Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

Prof. Dr. AHMET ARVASIstanbul University Cerrahpasa School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Unit

of Social Pediatrics

Declaration It is statement which is accepted by the goverment and if obeyed to the rules there is not obligation.

ConventionIt is a statement which bind the biased nations by lawful texts.(established universally binding obligations on governments and communities)

History

The first global declaration on children’s rights was issued in Geneva by the League of Nations in 1924. Since than children’s rights have been the center of attention on the occasion of Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 and Declaration of the Rights of the Child in 1959.

Universal Declaration of Human RightsArticle 25 • Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.

• Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26 • Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory.

• Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Declaration of the Rights of the Child-I (1959)

Principle 1 • Every child, without any exception whatsoever, shall be entitled to these rights, without distinction or discrimination on account of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, whether of himself or of his family. Principle 2 • The child shall enjoy special protection, and shall be given opportunities and facilities, by law and by other means, to enable him to develop physically, mentally, morally, spiritually and socially in a healthy and normal manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity. In the enactment of laws for this purpose, the best interests of the child shall be the paramount consideration.Principle 3 • The child shall be entitled from his birth to a name and a nationality. Principle 4 • The child shall enjoy the benefits of social security,including adequate pre-natal and post-natal care. The child shall have the right to adequate nutrition, housing, recreation and medical services. Principle 5 • The child who is physically, mentally or socially handicapped shall be given the special treatment, education and care required by his particular condition.

Declaration of the Rights of the Child-II (1959)

Principle 6 • The child, for the full and harmonious development of his personality, needs love and understanding. He shall, wherever possible, grow up in the care and under the responsibility of his parents, and, in any case, in an atmosphere of affection and of moral and material security. Society and the public authorities shall have the duty to extend particular care to children without a family and to those without adequate means of support.Principle 7 • The child is entitled to receive education, which shall be free and compulsory, at least in the elementary stages. Principle 8 • The child shall in all circumstances be among the first to receive protection and relief. Principle 9 • The child shall be protected against all forms of neglect, cruelty and exploitation. Principle 10 • The child shall be protected from practices which may foster racial, religious and any other form of discrimination.

CRC adopted and opened for signature, ratification an accession by General Assambly resolution 44/25 of 20 November 1989, entry into force 2 September 1990, in accordance with article 54.

• CRC can be regarded as a “Magna Carta” for the children of the world.CRC stands alone in international human rights law as the clearest andmost comprehensive expression of what the world communities wantfor its children.

• CRC contains civil, political, social, economic, cultural and educationrights in a single document.

• Turkey signed CRC on 14 September 1990. CRC has been ratified in TBMM in 9 December 1994 with the reservation of its rights to interpret the articles 17, 19 and 30 in accordance with Lasagna Treaty.In 27January 1995, it has been ratified by Law No. 4058 published in the Official Gazette No. 22184.

• All but 2 nation (USA and Somalia) had ratified the Convention.

'Magna Carta' is document accepted by King John of England on June 15, 1215 which contains a series of laws establishing the rights of English barons and major landowners thereby limiting the authority of the King. The Latin word which means 'great charter' is then used as a synonyms of all written citizen's rights and as foundation stones of statutes and laws . Magna Carta is the basis of individual rights and considered as a part of theEnglish Constitution where there is no written constitution

Institutional framework in Turkey for CRC

The Agency for Social Services and Child Protection has been designed as the “coordinating institution” responsible for monitoring the implementation of CRC anf for the preparation and submission of the country reports.

Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Foreign Affairs are the principle public institutions involved in the protection of the rights of children.

Within the framework of the cooperation between the Turkish Government and UNICEF, an “Intersectoral Child Committee” has been established in order to carry out the planning, implementation and monitoring of the efforts to attain the objectives towards protecting and improving the lives of children.

Child Right Committees and Centers have been constituted within 55 Bar Associations across the country. These units give assistance in particular to child victims in legal counseling and lawsuits.The Child Right Committees and Centers of the Bar Associations also promote the enactment of new legislation.

Basic principles of CRC

Non-discrimination (Article 2): gender, ethnicity, cultural

Best interests of the child (Article 3): health, education, nutrition, shelter, social

Survival and development (Article 6) : physical, intellectual, emotional, psychological

Participation (Article 12): recognition that children have rights to have their needs met demands that children become active participants in the decisions and actions that affect them, not merelyrecipients of adult intervention and protection.

•Article 1. Definition of a childA child is recognized as a person under 18, unless national laws recognize the age ofmajority earlier.

•Article 2. Non-discriminationAll rights apply to all children without exception. It is the State’s obligation toprotect children from any form of discrimination and to take positive action topromote their rights.

•Article 3. Best interests of the childAll actions concerning the child shall take full account of his or her best interests.The State shall provide the child with adequate care when parents, or others charged with that responsibility, fail to do so.

