1.

Key issues

2. Child rights in governance assessments

3. Strategies

4. Regional examples
 Definition of “governance”
 The exercise of economic, political and administrative
authority to manage a country’s affairs at all levels

 Governance reforms will not deliver sustainable

results if they are not mindful of children
 Normative imperative
 Instrumental argument
 Empirical evidence
 Promoting good governance is an integral part
of development programming for many
development partners
 Several adopted new strategies in the past few years

 Rationale:
 Governance is at the heart of promoting human rights,
democracy and RoL
 Required for sustainable development
 Critical for aid effectiveness
1. Child rights-sensitive governance assessment:
 Offers a strategic opportunity to feature child rights
concerns prominently and concretely in governance-
related interventions and funding support.
2. Identify stakeholders:
 Key actors that are instrumental in helping
governments meet their goals under the CRC.
3. Identify entry points:
 Requires a comprehensive set of entry interlocking
interventions
 All development partners engage in
governance assessments

 Challenges:
 “Governance” - an umbrella concept
 Challenge agreeing on operational indicators and
establishing clear causal links
 Plethora of governance assessment tools currently used
1. Political Governance/Voice and Accountability

2. Rule of Law/Legal and Judicial Systems

3. Control of Corruption

4. Government Effectiveness

5. Social Governance/Socio-economic indicators

6. Political Dialogue/Quality of Partnerships, including

Participation and Civil Society and Governance
  Is there in existence a specialized juvenile justice system?
 Is there a system in place guaranteeing regular independent inspection of
places of detention of children?
 Has an independent oversight institution been established to examine how
legal institutions and practices affect children’s rights? Do they have
sufficient budget and authority?, etc…

In addition, the following quantitative indicators should also be

monitored as a way of determining the performance of the judicial
system and the treatment accorded within it to children in conflict with
the law:
 Number of children arrested during a 12 month period per 100,000 child
population
 Number of children in detention per 100,000 child population
 Time spent in detention by children prior to sentencing
 Number of child deaths in detention during a 12 month period, per 1,000
detained
 Percentage of children in detention not wholly separated from adults, etc…
 Strategic opportunity to feature child rights concerns
more prominently

 Support political dialogue between donors and partner

countries

 Inform Human Rights Country Strategies

 Support governance projects

 Inform the eligibility criteria for budget support

(GGDC)
• In the field of INSTITUTION BUILDING

• In the field of SERVICE DELIVERY

• In the field of RULE OF LAW/PARLIAMENTS

• In the field of ANTI-CORRUPTION

1. Establishing structures and institutions in government that give priority
attention to children:
 National coordination body
 Clear mechanisms for sectoral and vertical coordination

2. Strengthening capacities of government structures

 Functional
 Technical capacities

3. Institutionalizing children’s engagement in policy-making through:

• Information sharing and CB
• Establishing standards, structures, procedures and mechanisms
• Allocating resources (time, money, people)
• Mobilizing children and young people

4. Institutionalizing accountability mechanisms for children (child rights

ombudspersons, national plans of action)
 Principles and standards:
• Services are CHILD-CENTERED;
• Services are all INCLUSIVE (including access, affordability,
cultural and diversity appropriateness and acceptability);
• Services have built-in mechanisms for CHILD
PARTICIPATION;
• Services have built-in mechanisms for ACCOUNTABILITY.

• Strategies:
1. Supporting systems for birth registration.
2. Promoting national data collection systems.
1. Supporting legislative reform for child rights

2. Support to Parliaments

3. Justice for children:

• Strengthening the system of justice for children;
• Strengthening the capacity of those in contact with children in
conflict with the law;
• Legal empowerment and access to justice.
1. Engaging children and youth in anti-corruption
initiatives:
 Citizen’s score cards
 Taking part in public expenditure tracking
 Youth anti-corruption leagues

2. Improving the flow of information on key services to

children and parents.
Regional examples