Using UNCRC Rights in Early Childhood as a tool for achieving ‘equity from the start’

1. Using UNCRC Rights in Early Childhood as a tool for achieving ‘equity from the start’ Clyde Hertzman Human Early Learning Partnership Council for Early Child Development

2. What influences early child development? The experiences children have in the environments where they grow up, live and learn.

3. Which Environments Matter?

4. Life Course Problems Related to Early Life Experiences 2nd Decade 3rd/4th Decade 5th/6th Decade Old Age • School Failure • Teen Pregnancy • Criminality • Obesity • Elevated Blood • Pressure • Depression • Coronary Heart Disease • Diabetes • Premature Aging • Memory Loss

5. “Equity from the Start”

6. The Early Development Instrument

7. Early Development Instrument • 104 items • Extensive validity and reliability data from several countries • Not a test • Teacher at age 5 is respondent • Five developmental domains, with sixteen subdomains • A guide with explanations available

8. What Does the EDI Measure?

9. EDI is: • a population-based tool • a mobilisation tool • a monitoring tool EDI is not: -an individual assessment -a prescription for action -perfect

10. Question:Does the following represent a rights violation under the UN-CRC?

12. BC: 45% of neighbourhood variability in EDI vulnerability assoc. with SES High % vuln on EDI Low SES Disadvantaged Advantaged Source: Kershaw et al. 2009, 15 by 15 : A Comprehensive Policy Framework for Early Human Capital Investment in BC, Table 1.

13. According to UN-CRC:GC 7 …………the answer is ‘yes’ thus……. UN-CRC GC: 7 Indicators Group

14. Who is involved in UN-CRC GC: 7 Indicators group?

15. BvL

16. What is a CRC General Comment? 1989: The Child Right Convention, CRC 2004: General Comment 7 (GC: 7); Implementing child rights in early childhood General Comments:

17. Why a General Comment on Rights in Early Childhood?

18. Why indicators? Why monitoring? Procedural rights vs Substantive rights

19. Why indicators? Why monitoring? Procedural rights = immediate realization Substantive rights = ‘progressive realization’

20. Why indicators? Why monitoring? UNCRC:GC7 is mostly about substantive rights You can only tell if there is ‘progressive realization’ by monitoring over time. Monitoring can create a bridge between population health and human rights.

21. UN-CRC GC-7 Indicators • 2005: group approached CRC, arguing that GC:7 is impractical and underused………..need user-friendly and useful GC:7 indicators • 2006: UN-CRC invites us to develop indicators • 2006-2008: indicators of GC:7 were completed • May 2008: GC:7 indicators were presented to CRC

22. UN-CRC GC: 7 Indicators were meant to: • Assist States Parties with preparation of their report to UN-CRC • Monitor the progressive realization of rights in early childhood

23. The country sends a team to Geneva CRC sends comments to the country Report writing at country level CRC Reviews the information Concluding Observations

24. The country sends a team to Geneva CRC sends comments to the country Report writing at country level CRC Reviews the information Concluding Observations

25. We created15 Indicator Clusters matching CRC reporting guidelines • General Measures of Implementation (4) • Dissemination of GC7 • Constructing and implementing the positive agenda • Human Rights training • Data collection system • Civil rights and freedoms (1) Birth registration • Family environment and alternative care (2) • Participation in household decision making • Violence against young children • Basic health and welfare (3) • Basic material needs • Child survival and health • Age-appropriate health education • Education, leisure and cultural activities (4) • Early education service provision • Educational service provision for vulnerable • Knowledge of right and capacity to support it • Play, leisure and rest opportunitites • Special protection measures (1) Inclusive policy and provisions for vulnerable groups

26. GC7 PARA/ REPORTING GUIDELINE Structural Components of Indicators DUTY BEARERS SOURCES OF INFO OUTCOME PROCESS STRUCTURE

27. Rationale for Indicator Structure they correspond to the duties of state’s parties, i.e.

30. Steps to have such policies in place No Policies on awareness raising Are there policies in place to promote birth registration? Suggestions Yes Policies to facilitate late registration

31. Are there programs in place to provide universal non discriminatory access to birth registration? No Steps to have such programs Conditional Cash Suggestions Mobile Birth Registry Facilitating late registration

32. Has there been any decrease in the percentage of unregistered children? Steps to investigate lack of response Investigate improvements in reporting system Suggestions Look at the disaggregated data

33. Retrospective cash transfer of Peru http://www.unicef.org/files/Conditional_Cash_Transfers_In_Peru_-_Tackling_The_Multi-Dimensionality_Of_Poverty_And_Vulnerability.pdf Mobile brigades in Mozambique: http://www.unicef.org/mozambique/protection_4904.html Retrospective birth registration of Senegal: http://www.planusa.org/stuff/contentmgr/files/d9ee355af9fc9e39564ba31f686d519b/miscdocs/countmein.pdf

34. Experience of Senegal

35. Sample flowchart:www.childrightsimpact.info/ecrim/flowchart5

38. Tanzania as a suitable pilot country Has ratified CRC in 1991 Suitable reporting timeline (next report due 2012) National awareness to invest in ECD (Integrated ECD strategy, Child Act and…) Number of on-going projects by international agencies to build up ECD capacity (CRED-PRO, EFA of WB…)

39. Objectives of the pilot • To test the relevance and feasibility of each indicator • To further refine the indicators and the flow charts • To understand whether or not the process serves as an effective means of report writing as well as a national, institutional self-study

40. What was our pilot testing strategy? • To achieve maximum government & civil society buy-in for the pilot. • To strengthen initiatives around the early childhood policies, training, services and rights.

41. How did we structure the pilot?

42. Steering Committee Off-site Task Force On-site Task Force

43. Sequence of the events: • Feasibility assessment, February 2009 • Face-to-face meeting of the team to finalize the • pilot country and plan the pilot, April 2009 • Identifying the stakeholders and bringing them around • one table, September 2009 What should our pilot testing strategy be? • Establishing the project team in the country, Sept 2009 • Formation and training of the task force, Dec 2009 • Face validation of the flow charts, Jan, 2010

44. Sequence of the events…. • The pilot, January-May 2010 • Mid-term evaluation, March 2010 • Review of the pilot data, May 2010 What should our pilot testing strategy be? • Informing CRC on the outcome of the pilot, June 14th 2010 • Informing the country on the outcome of the pilot and • wrapping up the pilot, June 22nd 2010

45. Benefits for pilot country Awareness raising How many “No”s, how many “Yes”s in the system? How to turn “No’s to “Yes”s? Capacity building Better reporting system How to use “Yes”s and “No”s to describe the status of child rights in the country and communicate it to UN-CRC?

46. The Forward Plan Revise Indicators and Manual in light of Tanzanian pilot Identify 2-3 middle and upper income countries for second stage implementation…Canada???? Complete second stage implementation in 2010/2011 Present final Indicators and Manual to UN-CRC Monitoring Committee Have Indicators promulgated for use in all 193 signatory countries

47. For further info:visit the Global Knowledge Hub for ECD at :http://www.earlylearning.ubc.ca/globalknowledgehubor contact --ziba.vaghri@ubc.ca