The FCO’s human rights work in 2012

Written evidence from Save the Children (HR 10)

1. Introduction

1.1 Save the Children is the world’s independent children’s rights organisation. Save the Children works in more than 120 countries. We save children's lives. We fight for their rights. We help them fulfil their potential.

1.2 We have focused our submission to this inquiry on the 11 April declaration by G8 Foreign Ministers on the prevention of sexual violence in conflict, and the impact of the FCO’s Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative, launched in May 2012.

1.3 Save the Children has child protection programmes in 33 countries covering issues such as sexual abuse and violence, hazardous child labour, trafficking, recruitment of children into armed forces, and harmful traditional practices such as FGM and early marriage. We have programmes tackling sexual violence in a number of countries including the DRC, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Tanzania, Kenya and Colombia. Our Signature Programme in the DRC includes evidence-based interventions to empower communities to prevent and respond to sexual violence against children, improve the response for and care of child survivors, and strengthen legislation and policy implementation.

1.4 Save the Children also wishes to draw attention to the joint submission by the BOND Child Rights Working Group (of which Save the Children is a member) where we draw attention to broader consideration of children’s rights within the FCO’s work.

2. Summary

2.1 Save the Children welcomes the 11 April Declaration on the Prevention of Sexual Violence in Conflict and the inclusion of children and children’s rights within it. There are a number of elements that should be welcomed from a children’s rights perspective, which we elaborate on in our submission below.

2.2 There are also some areas where the Declaration could be strengthened further and these could be addressed in future work. For example, it would be useful to recognise that sexual violence in conflict can be perpetrated by acquaintances or family members as well as armed actors, and that this kind of violence can flourish when society breaks down. It would also have been useful if the Declaration specifically called more funding and support for child protection as a core component of every humanitarian response.

2.3 While it is too early to assess the overall impact of the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI), there are early signs that it has had a positive impact, including increasing the likelihood that leaders in conflict-affected countries will speak out about the problems of sexual violence within their countries. But it should also be recognised that the PSVI is only a starting point and that its focus on impunity and prosecution should be only one part of a much larger package of solutions.

2.4 As the PSVI work goes forward, Save the Children feels that continued and further emphasis can be placed on support and funding for work that prevents sexual violence in conflict, including looking at addressing the root causes of sexual violence that may be in place long before a conflict starts.

2.5 We will also be watching further developments, including DFID’s upcoming work on violence against women and girls in humanitarian situations, to see that funds are being earmarked for child protection at the outset of humanitarian intervention, to ensure that prevention and response to sexual violence is part of every humanitarian response. The UK government falls towards the bottom of the list of major donors for the priority it places on funding protection work when it allocates its humanitarian aid. The UK spent 0% of its humanitarian aid on sexual and gender-based violence and just 0.22% on child protection between 2007 and 2012, placing it 11th out of 12 major humanitarian donors for the priority it places on protection in humanitarian response.

2.6 As discussed further in the joint submission from the BOND Child Rights Working Group (of which Save the Children is a member), we would encourage the FCO to expand the focus on children's rights, which in many ways was strong within the PSVI, across the rest of its work (including updating and implementing a children's rights strategy across the FCO).

3. The 11 April Declaration by G8 Foreign Ministers on the Prevention of Sexual Violence in Conflict and the impact of the FCO’s Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative

3.1 Save the Children welcomes the 11 April Declaration on the Prevention of Sexual Violence in Conflict and the inclusion of children and children’s rights within it. We also appreciated the efforts made to consult with NGOs in the months leading up to the launch of the Declaration and the openness of the FCO to incorporate the views shared during these consultations in the final Declaration.

3.2 From a children’s rights perspective, a number of elements in the Declaration should be welcomed including:

· Recognition of the UN Security Council resolutions on Children and Armed Conflict, as well as those on Women, Peace and Security

· Recognition of the mandate of the UNSRSG on Children and Armed Conflict, alongside the UNSRSG on Sexual Violence in Conflict and of the interdependence between these two

· Recognition of the importance of protecting and promoting children’s full human rights and of the relevance of children’s rights to the prevention of sexual violence in conflict

· Explicit reference to the needs of boys as victims of sexual violence, as well as women and girls

· Recognition of the need for comprehensive support services for victims, whether they be women, girls, men or boys

· Strong recognition of the needs of child victims of sexual violence, and recognition that children are often excluded from adult-centric programming

· Recognition of the Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action

· Recognition of need for further funding for prevention and response efforts and call on the international community to mobilise this funding from the first phase of conflict and humanitarian emergencies

· Recognition of the importance of taking the needs and rights of children into account in all peace negotiations, peacebuilding, prevention, and accountability efforts and of the need for security sector and justice reform programmes to be child-sensitive

· Calls for the deployment of child protection (and women’s protection) advisers within appropriate UN and other peacekeeping operations and missions, as well as ensuring that these are appropriately trained and included on the central budget of these missions.

