Written evidence submitted by UNICEF
1. The UK National Committee for UNICEF
welcomes the opportunity to submit evidence to the International
Development Committee's inquiry into the Department for International
Development (DFID) Annual Report and Resource Accounts 2008-09,
Better Results for Poor People,[99]
published on 16 July 2009, and White Paper Eliminating World
Poverty: Building our Common Future,[100]
published on 6 July 2009.
2. UNICEF, the United Nations Children's
Fund, is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate
for the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic
needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential.
UNICEF is guided by the United Nations Convention
on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and strives to establish children's
rights as enduring ethical principles and international standards
of behaviour towards children.
KEY POINTS
— Children and young people are the most
vulnerable in society and the most affected by global recession,
climate change and conflict and yet they are the least responsible.
UNICEF UK would like to see children, young people and their rights
placed at the centre of the international development agenda,
which this White Paper does not do.
— DFID must ensure that children's rights
are central to policy implementation.
— With regard to climate change, children
and young people are our best chance at adopting sustainable adaption
policies and good environmental practice. However, recognition
of children as part of the solution, rather than just the victims,
particularly in adaptation programmes in developing countries,
is missing from this White Paper.
— UNICEF UK welcomes DFID's continued commitment
to Universal Access to HIV treatment, prevention and care and
support. However, we feel that this White Paper did not go far
enough in sufficiently accounting for the cross cutting impact
of HIV and AIDS on the development agenda and the importance of
addressing HIV in terms of achieving wider development goals
BACKGROUND
3. The 2009 DFID White Paper follows on
from the 2006 White Paper Making Governance Work for the Poor[101]
and reflects the changing environment for international aid, including
the global recession, climate change and continued conflict and
state fragility.
4. Overall, UNICEF UK welcomes the new White
Paper, and in particular DFID's recommitment to overseas development
aid, and to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
in the context of the economic downturn. However, there are several
areas in which we felt the White Paper could have gone further
to increase the effectiveness of UK aid in achieving outcomes
for children and young people which are outlined in this submission.
CHILDREN'S
RIGHTS
5. November 2009 marks the 20th anniversary
of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
When the UK Government ratified the CRC in 1991, it thereby committed
itself to undertake all actions and policies in the light of the
best interests of the child and to protect and ensure children's
rights within the UK, and through their international development
policy.
6. Article 4 of the CRC states that "all
States Parties shall undertake all appropriate legislative, administrative,
and other measures for the implementation of the rights recognized
in the present Convention. With regard to economic, social and
cultural rights, States Parties shall undertake such measures
to the maximum extent of their available resources and, where
needed, within the framework of international co-operation".[102]
7. Disappointingly, this White Paper did
not mention children's rights, or take the opportunity to use
the framework of children's rights as a basis for addressing climate
change, fragile states and achieving the MDGs. Although DFID's
work has greatly benefited children across the world, without
recognition of children's rights as laid out in CRC, the UK is
missing a key opportunity to make real progress towards the MDGs.
8. Overall there was insufficient attention
to children and young people in this White Paper. Children and
young people are the most vulnerable in society and the most affected
by global recession, climate change and conflict and yet they
are the least responsible. UNICEF UK would like to see children,
young people and their rights placed at the centre of the international
development agenda, which this White Paper ultimately does not
do.
9. While it remains to be demonstrated how
the commitments within this White Paper will be implemented, in
order to fulfil all of their international commitments DFID must
ensure that children's rights are placed at the centre of their
implementation. This moves beyond ensuring actual outcomes for
children and young people—such as increased access to education—to
ensuring the fulfilment of rights for all children and young people.
CHILDREN AND
YOUNG PEOPLE
AS ACTIVE
PARTNERS IN
DEVELOPMENT
10. Despite an extensive consultation which
included representations from young people, this White Paper failed
to appropriately include youth and young people. The word "youth"
is only mentioned in the quotes from UN documents on the MDG targets.
The White Paper only references "young men" as one of
the "underlying causes of conflict and fragility..."[103]
a perception of youth as a threat to development which fails to
recognise the resource that young people can be in the effort
to achieve the MDGs. As active agents of change young people should
be recognised as assets, rather than threats, to DFID's development
goals.