•Article 6. Survival and developmentEvery child has the inherent right to life, and the State has an obligation to ensurethe child’s survival and development.

•Article 8. Preservation of identifyThe State has an obligation to protect, and if necessary, re-establish basic aspectsof the child’s identify. This includes name, nationality and family ties.

•Article 9. Separation from parentsThe child has a right to live with his or her parents unless this is deemed to be incompatible with the child’s interests. The child has also the right to maintaincontact with both parents if separated from one or both.

•Article 12. The child’s opinionThe child has the right to express his or her opinion freely and to have that opiniontaken into account in any manner or procedure affecting the child.

•Article 13. Freedom of expressionThe child has the right to express his or her views, obtain information, make ideasor information known, regardless of frontiers.

•Article 14. Freedom of thought, conscience and religionThe State shall respect the cild’s right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, subjects to appropriate parental guidance.

•Article 15. Freedom of associationChildren have a right to meet others, and to join or form associations.

•Article 17. Access to appropriate informationThe state shall ensure the accessibility to children of information and materialfrom a diversity of sources, and it shall encourage the mass media to disseminateinformation which is of social and cultural benefit to the children, and to takesteps to protect him or her from harmful materials.

•Article 18. Parental responsibilitiesParents have joint primary responsibility for raising the child, and the State shallsupport them in this. The State shall provide appropriate asistance to parentsin child-raising.

•Article 19. Protect from abuse and neglectThe State shall protect the child from all forms of maltreatment by parents orothers responsible for the care of the child and establish appropriate socialprogrammes for the prevention of abuse and the treatment of victims.

•Article 23.Disabled childrenA disabled child has the right to special care, education and training to help him or her enjoy a full and decent life in dignity and achieve the greatest degree ofself-reliance and social integration possible.

•Article 24. Health and health servicesThe child has a right to the highest standard of health and medical care attainable.States shall place special emphasis on the provision of primary and preventativehealth care, public health education and the reduction of infant mortality.They shall encourage international co-operation in this regard and strive to seethat no child is deprived of access to effective health services.

•Article 26. Social securityThe child has a right to benefit from social security including social insurance.

•Article 27. Standard of livingEvery child has the right to a standard of living adequate for his or her physical,mental, spiritual, moral and social development. Parents have the primary respon-sibility to ensure that the child has an adequate standard of living. The State’sduty is to ensure that this responsibility can be fullfilled, and is. State responsi-bility can include material assistance to parents and their children.

•Article 28. EducationThe child has a right to education, and the State’s duty is to ensure that primaryeducation is free and compulsory, to encourage different forms of secondaryeducation accessible to every child and to take higher education available to all onthe basis of capacity. School discipline shall be consistent with the child’s rights anddignity. The State shall engage in international co-operation to implement this right.

•Article 29. Aims of educationEducation shall aim at developing the child’s personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to the fullest extent. Education shall prepare the child for an active adult life in a free society and foster respect for the child’s parents, hisor her own cultural identity, language and values, and for the cultural backgroundand values of others.

•Article 30. Children of minorities or indigenous populationsChildren of minority communities and indigenous populations have to right to enjoy their own culture and to practise their own religion and language.

•Article 33. Drug abuseChildren have the right to protection from the use of narcotic and psychotropicDrugs, and from being involved in their production or distribution.

•Article 34. Sexual exploitationThe State shall protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse, includingprostitution and involvement in pornography.

•Article 37. Torture and deprivation of libertyNo child shall be subjected to torture, cruel treatment or punishment, unlawfularrest or deprivation of liberty. Both capital punishment and life imprisonmentwithout the possibility of release are prohibited for offences committed bypersons below 18 years. Any child deprived of liberty shall be separated fromadults unless it is considered in the child’s best interest not to do so. A childwho is detained shall have legal and other assistance as well as contact with thefamily.

•Article 40. Administration of juvenile justiceA child in conflict with the law has the right to treatment which promotes thechild’s sense of dignity and who, takes the child’s age into account and aimsat his or her reintegration into society. The child is entitled to basic guaranteesas well as legal or other assistance for his or her defence. Judicial proceedingand institutional placement shall be avoided wherever possible.

US, Somalia US

TODAY.....

