest in ECD (Integrated ECD strategy, Child Act and…)

• Number of on-going projects by international agencies to build up ECD capacity (CRED-PRO, EFA of WB…)

Objectives of the pilot

•To test the relevance and feasibility of each indicator

•To further refine the indicators and the flow charts

•To understand whether or not the process serves as an effective means of report writing as well as a national, institutional self-study

What was our pilot testing strategy?

•To achieve maximum government & civil society buy-in for the pilot.

•To strengthen initiatives around the early childhood policies, training, services and rights.

How did we structure the pilot?

Steering Committee

Off-site Task Force

On-site Task Force

Sequence of the events:

•Feasibility assessment, February 2009

What should our pilot testing strategy be?

•Face-to-face meeting of the team to finalize the pilot country and plan the pilot, April 2009

•Identifying the stakeholders and bringing them aroundone table, September 2009

•Establishing the project team in the country, Sept 2009

•Formation and training of the task force, Dec 2009

•Face validation of the flow charts, Jan, 2010

Sequence of the events….

What should our pilot testing strategy be?

•The pilot, January-May 2010

•Mid-term evaluation, March 2010

•Review of the pilot data, May 2010

•Informing the country on the outcome of the pilot and wrapping up the pilot, June 22nd 2010

•Informing CRC on the outcome of the pilot, June 14th 2010

Benefits for pilot country

Capacity building•

Better reporting system

•

Awareness raisingHow many “No”s, how many “Yes”s in the system?

How to turn “No’s to “Yes”s?

How to use “Yes”s and “No”s to describe the status of child rights in the country and communicate it to UN-CRC?

The Forward Plan

• Revise Indicators and Manual in light of Tanzanian pilot

• Identify 2-3 middle and upper income countries for second stage implementation…Canada????

• Complete second stage implementation in 2010/2011

• Present final Indicators and Manual to UN-CRC Monitoring Committee

• Have Indicators promulgated for use in all 193 signatory countries

For further info:

visit the Global Knowledge Hub for ECD at :http://www.earlylearning.ubc.ca/globalknowledgehub

or contact --ziba.vaghri@ubc.ca