-
Find out what
stage in the CRC process your country has reached: initial
report, 2nd report, 3rd report (see first paragraph of
point I, General Information).
-
If your
country has not yet been reviewed, lobby your government
to prepare a report and meet its obligations as a
signatory of the CRC (Brazil for example).
-
Take part,
if possible, in the drafting process of the official
country report (at least try to find out what it consists
of). (When asked for it by IBFAN-GIFA, write a report
on the state of breastfeeding: see point 4, below).
-
Especially
if this is the 2nd or 3rd official report, try to
influence the government in preparing a document that
describes the concrete situation of children’s
lives and rights. This report should include not only
legislation that has been drafted or adopted to improve
the children’s lot, but especially implementation
and monitoring of these measures. The report should
start off from (and take into account) the concluding
observations made at the end of the previous report,
five years before.
-
Join your
country’s national NGO Coalition if there is one
(see Annex 2 of the report), or try to create one: coalitions
are very important in getting a different view across
to the CRC Committee. Moreover, NGOs are explicitly encouraged
by the Committee to report to it: this is relatively rare
with other UN agreements/conventions and it is all the
more important that we learn to use this tool. At the
same time, NGO coalitions on children’s rights often
tend to put aside issues such as children’s health
and nutrition or maternity protection at the workplace,
and it is therefore essential that we integrate these
issues in demands for child’s rights.
-
Find out if
your country had signed the Committee petition to change
Article 43 of the Convention aiming to extend the size
of the Committee from 10 to 18 members (see last paragraph
of point I, General Information).
-
If your
government has not signed, lobby it to sign as soon
as possible.
-
If it
has signed, lobby it to present a well-known child
right’s advocate for elections in 2003 (if possible,
someone working in the field of infants’ and
children’s health and nutrition).
-
Prepare a
short 1- or 2-page IBFAN report on the state of breastfeeding
in your country in time for your country’s review:
GIFA-IBFAN will ask you for this report. Ideally, the
information would include the following: statistics on
the state of breastfeeding in your country; state of the
International Code, or of the national Code, and other
legislation protecting and promoting breastfeeding; Baby-Friendly
Hospital Initiative in your country; maternity leave and
maternity protection legislation in your country. GIFA-IBFAN
will inform you when your country is about to be reviewed
and will request a report from you at that time; we will
also assist you in preparing it if necessary.
We insist on
the fact that these reports are very important: several
members of the Committee have told us that they are particularly
helpful as they are short and focused and give information
unfound in the official government report
Countries reviewed:
-
Bangladesh
(2nd report)
-
Brunei
Darussalam (initial report)
-
Canada
(2nd report)
-
Georgia
(2nd report)
-
Madagascar
(2nd report)
-
New
Zealand (2nd report)
-
Pakistan
(2nd report)
-
San
Marino (initial report)
-
Singapore
(initial report)
-
-
Burkina
Faso (2nd report)
-
-
-
-
Seychelles
(initial report)
-
-
-
United
Kingdom (2nd report).
-
-
-
Guinea-Bissau
(initial report)
-
the
Netherlands Antilles (initial report)
-
-
St.
Vincent and the Grenadines (initial report)
-
-
Switzerland
(initial report)
-
-
United
Arab Emirates (initial report).
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