Publications

Expanding Internet access for all children and young people without discrimination and exclusion in all parts of the world, together with promoting digital citizenship and responsibility, ought to be critical objectives for policymakers concerned with enhancing opportunities for children. The study primarily addresses two issues: child sex abuse recorded in images; and the grooming of young people for sex. A third issue, cyberbullying, emerging from much research as an issue of particular significance to children, is also touched on in this report. There are many knowledge gaps about the protection challenges raised by the Internet, particularly in parts of the world where its penetration is so far more limited. There has been significant work undertaken to analyse children’s online behaviour and investments made in strategies to address and prevent abuse in parts of Asia, across Europe and the United States of America. But there has been less exploration of online child abuse and exploitation across many low- and middle-income countries.

Expanding Internet access for all children and young people without discrimination and exclusion in all parts of the world, together with promoting digital citizenship and responsibility, ought to be critical objectives for policymakers concerned with enhancing opportunities for children. The study primarily addresses two issues: child sex abuse recorded in images; and the grooming of young people for sex. A third issue, cyberbullying, emerging from much research as an issue of particular significance to children, is also touched on in this report. There are many knowledge gaps about the protection challenges raised by the Internet, particularly in parts of the world where its penetration is so far more limited. There has been significant work undertaken to analyse children’s online behaviour and investments made in strategies to address and prevent abuse in parts of Asia, across Europe and the United States of America. But there has been less exploration of online child abuse and exploitation across many low- and middle-income countries.

The objective of this Roundtable was to reflect on the linkages between governance and child rights and initiate a dialogue between both constituencies. It brought together actors from the governance sector and child rights experts. Various studies have evidenced that good governance brings both an intrinsic and an instrumental value to a wide range of development outcomes, including poverty eradication, the reduction of inequities, economic growth and broader social objectives.

Children are often brutally targeted in modern warfare. Accountability mechanisms have begun to focus on crimes committed against children during armed conflict and to involve children proactively, including through testimony that bears witness to their experiences. But if children are to engage in transitional justice processes, their rights must be respected. This publication is intended to inform the work of truth commissions, child protection advocates and organizations, legal experts and other professionals in efforts to protect the rights of children involved in truth and reconciliation processes. It includes an analysis of emerging good practices and recommends policies and procedures for children’s participation in truth commissions.

O Manual visa promover a compreensão e aplicação eficaz do Protocolo Facultativo à Convenção dos Direitos da Criança, relativo à venda de crianças, prostituição e pornografia infantil. A publicação descreve a génese, o alcance e o conteúdo do Protocolo e apresenta exemplos de medidas tomadas pelos Estados Partes para cumprirem as suas obrigações ao abrigo deste instrumento. Este guia essencial destina-se principalmente às autoridades públicas, às organizações das Nações Unidas, aos defensores dos direitos da criança e a todos quantos trabalhem com e para as crianças, cujas ocupações e actividades podem reforçar a protecção das crianças contra a exploração, tanto a nível nacional como local. O Manual sublinha o potencial único do Protocolo para realçar de maneira decisiva a protecção das crianças contra a exploração e a luta contra a impunidade dos criminosos. Convida todos os Estados a ratificarem o Protocolo e a agirem de maneira a aplicar efectivamente as suas disposições. Publicado pelo IRC da UNICEF com o apoio do Instituto Internacional dos Direitos da Criança em Sion, Suíça, o Manual beneficiou da perícia dos membros do Comité dos Direitos da Criança das Nações Unidas e de outros especialistas de direitos da criança.

UNICEF has long recognized that there is great value in children’s sport and play, and has been a consistent proponent of these activities in its international development and child protection work. Health, educational achievement and social benefits are just some of the many desirable outcomes associated with organized physical activity. During recent years, however, it has become evident that sport is not always a safe space for children and that the same types of violence and abuse sometimes found in families and communities can also occur in sport and play programmes. The research presented in this publication shows a lack of data collection and knowledge about violence to children in sport, a need to develop the structures and systems for eliminating and preventing this form of violence, and that ethical guidelines and codes of conduct must be established and promoted as part of the prevention system. By addressing these gaps, significant improvements will be realized for the promotion and protection of the rights of children in sport.

Le manuel a pour objectif de promouvoir la compréhension et la pleine application de la Convention des droits de l’enfant relative à la vente d’enfants, à la prostitution des enfants et à la pornographie mettant en scène des enfants. Cette publication décrit la genèse, le champ d’application et la teneur du Protocole et fournit des exemples de mesures prises par les États parties à fin de respecter leurs obligations contractées en vertu de cet instrument. Ce guide fondamental s’adresse notamment et en particulier aux pouvoirs publics, aux organisations des Nations Unies, aux avocats spécialisés en droits de l’enfant travaillant avec et pour les enfants et dont les missions et activités sont de nature à contribuer à la protection des enfants contre l’exploitation à l’échelon national ou local. Le manuel met en exergue le potentiel exceptionnel offert par le Protocole pour renforcer efficacement la protection des enfants contre l’exploitation et combattre l’impunité des auteurs. Il invite tous les États à ratifier le Protocole et à agir pour appliquer l’ensemble de ses dispositions. Publié par le CRI de l’UNICEF sous les auspices de l’Institut International des Droits de l'Enfant de Sion en Suisse, le manuel met à profit l’expertise des membres du Comité des droits de l’enfant des Nations Unies et d’autres spécialistes des droits de l’enfant.