The State of the World’s Children

The Millennium Development Goals

Estimated costs for meeting worldwide need for;

Basic child health $17 billion

Primary education $ 8.6 billion

Safe water/Sanitation $12.5 billion

Family planning $8.6 billion

Estimates of worldwide spending on:

Golf $59 billion

Wine $118 billion

Advertising $380 billion

Military $800 billion

..... regarding military events

3 hours world arms spending = annual WHO budget

½ day of world arms spending = full childhood immunizations for all world’s children

3 days of US military spending = amt. spent on health, education, and welfare for US children in 1 year

The State of the Children in Turkey

Basic indicators in Turkey-2011

• Under-5 mortality rank : 108

• Under-5 mortality rate (per 1000 live birth): 11.3

• Infant mortality rate (,,) 7.7

• Maternal mortality rate (100.000) 15.5

• Total population (thousands) : 74.724

• Annual no. of births (thousands) : 1.296

Demographics

•Population (thousands) under age 18: 23109

•Population (thousands) under age 5: 6413

•Population annual growth rate (1990-2010) (%) : 1.3

•Life expectancy : 77

•% of population urbanized : 71.8

•Average annual growth rate of urban population,1990-2010 (%): 2.3

Socioeconomic

• GNI per capita (US$) : 9500

• % of population living below $1.25 a day (2000-2009) : 3

• % of central government expenditure allocated to health : 3

• % of central government expenditure allocated to education : 10

• % of central government expenditure allocated to defence : 8

• % of unemployment 9.1

• Labour force participation rate (%) female/urban 17.1 male/urban 68.9

Education

•Adult literacy rate,male (2005-2010): 96

•Adult literacy rate,female (2000-2005): 87

•No. of internet users per 100 people (2002): 7

•Primary school enrolment ratio,net,male(2007-2010): 95

•Primary school enrolment ratio,net,female (2007-2010): 93

•Secondary school enrolment ratio,gross,male (2007-2010): 77

•Secondary school enrolment ratio,gross,female (2007-2010): 70

• preschool (4-5y) education rate (2010): 39

Health-I

•% of urban population using improved drinking water sources (2008): 100

•% of rural population using improved drinking water sources (2008): 96

•% of urban population using adequate sanitation facilities (2008): 97

•% of rural population using adequate sanitation facilities (2008): 75

•% of one-year-olds fully immunized (2011): 96

•% of pregnant women immunized for tetanus (2008): 75

Health-II

•Hospital/Health center delivery rate 94%

•Health personnel assisted delivery rate 83%

•Low birth weight rate 11%

•Antenatal care in urban area 95% in rural area 81%

•Exclusively breastfeeding rate 0-3 months 21% 4-6 months 9.2%

•children who are breastfed with complementary food (6-8 months) 66%

•children who are still breastfeeding (20-23 months) 22%

Health-III

•Early marriage rate (in adolescency) 15.5%

•Teenage pregnancy 10.2%

•Using of modern method contraception 42.7%

•Using of traditional method contraception 32.5

Nutrition %

•Low birthweight 11

•Exclusively breastfed (<6 months) 21

•Underweight (severe-moderate)(1996-2004) 4

•Wasting (,,) (,,) 1

•Stunting (,,) (,,) 12

•Household consuming iodized salt 70

Child protection and welfare

•Child labour (6-17 years) 5.9%

•Children engaged in domestic activities 27.6%

•Number of children under care of protection services 32.000

•Number of detained children 3.000

•Foster family 1.260

•Children’s home (0-18 y) 559

Issues facing children in Turkey Rural populations lag behind urban dwellers in almost every social and economic index, from mortality rates to school enrolment. Hundreds of thousands of girls are out of school. In rural areas, a lack of schools and classrooms means that some teachers have more than 80 students per class.  Child labour remains widespread, as does child marriage.

Child Labor in Turkey

• Night work in industry is forbidden for males children under 18 years of age and for females in all ages.

• The child has the right to be protected from work that threatens his/her health, education or development.

• The duration of work in general is maximum 40 hours in a week.

• In Turkey, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security Child Labor Unit is responsible for coordination of programs related to child labor, development of new program concepts and improving the legislation trained a selected group of inspector on child labor.

• Children of 14 to 18 years age may be employed in non-industrial work, especially in rural areas. It is in conformity with the rules introduced by International Labor Organization (ILO) Conventions.

Activities and results for children

The Child Protection Law was passed in 2005. It reflect many principles of the CRC, but fail

The minimum marriage age for girls was raised from 15 to 17.

A new civil code gives women equal rights with men, though most women still face discrimination.

A juvenile justice system is in its infancy. Judges are learning about child-sensitive detention centres, alternative dispute resolution and due process for children in conflict with the law.

Juvenile courts (n): 95 in 30 provinces (75/95 are active); criminalliability age : 12 y

Child Rights Monitoring Committee, which was set up within the Turkish parliament in 2008

CHALLENGES (Turkish laws are less favourable to children)

The Law on Turkish Citizenship do not express the child’s right to freedom of expression and freedom of religion

The Law on Associations severely circumscribes children’s right to form and join associations

Relevant laws do not uphold the child’s right to privacy or safeguard the right of the child to participate in decisions on important issues Concerning himself/herself, in line with his or her cognitive capacity

cont……

The Code of Civil Procedures allows a judge the discretion to hear a parent instead of a child up to the age of 16

Children cannot apply to court without parental consent

Harmful practices like corporal punishment or the payment of bride price are not explicitly banned

Budget laws and regulations do not set out any rules concerning the use of resources for children.