A global call to action for early childhood

General comment no. 7: Implementing child rights in early childhood
37
well beyond the “nuclear” model.
Parents and caregivers are identified
as principal actors in the construction
of identity and the development of
skills, knowledge, and behaviours and
as duty-bearers in the realisation of
the young child’s rights (GC7 para.15).
States are therefore reminded of their
obligation to support these caregiving
environments and their facilitation of
child participation.
On health, in addition to provisions
such as sanitation, immunisation, and
clean drinking water, GC7 calls for
age-appropriate health education for
young children that allows them to
participate actively in healthy lifestyles
and, ultimately, in the realisation of
their right to health (GC7 para.27).
With respect to social security, GC7
(para.26) refers to CRC (Art.27) and
the entitlement to a standard of living
that is adequate for the “physical,
mental, spiritual, moral and social
development” of the child.
On education, GC7 reiterates the aims
of education expressed in General
Comment 1 (GC1), to “empower
the child by developing his or her
skills, learning and other capacities,
human dignity, self-esteem and
self-confidence” (GC1 para.2).
Human rights education is called
for that facilitates the young child’s
practice of rights and responsibilities,
making them active participants in
the realisation of their rights (GC7
para.28).
In meeting these obligations, GC7
calls on States to implement properly
resourced, human-rights-based,
coordinated strategies and training
which set professional standards for
age-appropriate practice.
Summary
GC7 has been drafted to reflect the
concept of child participation as
a cross-cutting issue. As such, the
emerging vision, which runs like a
golden thread through the whole
document, is one of an actively
participating and socially competent
young child. This young child is
ecologically situated within family
and caregiving environments, in
relationships with peers, as part of
a community, and as a member of
society. This young child is to be
considered holistically as a being
whose emotional, social, physical,
and cognitive capacities are evolving
in various social and cultural settings.
GC7 presents a vision of the young
child that embraces holistic and
ecological considerations and requires
us to reconsider young, active,
participant children in the broadest
possible sense, both as individuals and
as a constituency.
GC7 Working Group
Information is limited on the use
of the General Comment by States
parties. Often Comments are not
distributed and are thus not known.
If they are read, they tend to be
regarded as theoretical in nature
because they address a problem
in general. Obviously they require
operationalisation to facilitate States
parties’ implementation efforts and
reporting.
The convening of a GC7 Working
Group comprised of experts in the area
of early child development and child
indicators, child rights experts, and
legal experts is an attempt to address
these issues based on GC7. It is the
first of its kind.
Because of the various collective
interests of the GC7 Working Group in
the matter of young children’s rights,
and because of the UNCRC’s identified
need to raise the profile of General
Comments through dissemination
and operationalisation, the GC7
Working Group met with the UNCRC
in September 2006. An operational
framework of indicators was proposed
to assist States parties in the analysis
of young children’s enjoyment of
their rights and hence encourage
more appropriate reporting by States
parties. As a result of that meeting,
former UNCRC Chair Professor Jaap
Doek invited the interested ECD and
early childhood rights stakeholders
to prepare and propose a suitable
framework of early childhood rights
indicators.
Framework development
process for GC7 indicators
A proposed framework for child
rights indicators is currently being
developed by the GC7 Working
Group, which includes representatives
of UNCRC, UNICEF, WHO, Bernard
van Leer Foundation (BvLF), Human
Early Learning Partnership (HELP), the
Consultative Group on Early Childhood
Care and Development (CGECCD), and
the World Bank, in consultation with
others.
GC7’s content and structure has
provided the foundation for decisions
about which indicators to include in
the framework; the UNCRC Reporting
Guidelines are the primary source for
the cluster structure of the framework.
In addition, the GC7 Working Group
is building upon the previous work of
UNICEF’s Multiple Indicator Cluster
Survey (MICS)/household survey studies
by adapting some of their indicators to
include, or more explicitly represent,
young children. A final framework will
be presented to the CRC committee in
early 2008.
For more information, contact:
Alan Kikuchi White
E-mail: alangrahamwhite@gmail.com
Website: http://www.bvleerf.nl
Also available in Spanish and
French.
COORDINATORS’ NOTEBOOK: ISSUE 29