Das Handbuch dient zum besseren Verständnis und effizienteren Durchsetzung des Fakultativprotokolls zum Übereinkommen der Rechte des Kindes mit Bezug auf den Verkauf von Kindern, der Kinderprostitution und Kinderpornographie. Die Ausgabe beschreibt die Entstehung, den Umfang und Inhalt des Protokolls und liefert Beispiele von Maßnahmen der Staaten zur Erfüllung ihrer Pflichten im Rahmen dieses Instrumentes. Dieses wichtige Handbuch richtet sich in erster Linie an öffentliche Bedienstete, UN-Organisationen, Kinderrechtsanwälte sowie andere, die mit und für Kinder tätig sind und deren Aufgaben und Aktivitäten den Schutz von Kindern vor Ausbeutung auf der nationalen oder lokalen Ebene verbessern. In dem Handbuch wird das einmalige Potenzial des Protokolls, den Schutz von Kindern vor Ausbeutung zu verbessern und die Straflosigkeit von Tätern zu bekämpfen, hervorgehoben. Es ruft alle Staaten zur Ratifizierung des Protokolls und zur effektiven und effizienten Durchsetzung desselben auf. Das von UNICEF IRC mit der Unterstützung des Institut International des Droits de l'Enfant in Sion, Schweiz, herausgegebene Handbuch konnte auch mit dem Wissen der Mitglieder des UN-Ausschusses für die Rechte des Kindes und dem anderer Experten auf diesem Gebiet angereichert werden.

Il Manuale intende promuovere la comprensione e l’efficace applicazione del Protocollo opzionale alla convenzione sui diritti dell’infanzia sulla vendita di bambini, la prostituzione dei bambini e la pornografia rappresentante bambini (OPSC). La pubblicazione illustra la genesi, il campo di applicazione e i contenuti del Protocollo, fornendo esempi delle misure adottate dagli Stati parte per adempiere gli obblighi previsti da questo strumento. Questa guida essenziale si rivolge principalmente ai funzionari pubblici e agli altri operatori che lavorano con e per i bambini, e le cui attività possono contribuire a migliorare la protezione dei bambini dallo sfruttamento, a livello nazionale o locale. Il Manuale, che evidenzia come il Protocollo presenti un potenziale unico per migliorare la protezione dei bambini dallo sfruttamento e opporsi all’impunità dei perpetratori, chiede a tutti gli Stati di ratificare il Protocollo e attivarsi per una efficace applicazione delle sue disposizioni. Pubblicato dal Centro di ricerca Innocenti dell’UNICEF con il sostegno dell’Institut International des Droits de l'Enfant di Sion (Svizzera), il Manuale ha potuto avvalersi dell’esperienza di membri del Comitato sui diritti dell’infanzia dell’ONU e di altri specialisti in materia di diritti dei bambini.

L’UNICEF ha stimato che, in un arco temporale di 10 anni, con un costo annuale di circa 24 milioni di dollari, i programmi rivolti alle comunità locali potranno portare a riduzioni sostanziali nella pratica della E/MGF in 16 paesi dell’Africa subsahariana, dove la prevalenza attuale raggiunge livelli elevati o medi. La Piattaforma d’azione sintetizza gli elementi principali di un approccio programmatico comune per promuovere l’abbandono di tale pratica e per suscitare un drastico cambiamento nella vita di donne e bambine in tutto il mondo.

The volume analyzes key issues from the transitional justice agenda through a child rights lens. On the basis of research, the authors begin to formulate responses to a number of crucial questions and debates: how to end impunity for crimes against children; what policies and procedures can better protect children and enable them to contribute to reconciliation and reconstruction efforts; what strategies are most effective in supporting children’s roles and ensuring their voices are heard in peace-building efforts; how to enable children to reunite and reconcile with their families, peers and communities; how to build children’s skills to become part of a stable economy; and how to reaffirm children’s self-esteem and agency in the aftermath of armed conflict that has violated their childhood. A number of cross-cutting issues and themes are introduced. Chapters 1 through 3 outline the human rights-based approach for children and transitional justice and examine the basic assumptions and international legal framework that provide a foundation for further analysis of accountability and reconciliation in different country contexts. This is followed, in Chapters 4 through 6, by case studies of children’s involvement in the truth commissions of South Africa, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. Chapters 7 through 10 address thematic issues and institutional reform.

L’UNICEF a estimé que des programmes visant à sensibiliser les communautés, pour un coût de 24 millions de dollars des États-Unis par an sur une période de 10 ans, peuvent conduire à une réduction importante de la prévalence de l’E/MGF dans 16 pays d’Afrique subsaharienne à taux de prévalence moyen ou élevé. Cette plate-forme d’action en résume les éléments constitutifs un consensus sur une approche programmatique commune pour appuyer l’abandon de cette pratique et changer substantiellement la vie des filles et des femmes à travers le monde.