Photo credit: Aide et Action
Paris, 18 November 2020 - On the eve of the 31st anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the "From Convention to Action! an open letter to the President of the Republic, calling for a strong ambition and renewed governance for children and young people, in France and internationally.
Twenty-six organisations have been working together since 2019 on the basis of one observation: Thirty years after the adoption of the Convention, the effectiveness of children's rights is far from being achieved in France and throughout the world. The COVID-19 pandemic has only reinforced inequalities and made the most vulnerable, especially children, more vulnerable. The The 69 recommendations on 12 themes that the Dynamics submitted to the government in 2019 are all the more relevant: the current crisis is acting as a revealing of inequalities pre-existing.
Before the pandemic, almost one child in five in France was living below the poverty line. In France, it was estimated that several thousand children were out of school. Internationally, 265 million children were not in school and 75 million children had their schooling disrupted by the crises. Every day in France, 200 children were victims of violence and 50 of them were victims of sexual violence - figures that are probably underestimated. While the consequences of the pandemic are still difficult to assessIt is already known that the restrictive measures have significantly worsened the situation. Globally, 150 million more children have been pushed into poverty, 1.6 billion have had their schooling affected (1).
Even more than in 2019, there is an urgent need to act. Among the recommendations made last year, one in particular seems essential: strengthen the governance from childhood with a global and transversal strategy. In this respect, the collective supports the fact that the steering of public policies for children should be brought together within a dedicated ministry. The current State Secretariat, despite the progress it has made, must see its resources and influence strengthened within the government. Indeed, the fragmentation of policies and measures for children and young people between different ministries and the lack of a holistic strategy and well-defined governance are detrimental to the visibility and effectiveness of this public policy and do not allow for a comprehensive and multidimensional approach to children.
Children's rights must also be given their full meaning at the international level and not be left in the blind spot of cooperation and humanitarian aid policies. They must become a cross-cutting priority at the strategic, programmatic and financial levels.
At a time when, in the face of several crises, the President regularly calls for unity, the twenty-six associations: " [think]. that this unit must go to do in preserving and in preparing a a common future, at the centre of which the younger generations must be better taken into account, valued and listened to. To this do, their rights, dedicated it y a near from thirty-one years by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, must be guaranteed to every child more than ever. "
Access the open letter here
Contacts :
Alice HAUG, replacing Florine PRUCHON - Dynamics Coordinator & Advocacy Officer SOS Children's Villages : [email protected] / [email protected] – 01 53 20 62 86
Carine SPINOSI - UNICEF France Communication Officer : [email protected] – 06 78 72 77 34
Paul DE RYCK - Advocacy officer, research and animation of the France Parrainages network : [email protected] – 06 42 98 14 52
Signatories :
Dynamics coordinated by Collectif AEDE (Agir Ensemble pour les Droits de l'Enfant) / Droit d'Enfance / Réseau France Parrainages / OCCE - Office central de la coopération à l'école / SOS Villages d'Enfants / UNICEF France
With the involvement of : Aide et Action / Alliance des Avocats pour les Droits de l'Homme / Apprentis d'Auteuil / APF France Handicap / Asmae - Association Sœur Emmanuelle / BICE - Bureau International Catholique de l'Enfance / Cofrade / Croix-Red Cross / DEI - France / Fédération du Scoutisme français / Grandir Dignement / Groupe Enfance / Groupe SOS / Idée 93 / Jets d'Encre / Partage / Réseau National des Juniors Associations / Secours Islamique France / UNAPP - Union Nationale des Acteurs de Parrainage de Proximité (National Union of Proximity Sponsorship Actors) / UNIOPSS
