THE COMMITMENT TO CHILDREN AUDIT

An innovative tool to advocate for child rights.Version 2.0

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There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way it treats its children.

Nelson Mandela

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COMMITMENTnoun

• 1 [mass noun] the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, etc.• [count noun] a pledge or undertaking.

• 2 an engagement or obligation that restricts freedom of action.

Source: The Oxford English Dictionary

AUDITnoun

• an official inspection of an organization's accounts, typically by an independent body• a systematic review or assessment of something.

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The CCA is based on the belief that the true measure of a nation’s standing is its commitment to children and young people – to their

mental and physical growth, to their protection and safety, to their

education and preparation for citizenship, and to their sense of being

loved, valued, and included by their families and societies.

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WHAT IS THE NEED?In August 2010, a consultation on the reasons why the WFFC failed in its implementation came up with the following conclusions*:

* The consultation was made among GMC members and partners. We got 41 responses in total: 15 from people operating at national level, 14 from people working at regional level, 12 from people working at headquarters; 7 came from Africa, 8 from Asia, 16 from Latin America, 7 from Europe, and 3 from North America.

Why haven’t we succeeded much in holding governments accountable to the WFFC agenda?

% of responses considering this cause

relevant or very relevant

• We have limited knowledge, experience and tools to hold governments accountable

93%

• We continue to work on our own individual campaigns, instead of uniting under an agreed agenda

83%

• Monitoring mechanisms for the implementation of the WFFC Agenda have been marginalized

83%

• Level of influence of our organisations among the general public and leaders is low

80%

• Ministries in charge of children are normally weak and have little power 78%

• Child rights movement is generally isolated from other movements and advocacy initiatives

66%

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WHAT IS THE NEED?• Powerful advocacy tool that is comprehensive

enough to include all the relevant issues affecting child rights in every national context;

• Easy to use and understand by the general public;

• Solid enough to be credible, based on empirical evidence;

• Has enough ‘teeth’ to facilitate advocacy work and catalyse change;

• Highlights disparities.

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Technical(addressed to people with certain knowledge of the

issue)

Popular(addressed to the general

public, no previous knowledge needed)

Focused on issues (covers issues or uses

only internationally comparable data)

Comprehensive (covers all areas related

to child rights)

State of the World’s

Mothers

State of the World’s Children

Reports to CRC

Committee

CCA

Technical papers

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WHAT IS THE NEED?EXISTING ACCOUNTABILITY TOOLS

• Reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child: Compares countries with themselves every 5 years. Technical in nature. Might not easily reach public opinion in most countries.

• State of the World Children’s report: provides latest statistical evidence on children well-being globally. Popularises one issue every year (2011: Adolescents; 2010: Child Rights; 2009: Maternal & Newborn health...). It does not compare countries.

• State of the World’s Mothers: Ranks countries on the basis of indicators around women’s health, and their status (economic, political, educational), as well as children’s status (health and education).

• Others: State of the World’s Girls by Plan, Regional reports to regional institutions, UNICEF Report Cards...

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WHAT IS THE CCA?

• The CCA seeks to be a powerful communications and advocacy tool that will measure the level of commitment countries have vis-à-vis their children and children in general.

• It is a project around which the child rights movement can rally, benefit from, provide input to, and use as a mobilization tool in every country.

• A vivid reminder for governments of the efforts needed to

meet the MDGs and implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

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FOCUS OF THE CCA

• Equity: moves away from monitoring averages, and places attention to

progress for the poorest. Countries with big disparities will be penalized.

• Commitment in relation to the level of economic resources: measures effort and performance in relation to the best

performer with the same GNP per capita.

• International audit + National audit processes: An

international audit panel will focus on using internationally comparable data; National audit panels will focus on assessing what is beyond reach of international statistics, some qualitative elements and current efforts of the current government.

• Outreach: The CCA focuses on reaching out to the general public,

policy-makers, NGOs, and leaders.

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OBJECTIVES

1. Hold governments accountable: We need a strengthened

capacity of the Movement to hold their governments and institutions to account on child rights;

2. Coordinated advocacy: to increase the effectiveness of advocacy/

lobby actions vis-à-vis governments and institutions;

3. Increased visibility: child rights issues and efforts (or lack of efforts) to

realize them need to be more visible/important to the public, stimulate thinking and debate on the nation’s commitment to children;

4. Point to the gaps in data collection: inspire further efforts in

search of new data that better grasps children’s reality.

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EXPECTED OUTCOMES

• Generate public support: Raise awareness, generate debate and educate the public so it demands more ambitious action for child rights;

• Focus attention of policy-makers and leaders to the deficits vis-a-vis their children: delegitimize excuses for inaction;

• Strengthen leader’s commitment to child rights.

