Summary:
CRIN's campaign to promote transparency in how candidates are appointed to the top jobs in children's rights.
www.crin.org/petitions/petition.asp?petID=1014
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Latest news:
- CRIN is monitoring restrictions on children's rights defenders as part of this campaign. Alert us if your country has a draft law to constrain civil society activities at info@crin.org
- Read about candidates for the new UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights
Introduction
They wield considerable power and influence, and can change the lives of thousands, maybe millions of children. Those nominated to exalted positions within the world of child rights can make a massive difference. But who are they? How are they chosen? And, most importantly, are they the best people for the job?
CRIN is running a campaign on this crucial issue. Our aim? To stimulate open and transparent appointment processes in order to identify leaders with the appropriate commitment, skills and experience to work effectively for children’s rights.
WHO?
We have identified the following initial list of key global child rights positions, listed in order of their due date for renewal or reappointment. The appointment process for these positions varies considerably. To find out more about each, click on the relevant role:
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The Executive Director of UNICEF (action taken! See the petition)
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Members of the African Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (action taken! Read about the new members)
- Members of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (nine terms expire February 2013. Background)
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Rapporteur on Child Rights at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (term expires Dec. 2011. Read latest news)
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Special Representative to the Secretary General on Children and Armed Conflict (term expires 2012)
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Special Representative to the Secretary General on Violence Against Children (term expires 2012)
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Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council including Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children, and Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, others (Read latest news on candidates for the Working Group on Business and Human Rights)
The following international and regional appointments may also have huge implications for the rights of children, and so should reflect appropriate commitment, skills and experience:
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UN Secretary General (term expired 2016. Read latest news)
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UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (term expires 2012)
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Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights (New Commissioner elected! Read a CRIN interview with the new Commissioner here)
Also on the radar:
WHY?
CRIN has become increasingly involved in child rights governance issues. We played an integral part in the recent campaign for the appointment of a Special Representative to the Secretary General on Violence Against Children. Together with the NGO Group for the CRC, we closely monitor, and report on, elections to the Committee on the Rights of the Child. We also maintain close contact with other key child rights positions. We are aware of the critical importance of these roles, and the need to ensure that appointment procedures are open, rigorously scrutinised and focused on promoting and safeguarding children’s rights.
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Members of the Committee on the Rights of the Child
When: The terms of nine members of the Committee expire in February 2013. Elections of new members will be held during a meeting of States parties on 18 December 2012 at the UN in New York. Some current members may go for re-election, and new candidates are likely to be nominated by their Sates.
Role: The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child is the most powerful children's rights organisation in the world. It not only has the authority to influence governments' compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), but also to interpret and expand on the provisions set out in the CRC. And with the UN General Assembly's adoption of the Optional Protocol on a complaints mechanism in December 2011, the Committee will in future even be able to examine individual complaints relating to violations of children's rights.
How: Elections to the Committee on the Rights of the Child take place every two years. Committee members are elected for a term of four years. Article 43 of the Convention states that: “The members of the Committee shall be elected by States Parties from among their nationals and shall serve in their personal capacity, consideration being given to equitable geographical distribution, as well as to the principal legal systems.”
Future action: Although NGOs cannot directly nominate a candidate, they have been successful in the past in influencing the nomination of candidates at national level. Find out how you can get involved here.
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Rapporteur on child rights at the Inter-American Commission
NEWS: Rosa María Ortiz, former member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, has been elected as a Commissioner of the IACHR. Read more.
Role: The Rapporteur carries out studies on issues of concern relating to child rights in the region, undertakes in-country visits, prepares specific chapters on children's rights for country and annual reports, and examines individual violations of children’s rights. The Inter-American Commission is composed of seven members elected in their individual capacity by the General Assembly of the Organization of American States. See article 1 of the Commission's Rules of Procedure. Members of the Commission serve four years and may be re-elected once. The Commission has a number of thematic rapporteurships, including a rapporteurship on children's rights. Thematic rapporteurs are decided by the Commission in the first session of the year or whenever necessary (article 15.4 of the Commission's Rules of Procedure).
Future action: Encouraging civil society and other partners to use available channels of influence in order to identify the best candidates. Further details will be circulated in due course.
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UN Secretary General
When: The term of the current mandate holder ends in December 2016. On June 2011, Member States unanimously re-elected Mr Ban ki-Moon for the post.
Role: The UN Charter describes the Secretary-General as "chief administrative officer" of the Organisation, who shall act in that capacity and perform "such other functions as are entrusted" to him or her by the Security Council, General Assembly, Economic and Social Council and other United Nations organs. The Charter also empowers the Secretary-General to "bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security".
