Seguimiento de las recomendaciones surgidas del Estudio de Violencia de las NNUU

a). What is the United Nations Secretary General’s Study on Violence against children and adolescents?

In the year 2001, following the recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of Children, the General Assembly of the United Nations asked the secretary General to undertake a “thorough study on the situation of violence against children”, due to the alarming situation which accounts for the death of thousands of children every year.  In February 2003 the Secretary General appointed an Independent Expert to chair this: Mr. Paolo Sergio Pinheiro.

 The High Commissioner of the United Nations for Human Rights (UNHCHR) and the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF were the agencies appointed to back this process.

 The purpose of the Study, based on the human rights for children and adolescents is to analyze the impact of violence, identify good working methods, work out strategies and promote actions to foresee and do away with violence against children. At the same time, violence against children and adolescents in their families, schools, communities, detention and protection institutions, and places of work is also to be analyzed.

 The Study was begun  towards the end of 2004 and encloses the information provided by the governments, through a questionnaire which was set by the UNHCHR; the results of the regional consultancies carried out in the whole world during the year 2005 with the participation of over 300 representatives of governments, civil organizations, UN agencies, academic institutions, experts on violence and children and adolescents. 

It is most important to guarantee that the opinions and experiences of children certify the Study, and that it includes the direct testimony of disabled children, children in street situation, children that bel ong to ethnic minorities, children that are in difficult situations (including emergencies and children affected by HIV/AIDS. 

b). What documents are there on the Study on World and Regional level s?

 On world level

 The report and the concluding observations were presented by Paulo Sergio Pinheiro to the General Assembly of the United Nations October 11, 2006.

 See the information in:  http://www.violencestudy.org/r25

 On Latin American and Caribbean regional level

 I n Latin America the coordination of this work was undertaken by the Regional Secretariat for the Study, created ad hoc and integrated by organisms of the United Nations, non governmental organizations, regional Organisms like the Inter American Commission for Human Rights (ICHR) and the Community of the Caribbean (CARICOM) have also been strategic allies to mobilize the region.  

The process has included:

1.        el aborating two analyses of regional trends on causes, ways and impact of violence against children and adolescents.

2.        Organizing two regional Consultancies for Latin America and the Caribbean

3.        Cel ebrating a Forum for Adolescents and Youths for the Caribbean on violence against children.

4.        Carrying out consultancies with more than 2000 children and adolescents in 17 countries in Latin America.

 See the information in :  www.uniceflac.org     

 Documents presented

 1)             Violence against children and adolescents.  Report on Latin America within the framework of the world study of the UN. 2006

http://www.unicef.org/lac/Estudio violencia (1).pdf

  2)             Voices of children and adolescents on violence.  Latin American consultancy 

          within the framework of the UN Secretary General’s Study on Violence against 

         Children 2006

         http://www.unicef.org/lac/consulta lac violencia 3.pdf

c). Publications Save the Children

            Dear Friends .  

I am happy to announce that the following Save the Children publications are now available in hard copies and for download from the following links in English and Spanish:

 In October 2006, the Secretary General’s Study on Violence against Children was presented to the General Assembly of the United Nations.  The General Assembly asked the Independent Expert to submit to the General Assembly of 2007 a report on the progress achieved in the initial follow up phase and to provide the necessary strategy to continue the implementation of the study.  The Assembly declared that this was to be done consulting with the United Nations and the NGOs.

 Paulo Pinheiro has often voiced his appreciation for the firm support received from the NGOs during the process of the study as also their capacity to provide coordinated contributions.

 On these occasions he has asked the NGOs to reconstitute an advisory organism to promote and maintain the NGOs’ involvement on national, regional and international level s in their advocacy for follow ups with governments,  the UN and other agencies to fully implement the observations of the Study. A previous organism, the Advisory Panel of NGO which was created to support Pinheiro when the process of the Study first began, officially ended its task in October when the Study was finished and presented.

 The NGOs have agreed upon an affirmative answer and in consultancy with Paulo Pinheiro and Jaap Dock they decided to begin procedures to set up a new Advisory Council of NGO. 