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Generate public support Focus attention

Strengthen leaders’ commitment

Commitment toChildren Audit

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INTERNATIONAL AUDIT

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INTERNATIONAL AUDIT• International audit panel: Composed of 6-8 prominent

experts from all continents.

• Uses only internationally comparable data, normally one major indicator per unit.

• Six audit units:

Low/middle-income countries High-income countries

Survival Survival

Growth Subjective well-being

Health Health

Education Education

Protection Protection

Material well-being Material well-being

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INDICATORSLow/middle-income

countriesMain indicator

Survival Child death rate

Growth Child malnutrition rate

Health Improved water and sanitation rate

Education Expected years at school

ProtectionMaternal death rate; immunization; birth registration; road accidents; Ban on corporal punishment.

Material well-being Absolute poverty rate

• These indicators will be looked at from absolute and equity perspectives (see the sample Country A international audit report);

• It will issue an overall rating (A to D) as well as a rating per unit. This will allow to create rankings and compare countries.

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NATIONAL AUDIT

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WHY

• International audit is incomplete: international comparable

data is very limiting in terms of analysis. Essential dimensions need to be considered in addition to those assessed internationally.

• Close range: commitment should also be assessed that might not

be interationally relevant, but that are essential at national level.

• Contextualise: The national panel will be able to assess the current

government effort – putting achievements and failings into the national context, considering current achievements and concerns.

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NATIONAL AUDITS• National panels: 6-12 individuals selected by the country’s national

platform for children;

• Panel uses Delphi method to assess commitment around some internationally defined units as well as some nationally-defined elements (see form);

• Audit units: ‣ Education: quality and relevance;

‣ Health: effort of government in providing basic health care to all children;

‣ Protection: Total abolition of death penalty for under-18; Age of criminal responsibility under 18; physical punishment illegal; FGM; exploitation; substance abuse...;

‣ Participation: political spaces, social energy, levels of collective organisation...;

‣ Commitment to children of other countries: ODA, children on the move...;

‣ Data availability and quality.

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PLAN

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OUTREACH

• The CCA aims to bring certain facts and ideas to new audiences. Outreach is central to the project;

• Approach will be multi-pronged, involving print publications, an interactive web site, and in-person events;

• The key is to provide child rights organizations with a useful tool, adaptable to different audiences: from an Op-Ed to background technical papers.

WHAT WOULD SUCCESS LOOK LIKE?

• CCA cited in major national newspapers in at least 50 countries;

• Progressive use of the CCA by development agencies, child-related government agencies, INGOs and national NGOs, resulting in policies, budgets and institutional transformations;

• Strong and heated debate in low-ranked countries.

• CCA developed within countries with decentralized structures.

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PRINCIPLES FOR IMPLEMENTATION

• Think big but start small: pilot the CCA in a few countries in every region;

• Strive for continual improvement, not instant perfection: the process and measurements will require constant improvement, learning lessons early before going too far down the wrong path;

• Engage key actors in design: great talent in the guidance of the project, but ensure that regional and national actors participate in its design and evaluation;

• Minimize demand to key actors: engagement is key, but resources at regional and national are extremely limited. Implementation should make engagement easy and minimize the demand of time and resources of members.

• Outreach is central: This is not academic experiment, it does not seek to generate new data. It aims to bring certain facts and ideas to broad audiences.

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Conceptuali-sation

Consultation to consolidate

concept

- Consultations to GMC members and key people;

- Broad consultation to national and regional offices and organisations.

- Group of experts draft concept and process;

- GMC Comms Team develops outreach plan.

June’11 Jul-Nov’11

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International and national

audits

- GMC-CC convenes International audit panel

- International panel prepares its assessment;

- National audit panels are created and prepare their assessment with the results of the international audit.

Consolidation and launch

- Data is gathered and processed globally;

- Simultaneous launch of outputs in many countries. Regional and global launches in key locations.

Dec’11-Mar’12 Apr-Sep’12

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FAQ1. What is the added value compared to other reports (State of

the World’s Children, Report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child...)?• CRC reporting focuses on comparing a country over time, every 5 years. The CCA

compares countries with their economic and geographical neighbours, and brings an international dimension that has been unexplored and is potentially very powerful in communications terms.

• Adds a great deal more impact, urgency, and a willingness to be really critical when necessary.

2. What is the legitimacy/mandate of the GMC to prepare and disseminate the CCA? • The GMC does not work on a mandate given by governments, but on a mission

provided to it by its members and anchored in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the most universal human rights treaty

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