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Child rights governance

Child rights governance

During its history Innocenti has engaged in a number of research initiatives that have contributed to the child rights agenda, adding new insights, perspectives and tools (see our archive). Some of the more recent research strands related to child rights and governance include the following:

  • Independent human rights institution for children: This research program has studied the role of independent human rights institutions for children as national accountability mechanisms supporting the protection of child rights, identifying their main features and conditions that contribute to their effectiveness.
  • The Best Interest Principle in Intercountry Adoption: This research has analysed issues underlying the best interests principle, with a view to identifying how to strengthen its application in inter-country adoption.
  • Governance and policy coordination: UNICEF identifies coordination as a determinant of results for children, alongside other governance issues such as budgeting, management and legislation. Field-based research, focusing on birth registration and on Ghana and Peru as two country cases, has studied formal and non-formal coordination mechanisms in the public sector with a view to identify entry points for change to strengthen implementation

Publications

2018 Results Report
Publication

2018 Results Report

In 2018, significant gains were made in generating evidence to improve the lives of the most disadvantaged children, build organizational capacity to conduct and use quality, ethical research on children, and set a foundation as an important convening centre for expert consultation on next-generation ideas on children. 2018 marks the first year the UNICEF Office of Research - Innocenti is reporting on the progress of research under the new UNICEF Strategic Plan (2018-2021). This plan is the first to clearly delineate the role of research and evidence as one of the eight priority change strategies for children. This report therefore is an account of the first year of work to generate critical evidence to inform programmes, policies and advocacy for children and young people around the world
Governance and Policy Coordination: The case of birth registration in Peru
Publication

Governance and Policy Coordination: The case of birth registration in Peru

The Paper explores coordination through the lens of civil registration and vital statistics, with particular reference to birth registration in Peru. It focuses on the role that coordination can play in making birth registration function effectively. While the capacity of governments to deliver the function of birth registration is central to this paper, the role that understanding coordination can play in improving public services is examined, especially services for children.
Governance and Policy Coordination: The case of birth registration in Ghana
Publication

Governance and Policy Coordination: The case of birth registration in Ghana

Coordination is a significant issue for the study of governance. Policy and practice in even the most specialized area often have implications or involve relationships beyond the sector, let alone relationships between different units or tiers of administration within the policy area itself. This research explores coordination through the lens of civil registration and vital statistics, with particular reference to birth registration.
The Best Interests of the Child in Intercountry Adoption
Publication

The Best Interests of the Child in Intercountry Adoption

There is universal agreement that the best interests of the child should be a primary consideration in any decisions made about a child’s future. In the case of adoption, which represents one of the most far-reaching and definitive decisions that could be made about the future of any child – the selection of their parents – international law qualifies the best interests of the child as the paramount consideration. The implications of this obligation are all the greater in the context of the intercountry form of adoption, since this involves in addition the removal of a child to a new country and, usually, a new culture. However, there is no universal agreement on who is ultimately responsible for determining what is in a child’s ‘best interests’, nor on what basis the decision should be made This study responds, in particular, to one key question: what is it that enables a policy, process, decision or practice to be qualified as either respectful or in violation of the best interests of the child in intercountry adoption?
Championing Children's Rights: A global study of independent human rights institutions for children
Publication

Championing Children's Rights: A global study of independent human rights institutions for children

Over the last two decades, progress in the development of independent human rights institutions for children has been remarkable. Yet the role and position of independent institutions are contested. Their recommendations are too often left unattended by the very governments and parliaments responsible for their creation.This study, globally the first comprehensive review of independent human rights institutions for children, takes stock of more than 20 years of their experience.
Understanding Governance of Early Childhood Development and Education Systems and Services in Low-Income Countries
Publication

Understanding Governance of Early Childhood Development and Education Systems and Services in Low-Income Countries

This initial exploratory study examines the governance and finance of Early Childhood Services (ECS) in three countries (Cambodia, Kenya and Lao People's Democratic Republic) using an in-depth qualitative approach. The methodologies and tools provide an innovative strategy built upon the literature of governance and finance to understand how to improve access, quality and equity of ECS.
Championing Children's Rights: A global study of independent human rights institutions for children
Publication

Championing Children's Rights: A global study of independent human rights institutions for children

Independent human rights institutions for children have the unique role of facilitating governance processes specific to young people, and have emerged as important actors for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This study, globally the first comprehensive review of independent human rights institutions for children, takes stock of more than 20 years of their experience.
Child Rights and Governance Roundtable: Report and Conclusions
Publication

Child Rights and Governance Roundtable: Report and Conclusions

Over the last decade, donors have increasingly focused their attention on good governance as a means of achieving sustainable and equitable development progress and ensuring greater aid effectiveness. Discussions at this Roundtable aimed to outline a framework to identify priority areas and main issues, and develop an agenda for future research, advocacy and action.
Governance and the Rights of Children: Policy, implementation and monitoring
Publication

Governance and the Rights of Children: Policy, implementation and monitoring

This paper explores some of the factors which impede and promote public sector responsibilities towards children. The purpose of this analysis is to seek methods of assessing the performance of governments in their roles as protectors of the rights of children according to their international commitments.
Child Participation and Independent Human Rights Institutions for Children in Europe
Publication

Child Participation and Independent Human Rights Institutions for Children in Europe

This paper focuses on the role played by independent human rights institutions for children in promoting children’s and adolescents’ participatory rights. It presents the conceptual and normative framework of participatory rights, including the approach of the Committee on the Rights of the Child. The paper analyses the involvement of children and adolescents in the functioning of these institutions in Europe.
Independent Human Rights Institutions for Children
Publication

Independent Human Rights Institutions for Children

This working paper addresses the role, contribution and impact of independent human rights institutions for children (IHRICs), also referred to as children’s ombudspersons or children’s commissioners. It looks at these institutions from the perspective and jurisprudence of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (the Committee) and the global perspective on the perception of the child and childhood resulting from contributions of these institutions to the process of implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
Independent Human Rights Institutions for Children and the Committee on the Rights of the Child Reporting Process
Publication

Independent Human Rights Institutions for Children and the Committee on the Rights of the Child Reporting Process

This paper presents an overview of the reporting process to the Committee on the Rights of the Child in relation to independent human rights institutions for children. It examines the Committee’s approach towards independent human rights institutions for children.
Good Governance of Early Childhood Development Programmes in Developing Countries: The need for a comprehensive monitoring system
Publication

Good Governance of Early Childhood Development Programmes in Developing Countries: The need for a comprehensive monitoring system

There is need for a holistic, comprehensive ECD monitoring system that covers the multiple facets (i.e. education, health, social protection and the social and economical context in which the child is born) of public and private ECD interventions in a country. Such a system is essential for ensuring that all children can reap the benefits of ECD. It serves as a means of support and oversight for monitoring the performance and planning of ECD policies and programmes in developing countries. The paper highlights the importance of comprehensive ECD monitoring for making evidence-based decisions, and discusses practical issues to take into consideration when developing such a system.