THE COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD T

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 What are the structure and roles of the Geneva NGO Group for the CRC?

It is presently formed by more than 50 international Non Governmental Organizations (meaning they work and are located in at least three countries).

Some members are closely related to the CRC enforcement by their own goals and activities. For others, the welfare of boys, girls and adolescents is the main objective. And others, such as specialized groups of interest, religious charity centers, organizations of women, professional associations and unions, consider the rights of the child as one further aspect within their wider mandate. 

A meeting of full members is convened twice a year in Geneva for the purpose of coordinating the actions of the NGO Group and developing common strategies (thematic day). Other inter-governmental organizations, such as UNICEF, also participate in these meetings.  

Working Sub-Groups 

The members of the NGO Group form working groups and sub-groups in order to approach issues or matters related to specific CRC articles. Some of those issues include child labor, commercial sexual exploitation, boys, girls and adolescents in armed conflicts, and removal. Sub-groups are a key element within the NGO Group at the time of ensuring that the UN System, as well as other fora, actually enhance the rights of boys and girls. These sub-groups provide their members a platform for debate and common actions.

Coordinating Committee 

The Coordinating Committee of the NGO Group for the CRC facilitates its task and is formed by  representatives of the sub-groups. The Coordinating Committee, as its name stands for, coordinates the actions taken by and on behalf of the NGO Group.  

Projects 

Among the various projects developed by the NGO Group, there are two that have a specific nature: the Bonding Unit and the Focal Point, both dealing with the sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents. 

a)   The Bonding Unit 

The Bonding Unit represents an essential part of this work. This project was undertaken in the early 90s for the purpose of: 

·     Ensuring the participation of NGOs at national level in the process of reporting to the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

·     Strengthening the cooperation between the worldwide NGO community and the Committee.

·     Watching over the existence and work of national coalitions acting on behalf of the Rights of the Child.

·     Providing technical support to those coalitions in order to turn more effective their actions of promotion, monitoring and enforcement of the CRC. For such purpose, the Unit assists the NGOs by participating in working meetings prior to the sessions of the Committee.

·     Disseminating periodic information to NGOs/coalitions in more than 90 countries, dealing with international events and processes developed in connection with the rights of boys and girls.

·     Creating instruments and guidelines for the advocacy and monitoring activities of NGOs/coalitions.

·        Holding training courses on the advocacy of the rights of the child and networking.

b)  Focal Point on Child Sexual Exploitation

The Focal Point on Child Sexual Exploitation was established in 1996 by the co-organizers of the World Congress on Child Sexual Exploitation. This Focal Point aims to:

·     Facilitate cooperation at all levels for the application of the Stockholm Plan of Action adopted during the World Congress.

·     Respond to the need for an international exchange of information and surveillance on issues related to child sexual abuse.  

The activities of the Focal Point include:  

·    To provide national, regional and international organizations with the required information on the sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents, which involves the issue by the Committee of a Newsletter addressed to some 1000 contacts.

·     To organize annual consultation meetings, as well as regional working groups for assessing progress, challenges and pressing issues related to the sexual exploitation and abuse of boys, girls and adolescents.  

Priority activities of the Geneva NGO Group for the CRC for the 2000-2005 period  

·        To actively contribute to key international events, either within or outside the UN System. This includes the Committee, the Annual Meeting of the UN Commission on Human Rights, the UN Special Session on Children, the Yokohama Congress and the 2002 ILO Congress on labor issues.

·        To become an international focal point for NGOs and other concerned parties; to provide information; to raise the debate on issues related to the rights of boys and girls; to attract additional NGOs from other sectors, particularly organizations for development, to become members of the NGO Group;  to contribute to the work developed by UN constituent bodies and special rapporteurs, thus ensuring the inclusion of the rights of boys and girls into the wider area of human rights.