How? The Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the Security Council. The Secretary-General's selection is therefore subject to the veto of any of the five permanent members of the Security Council. Although there is technically no limit to the number of five-year terms a Secretary-General may serve, none so far has held office for more than two terms. On 16 February 2006 Security Council Report published a Special Research Report titled “Appointment of a New Secretary-General”. It described the past history of appointments and discussed the processes used for appointing previous Secretary-Generals. It also described the decisions taken by the United Nations General Assembly in 1997 regarding the introduction of new appointment procedures when the time came to appoint a successor to Kofi Annan. Read more.
Informal rules influence the selection process. For example, nationals of permanent members of the Security Council - China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom or the United States - cannot be considered for the post, because of possible undue influence. There is also an informal requirement that candidates for UNSG must be fluent in English and French, which, while the dominant languages of international relations, are only two of the UN's six official languages.
Next appointment due: Ban's current term will expire in December 2016.
Future action: There is an opportunity for ensuring that the appointment process is transparent, and that the criteria are publicly available and demonstrate a commitment to human rights. Further details will be circulated in due course.
Read more at http://www.unelections.org/
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Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict
When: The term of the current mandate holder, Ms Radhika Coomaraswamy will expire on 31 July 2012.
Role: The Mission Statement of the Office of the Special Representative is: "To promote and protect the rights of all children affected by armed conflict." Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy has assumed this position since April 2006.
How? General Assembly resolution A/RES/51/77 on the rights of the child recommends that “the Secretary-General appoint for a period of three years a Special Representative on the impact of armed conflict on children.” The Assembly has since extended this mandate four times and most recently by its resolution A/RES/63/241 of 13 March 2009. The resolution does not explain the procedure for such an appointment, nor the necessary criteria.
Next appointment due: 2012
Future action: There is an opportunity for ensuring that the appointment process is transparent, and that the criteria are publicly available and child rights-focused. CRIN co-signed, with a group of NGOs, a joint letter to the Secretary General to urge him to conduct a transparent selection process. Read more.
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Special Representative to the UN SG on Violence Against Children
Role: The 2007 GA resolution on the rights of the child required the Secretary General to appoint a Special Representative on violence against children “at the highest possible level.” You can find the job description in the resolution here: http://www.crin.org/Law/instrument.asp?InstID=1214.
Marta Santos Pais, of Portugal, was appointed by the UN Secretary General on 1 May 2009, but took up her position on September 1st, 2009. Her mandate is for three years, so will technically end in September 2012. The SRSG reports directly to the UN Secretary General. (more about her role: http://www.crin.org/violence/SRSG/)
Find out more about the campaign to get the post established here: http://www.crin.org/violence/petitions/petition.asp?PetID=1004
How? The resolution does not explain the procedure for such an appointment, nor the necessary criteria.
Next appointment due: September 2012
Future action: As above, there is an opportunity, if the mandate is to be renewed, for ensuring that the appointment process is transparent, and that the criteria are publicly available and child rights-focused. Further details will be circulated in due course.
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Special Procedures at the Human Rights Council, including Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children, and Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography
Role: "Special procedures" is the general name given to the mechanisms established by the Human Rights Council to address either specific country situations or particular issues in all parts of the world. So, for example, there is a Special Rapporteur on the sale of children child prostitution and child pornography, a Special Rapporteur on the right to education, and an Independent Expert on minority issues.
How? According to Human Rights Council resolution 5/1, Annex, the following general criteria will be of 'paramount importance' when nominating, selecting and appointing mandate-holders: (a) expertise; (b) experience in the field of the mandate; (c) independence; (d) impartiality; (e) personal integrity; and (f) objectivity.
Due consideration should be given to gender balance and equitable geographic representation, as well as to an appropriate representation of different legal systems. Eligible candidates are highly qualified individuals who possess established competence, relevant expertise and extensive professional experience in the field of human rights (paras. 39-41).
Those entities which may nominate candidates as special procedures mandate-holders according to Council resolution 5/1, Annex, are:
(a) Governments;
(b) Regional Groups operating within the United Nations human rights system;
(c) international organisations or their offices (e.g. the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights);
(d) non-governmental organizations;
(e) other human rights bodies;
(f) individuals
The Consultative Group, established in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 5/1, submits to the President, ‘at least one month before the beginning of the session in which the Council would consider the selection of mandate holders, a list of candidates who possess the highest qualifications for the mandates in question and meet the general criteria and particular requirements'.
