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Children's and young people's rights
Realising children's rights: Working together to create a world fit for children
Germany has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and basic international human rights treaties and has thus undertaken to realise children’s rights. In early 2008 the BMZ updated its Development Policy Action Plan for Human Rights for the period 2008 to 2010 in order to continue and intensify the systematic mainstreaming of human rights in German development policy. The first Action Plan covered the period 2004 to 2007. Specific measures in the Plan include promoting the implementation of international conventions and agreements to strengthen the rights of children.
The Action Plans shows clearly that realising human rights is an important goal and foundation of the German government's development policy. That means that children's rights are also taken into consideration in all areas of development cooperation – especially when it comes to promoting good governance, decentralisation and democracy, improving education and health, economic development, and crisis and conflict prevention. Another matter of particular importance is protecting girls from female genital mutilation (FGM).
German development cooperation works on various levels to strengthen children's rights:
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At the political level – Governments in partner countries are advised on implementing children's rights, drawing up and implementing national strategies on promoting children and young people, and concerning the participation of young people.
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At the institutional level – Capacity- and network-building is promoted, for instance organisations involved in work with children and young people at local level or independent youth organisations. In addition, Germany supports staff training and cooperation with the state, civil society and the private sector when it comes to issues concerning the promotion of children and young people.
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At the individual level – Measures geared to children and young people are promoted. The focus here is on empowering children and young people, since they are not only the addressees of but also actors and partners in development cooperation.
Information
See also
- Issues: Poverty
- Issues: Education
- Issues: Health
- Issues: Good Governance
- Issues: Children in Armed Conflict
External links
- Convention on the Rights of the Child
- International Labour Organization (ILO): Convention Concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment
(Convention 138) - International Labour Organization (ILO): Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (Convention 182)
- UNICEF: Children and the Millennium Development Goals – Progress towards A World Fit for Children
(PDF 3.2 MB) - Celebrating 20 Years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (PDF 4 MB)
- The State of the World’s Children 2009: Maternal and Newborn Health
(PDF 2.3 MB) - The State of the World's Children 2008: Child Survival (PDF 4.3 MB)
- The State of the World's Children 2007: Women and Children – The Double Dividend of Gender Equality
(PDF 1.9 MB)
