Other international standards for children

The IRC continues to identify niche areas where there is little research or knowledge gaps where methodologies are underdeveloped or where emerging and sensitive issues call for a serious consideration. Topics and areas of research are in cooperation with UNICEF HQs and field offices, sister UN agencies, policy and research institutions and other partners. IRC efforts of the UN Study on Violence Against Children are illustrative of this particular role.

IRC’s previous work on violence and children, namely its Innocenti Digests on Violence against Children, Violence against Women and Girls and the Innocenti Report Card on Child Maltreatment Deaths supported the thematic discussion in the Committee on the Rights of the Child on Violence and Children. Those thematic discussions resulted in the General Assembly calling for The UN Study on Violence Against Children. The study will be finalized this year, although its follow-up process will remain of the highest importance. The IRC will pursue research in this critical area, based on the extraordinary momentum created by the study, coupled with a recognition of the dearth of robust, globally comparable data on the protection of children from violence.

In support of the UN Study and in close collaboration with a wide range of partners, the Centre completed two reviews: one of UN Standards and Mechanisms Protecting Children from Violence, and another on European Standards and Mechanisms Protecting Children from Violence. These have enjoyed widespread dissemination amongst UNICEF, international and regional organizations, academics and field workers. The two reviews, together with a desk review of existing research on violence against children in Europe and all of IRC’s historic work on violence against children, were compiled in a cd rom. The cd was made available for the six regional consultations on violence against children that took place during 2005, and continues to be widely distributed across regions.

Equally important is IRC’s ongoing work on global and regional estimates of children experiencing violence.
The UN Expert Paulo Pinheiro, asked IRC to be the research hub for this process and to take the lead in the development of estimates, following an inter-agency meeting on research methods and estimates convened by the IRC.
To date the biggest achievement has been the compilation of research, from a range of sources and countries, which relate to violence against children. Data on the number of children affected and available analysis of MICS data will be included and the results of this process will feed into the finalization of the UN Study.

Publications

Council of Europe Actions to promote children's rights to protection from all forms of violence

Publication

Council of Europe Actions to promote children's rights to protection from all forms of violence

The Council of Europe was established to defend parliamentary democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Pursuing the fundamental rights of everyone to respect for their human dignity and physical integrity, the Council is making a powerful impact on the protection of children from all forms of violence across the continent. Its varied components have contributed to making violence against children more visible - and thus revealed the size of the task remaining to prevent and eliminate it. This publication summarises and references the most relevant actions.

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UN Human Rights Standards and Mechanisms to Combat Violence Against Children: A contribution to the UN Secretary General's Study on Violence Against Children

Publication

UN Human Rights Standards and Mechanisms to Combat Violence Against Children: A contribution to the UN Secretary General's Study on Violence Against Children

The purpose of this publication is to recall the human rights framework set out in international instruments adopted by the United Nations with relevance to the right of children to freedom from violence. It also reviews how treaty bodies established by human rights conventions to monitor progress in their implementation, as well as other UN human rights mechanisms, have addressed the protection of children from violence.

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Violence Against Children in Europe: A preliminary review

Publication

Violence Against Children in Europe: A preliminary review

In-depth research (and even official statistics) covering all forms of violence experienced by children is available for very few countries. Many forms of violence are suffered by children across Europe, but country specific data is critical to determine the extent to which states are meeting their human rights obligations to protect children effectively from all forms of violence, and for the proper development of child protection and preventive services and the targeting of resources to where they are most needed.

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