· Recognition of need to provide further support to the UNSRSG on Children and Armed Conflict

3.3 There are some areas where the Declaration could be strengthened further and these could be addressed in future work:

· The Declaration could situate the problem of sexual violence in conflict in its broader context. For example, it would be useful to recognise that sexual violence in conflict can be perpetrated by acquaintances or family members as well as armed actors, and that this kind of violence can flourish when society breaks down. It would also be useful if the Declaration recognised that sexual violence is just one type of violence that occurs during conflict, that all kinds of violence are present in pre-, during- and post- conflict phases, and that this is always tied up in power relations meaning that in most societies women and girls are predominately affected

· It would have also been useful if the Declaration specifically called more funding and support for child protection as a core component of every humanitarian response. As we outlined in our Unspeakable Crimes report [1] , protection programmes (including child protection and sexual and gender-based violence programmes) are amongst the least funded sectors in most humanitarian responses. In 2011, for example, less than a quarter of the funding needed for protection programmes in humanitarian emergencies was made available.

3.4 With regards to the impact of the FCO’s Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI), while it is too early to assess the impact of this initiative there are early signs that it has had a positive impact.

· The Foreign Secretary’s personal commitment to the issue has greatly helped to raise awareness and his commitment to making this a topic of conversation in all of his foreign affairs engagements and discussions with foreign leaders means that it becomes harder to ignore. The SRSG on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Bangura, speaks compellingly about shifts she has seen in conflict-affected countries where government leaders are now more likely to talk about the issue of sexual violence and to look for international support in addressing the problem. We have also heard the PSVI described as part of the catalyst behind DFID’s proposed "international call to action on violence against women and girls in humanitarian emergencies".

· But it should also be recognised that the PSVI is only a starting point and that its focus on impunity and prosecution should be only one part of a much larger package of solutions. The PSVI will be considered to have a long-term and positive impact if it helps to catalyse sustained funding and support for grassroots work on the prevention of and response to violence, including work specifically addressing and the needs and rights of children. For Save the Children, this will need to include greater support and funding for child protection to prevent and respond to violence against children.

3.5 With regards to the funding announcements linked to the Prevention of Sexual Violence in Conflict made at the G8, Save the Children’s reactions were as follows:

· Save the Children warmly welcomed the funding pledges made at the G8, especially when many of the G8 countries are in difficult economic circumstances. Marshalling these funds is a tangible positive impact of the FCO’s Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative.

· We hope to hear in more detail how NGOs can apply to access the funds that were announced by the UK government, both those announced by the FCO and DFID, and will be keen to ensure that sufficient funds reach projects and programmes for children given that they often make up the majority of survivors of sexual violence in conflict. [2]

4. Recommendations for the FCO’s Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative in future

4.1 We are delighted that there are indications that the work on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict will continue past 2013, and we look forward to further communication about what form this will take. We hope that the spirit of on-going collaboration with NGOs and other stakeholders will continue as well. As the PSVI work goes forward, Save the Children feels that continued and further emphasis can be placed on:

· Support and funding for work that prevents sexual violence in conflict, including looking at addressing the root causes of sexual violence that may be in place long before a conflict starts. Close collaboration between the FCO and DFID on these issues will be of great use.

4.2 We will also be watching further developments, including DFID’s upcoming work on violence against women and girls in humanitarian situations, to see that funds are being earmarked for child protection at the outset of humanitarian intervention, to ensure that prevention and response to sexual violence is part of every humanitarian response. As we outlined in our Unspeakable Crimes report [3] , protection from violence is often at the bottom of the priority list when humanitarian funds are allocated. Funding needs for this work are almost always less well met than the average across other sectors. The UK government falls towards the bottom of the list of major donors for the priority it places on funding pro tection work when it allocates its humanitarian aid. The UK spent 0% of its humanitarian aid on sexual and gender-based violence and just 0.22% on child protection between 2007 and 2012, placing it 11th out of 12 major humanitarian donors for the priority it places on protection in humanitarian response.

4.3 As discussed further in the joint submission from the BOND Child Rights Working Group (of which Save the Children is a member), we would encourage the FCO to expand the focus on children’s rights, which in many ways was strong within the PSVI, across the rest of its work (including updating and implementing a children’s rights strategy across the FCO).

24 May 2013