The new NGO Advisory Council is to have 18 members: 9 representatives from national or regional NGOs, “representing” the nine regions designated for regional consultancies for the Study and 9 “international members sel ected from international NGOs with different nomination and sel ection procedures.

b)   What are the functions of this new NGO Advisory Council to the UN SG’s onViolence against Children?

·         Stimulate and maintain NGO involvement on national, regional and international level s with an advocacy to follow up with governments, United Nations and other agencies in order to fully implement the observations of the UN SG’s Study.

·         Special advocacy for a Special Representative to the SG for violence against children to work together with the Special Representative once he is appointed.

·        Work with the Independent Expert and the Inter Agency Work Group especially when identifying key priorities for the work group and its members and to devel op follow up activities and strategies to ensure the effective implementation of the observations of the Study.

·         Identify and transmit important information regarding violence against children from the fiel d to the SG and other organisms of the UN that were indicated.

·         Use and strengthen existing information channel s/ mechanisms (i.e. CRIN, e mail lists of the NGO Group of Geneva etc) to inform the NGO community for the defense of the rights of children about the follow up to the UNSG’s Study on Violence against children and its implementation.

·         Connect firmly and systematically with the Youth Council to back up a constant and growing participation of children in the follow up.

·         Participate in monitoring the member states to implement the observations of the Study.

c)  What candidates are being chosen through REDLAMYC ?

  Redlamyc is backing up the sel ection of one candidate for Latin America and one for the Caribbean.

d)  What is Redlamyc ’s Role?

 Redlamyc is a network of NGO Networks, both national and regional  whose common denominator is to bel ong to one of the countries that integrate the Region of Latin America and the Caribbean and have activel y joined up to defend the rights of children and adolescents in the framework of the Convention on the Rights of Children.

www.redlamyc.info

  Because of the fluent communication between the different NGOs and NGO networks in the region Redlamyc has been asked to support the process of presentation and sel ection of candidates for the NGO Advisory Council on Violence against Children and Adolescents for Latin America and the Caribbean.

 Since Redlamyc supports the sel ection of the candidates and its Coordinator general is facilitating it, in order to guarantee the democracy and the transparency of the process, Redlamyc cannot stand or vote in block for any of the candidates, nor can its Coordinator be presented as a candidate in this opportunity.

?

e)  What is the procedure to sel ect the candidate?

1. Send an open announcement to all the actors connected with Redlamyc through its Bulletin inviting candidates for Latin America and the Caribbean whose profile is in accordance with the requirements.

2. When all the nominations have been received the information received from the candidates will be organized into a common format to be read.

3. Once the information has been organized, it will be hung on the Redlamyc website (www.redlamyc.info) on its main page for it to be accessible to all.

4. Finally a new communiqué will be sent through the bulletin of Redlamyc as in the beginning but now inviting all NGO networks and national and regional NGO vote for one candidate for Latin America and another one for the Caribbean through a specific e mail on this subject.

5. All the national NGOs and national and regional NGOs that bel ong to the Latin American region may vote.

6. The e mail should contain information on:

a.        In subject write “el ection of candidates”

b.        Which candidate from Latin America and which from the Caribbean is being el ected.

c.        The name of the NGO or the NGO network voting.

d.        Contact person of the NGO or the NGO network to be consulted on the subject.

e.        In the case it is a network please explain how many NGOs integrate the network and how many agree with the votes cast.

f.          If it is a NGO network and a number of NGOs back this vote, please show how this information can be confirmed. 

7. Other considerations:

a.        If an NGO casts a vote backing the network it is connected to, it

       cannot vote individually..

 b.   Should the National Network not state the number of NGOs that

                                        integrate it, the person shall be asked to confirm whether this has

                                         been intentional or by mistake. Should it be intentional the vote

                                        counts as one vote of an NGO

                                                               i.       All NGOs or NGO networks that have presented a candidate may

  vote for this candidate in the actual el ection since presentation of

 a candidate does not imply not voting for him/her afterwards. 

Once the el ection is over the results and the person/s el ected for Latin America and the Caribbean shall be made known

 If you should have any further doubts please contact us at

gurises@gurisesunidos.org.uy