Parliaments key to progress on children’s rights

Parliamentarians have the potential to be powerful allies in advancing children’s rights

• 20 November marks World Children’s Day.

• Parliamentarians have the potential to be powerful advocates for children’s rights.

• One recent example involves IPNEd’s co-chair Mehnaz Akber Aziz, who led the formation of the Parliamentary Caucus on Children’s Rights in Pakistan.

• IPNEd reiterates its commitment to cross-party parliamentary engagement in support of education, and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

This Sunday (20 November) is World Children’s Day, the anniversary of the adoption by the UN General Assembly of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child in 1959 and the Convention on the Right of the Child in 1989.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most complete statement of children’s rights ever produced and the most widely-ratified international human rights treaty in history.

It has 54 articles that cover all aspects of a child’s life and set out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights which all children everywhere are entitled to.

Article 28 of the Convention sets our children’s right to education without discrimination.

Like all international instruments, it is only as effective as its implementation. Violations of children’s rights, including denying them an inclusive quality education are disturbingly common.

To mark World Children’s Day, the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) released a joint statement on the role of parliaments in the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The CRC is the third UN human rights mechanism to adopt a text in favour of stronger parliamentary engagement, following earlier statements by the UN Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee) and the UN Human Rights Council in support of working more closely with parliaments.

Parliamentarians have the potential to be powerful and effective allies in advocating for and advancing children’s rights. They play a crucial role in creating child rights policies, promoting new laws on children’s rights, exercising a public oversight function, determining public budgets, interacting with National Human Rights Institutions, encouraging the engagement and involvement of children and young people in decision-making and contributing to the promotion of child rights in society.

“The International Parliamentary Network for Education was created to support parliamentarians to perform all of these functions more effectively in support of the right to education,” said IPNEd co-founder and Executive Director, Joseph Nhan-O’Reilly.

Cross party working unlocks change for children

MNA Mehnaz Akber Aziz chairs the first meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Children’s Rights of the National Assembly of Pakistan

“We also know that by working together, especially with members from other political parties, parliamentarians can build strong coalitions for change. This not only helps tackle issues that are beyond the capacity of individual parliamentarians to resolve, but also provides a stronger collective voice for action.”

Where they already exist, IPNEd supports the work of national multi-party groups on education and, where they don’t, IPNEd facilitates the creation of new cross-party groups. These take various forms, including parliamentary groups on children’s rights.

One recent example involves IPNEd’s global co-chair, Parliamentary Secretary for Law and Justice and, Member of Pakistan’s National Assembly Mehnaz Akber Aziz who led the formation of the first ever All Party Parliamentary Caucus on Children’s Rights in the National Assembly of Pakistan.

The Caucus was constituted following the unanimous adoption of a resolution by the National Assembly during its session held on 20 October 2022.

As a long time advocate of children, Mrs. Akber Aziz has also successfully introduced legislation into the National Assembly banning corporal punishment in education settings.

“I’m excited by the creation of the Parliamentary Caucus on Children’s Rights and am confident that by working together in and through parliament we can improve the status of Pakistan’s children” said Mrs. Akber Aziz.

Similar examples include the Intergroup on Children’s Rights in the European Parliament, which is chaired by IPNEd member David Lega MEP, the Friends of Children Parliamentary Group in Albania and the All Party Parliamentary Group for Children in the United Kingdom.

World Children’s Day also aims to promote the active participation of children and young people in decision making processes. A brilliant example of this is the Send my Friend to School coalition, of which IPNEd is a proud member and which works tirelessly to provide platforms for children and young people and promote their engagement with parliamentarians.

On this World Children’s Day, we reiterate our commitment to national, regional and global cross-party parliamentary engagement in support of the right to education, and all the rights of children set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.