A public list of candidates is available here: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/chr/special/nominations.htm
Next appointment due: Appointments of new mandate holders are made on a regular basis. For more information, visit the link above.
Future action: Encouraging all parties to use the channels available for influencing appointments in order to identify the best possible candidates. Further details will be circulated in due course.
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UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Role: The UN General Assembly, in resolution A/RES/48/141of 20 December 1993, established the role of High Commissioner. It explained that the Commissioner would be the “United Nations official with principal responsibility for United Nations human rights activities under the direction and authority of the Secretary-General;within the framework of the overall competence, authority and decisions of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the Commission on Human Rights.”
How? The resolution further explains that the Commissioner must be:
(a) “a person of high moral standing and personal integrity and shall possess expertise, including in the field of human rights, and the general knowledge and understanding of diverse cultures necessary for impartial, objective, non-selective and effective performance of the duties of the High Commissioner;
(b) appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations and approved by the General Assembly, with due regard to geographical rotation, and have a fixed term of four years with a possibility of one renewal for another fixed term of four years.”
Next appointment due: Present Commissioner Navi Pillay was appointed in July 2008. Her role will be up for renewal or re-election in 2012.
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Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe
NEWS: In January 2012, Mr Nils Muižnieks from Latvia was elected the new Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe. Read a CRIN interview with Mr Muižnieks here.
Role: The Commissioner for Human Rights is an independent institution within the Council of Europe, mandated to promote the awareness of and respect for human rights in 47 Council of Europe member states.
How? According to Resolution (99) 50 on the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, “The candidates shall be eminent personalities of a high moral character having recognised expertise in the field of human rights, a public record of attachment to the values of the Council of Europe and the personal authority necessary to discharge the mission of the Commissioner effectively. During his or her term of office, the Commissioner shall not engage in any activity which is incompatible with the demands of a full-time office.” The Commissioner is democratically elected by the Parliamentary Assembly for a non-renewable term of office of six years. You can see the voting procedure for candidates at the Council of Europe here: https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=885095&BackColorInternet=9999CC&BackColorIntranet=FFBB55&BackColorLogged=FFAC75
Next appointment due: Mr Nils Muižnieks was elected Commissioner for Human Rights in January 2012. Commissioners are elected for a non-renewable six year term.
Future action: Lobbying members of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly to ensure the selection of the best possible candidate. Further details will be circulated in due course.
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Also on the radar
ASEAN: In April 2010 ASEAN's Women and Children's Commission opened for business with the election of 20 Commissioners – two from each ASEAN country.
The Commission, which is a body of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN), is tasked with promoting and protecting women and children's rights, building judicial and administrative capacity, and promoting data collection and research. It is expected to focus on human trafficking, child labour, children in armed conflict and gender discrimination.
The Solidarity for Asian Peoples Advocacy Taskforce on ASEAN Human Rights (SAPA TFHR) demanded to meet the ten commissioners and requested the rights body to hold regular meetings with civil society organisations. It also urged the body to investigate reports of human rights abuses, reported the Jakarta Post. The request was denied by the assembly chair who said the body did not have a mechanism to coordinate with NGOs and other parties. Read more.
Ombudspersons for children
Children's Ombudspersons, also known as Children's Commissioners, are mandated to monitor whether a state is fulfilling its obligations under the UNCRC, as identified under general measure of implementation 2 (what are general measures?).
The role of an ombudsperson for children should be completely independent from the government: an ombudsperson should stand above party politics, be totally impartial and fair and be able to criticise and make recommendations, according to the 'Paris Principles' (what are these?). In recent years however, reports have been coming into CRIN's newsroom demonstrating that many governments are still refusing to abide by these principles.
Read more here:
Norway
Russia
France
CRIN will continue to monitor such developments and promote the establishment of children's ombudspersons institutions in line with the Paris Principles where they do not yet exist.
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Success stories
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights: The procedure for electing judges to the Court used to be a closed process and was not publicly advertised. Regional NGO the Center for Justice and International Law distributed information about the process and called for the Organisation of American States (OAS) to publish the CVs of all candidates. The OAS agreed to do this.
If you know of any other good examples of transparent appointment processes in children's rights, please contact info@crin.org
Further information
Organisation Contact Details:
Child Rights International Network
East Studio
2 Pontypool Place
London
SE1 8QF
Tel: +44 (0)207 401 2257
Email: info@crin.org
Website: www.crin.org
Last updated 07/01/2013 10:15:39
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