11. As the twentieth anniversary of the
CRC approaches, UNICEF UK would like to encourage DFID to involve
children and young people in the development of its programmes.
Providing a voice to children and young people as well as being
a right in itself (as laid out in Article 12 of the CRC)[104]
would be a means to improve programme outcomes.
CLIMATE CHANGE
12. UNICEF UK wholly supports the White
Paper's aim for an ambitious, comprehensive and equitable deal
on climate change at the December Copenhagen UN Climate Change
Conference, and the initiative for expanding trade markets and
an international donor fund to stimulate green technologies for
the developing world. UNICEF strongly upholds DFID's recognition
that tackling climate change is an investment for our children's
future, development and global stability.
13. However, as children and young people
are our best chance at adopting sustainable adaption policies
and good environmental practice UNICEF UK would like to see recognition
of children as part of the solution, rather than just the victims,
particularly in adaptation programmes in developing countries,
which is missing from this White Paper.
14. A child rights-based approach to adaptation
programmes in developing countries would prioritise children and
involve them in their design and delivery. Evidence shows that
child-focused adaptation programmes can be more effective and
efficient in achieving development objectives than non child-centred
programmes.
HIV AND AIDS
15. UNICEF UK welcomes DFID's continued
commitment to Universal Access to HIV treatment, prevention, care
and support. However, we feel that this White Paper did not go
far enough in sufficiently accounting for the cross cutting impact
of HIV and AIDS on the development agenda and the importance of
addressing HIV in terms of achieving wider development goals.
16. Millennium Development Goal 6 (MDG 6):
to combat HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases, will be examined
by the UN as part of its wider MDG Review in 2010. In the run
up to this, we must question what the post 2015 framework should
be. The question is important and the UK expects to engage in
a debate over a range of options. But this should not distract
us or others from the primary task—over the next five years—to
step up and pursue the delivery of the MDGs as quickly as we can.
17. It is uncertain what will happen to
the HIV and AIDS agenda after the Universal Access deadline of
2010, and MDG Review. It is becoming increasingly clear that without
a massive scale up of resources we will miss our Universal Access
target in 2010. This White Paper therefore presented an opportune
moment to set the stage for how the UK, as global frontrunners
in the international HIV response, will maintain the momentum
and efforts invested in tackling HIV.
SOCIAL PROTECTION
18. UNICEF UK welcomes DFID's continued
support for social protection in this White Paper. Social protection
can be a key method for reducing vulnerabilities to global challenges
such as the global recession, climate change and HIV and AIDS.
19. It is essential that social protection
programmes are child sensitive, as is outlined in the June 2009
statement supported by DFID, UNICEF and other partners.[105]
This recognises children's experiences of poverty and vulnerabilities
are multidimensional and differ from that of adults. Thus, social
protection should be focused on addressing the inherent social
disadvantages, risks and vulnerabilities that children may be
born into as well as those acquired later in childhood due to
external shocks. Therefore, this is best achieved through integrated
child protection approaches.
20. In implementing the White Paper, to
ensure a balance between social transfers and service provision,
to reduce vulnerabilities DFID should review the design and implementation
of social protection policies to ensure they are child sensitive
and AIDS inclusive in order to maximise impact.
99 http://www.dfid.gov.uk/About-DFID/Finance-and-performance/Annual-report/Annual-Report-2009/ Back
100
http://www.dfid.gov.uk/About-DFID/Quick-guide-to-DFID/How-we-do-it/Building-our-common-future/ Back
101
http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Documents/publications/whitepaper2006/whitepaper-printer-friendly.pdf Back
102
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm Back
103
Eliminating World Poverty: Building our Common Future,
July 2009 Department for International Development, p 73. Back
104
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article
12:
3. States Parties shall assure to the child who
is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express
those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views
of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age
and maturity of the child.
2. For this purpose, the child shall in particular
be provided the opportunity to be heard in any judicial and administrative
proceedings affecting the child, either directly, or through a
representative or an appropriate body, in a manner consistent
with the procedural rules of national law. http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm
Back
105
DFID, Help Age International, Hope and Homes for Children,
Institute for Development Studies, International Labour Organisation,
Overseas Development Institute, Save the Children UK, UNICEF and
UNDP. Advancing Child Sensitive Social Protection, June 2009. Back
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