Jordan Times
Monday, July 18, 2005
Jordan to launch third report on child rights
Amman (JT) — Jordan's Third Report on Child Rights will be launched today highlighting the country's work in the fields of early childhood development protection and adolescent participation.
The report is the outcome of a collaborative national effort of 140 experts from governmental and nongovernmental organisations. Lawyers, Sharia scholars, psychosocial specialists and childhood researchers were part of this participatory process.
The report will reflect the government's efforts to protect the rights of the child. The latter includes specific reference to proposed legislative amendments pertaining to children, policies, programmes and strategies in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Considered an important monitoring and evaluation tool, the report will be submitted to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in Geneva this month. The committee encompasses 18 members, five of which come from the Middle East and North Africa region.
The launch ceremony, to take place under the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Rania, will take place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is organised by the National Council for Family Affairs (NCFA), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Social Development and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
As a partner in developing Jordan's Third Report on Child Rights, the Ministry of Social Development formed a steering committee in June 2003 to head this process. The ministry provided its administrative and technical expertise in drafting and finalising the report.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs coordinated among all stakeholders involved in drafting the report. Acting as the official body mandated to submit the report to the CRC Committee in Geneva, the ministry provided the different committees with all necessary information about the rights of the child.
UNICEF provided expert advice on the implementation of the convention and assisted in the monitoring and reporting processes as a means of upholding children's rights. UNICEF is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children's rights. The Convention on the Rights of the Child is UNICEF' framework and action plan.
Under the leadership of Her Majesty Queen Rania, NCFA is mandated to contribute to ensuring a better quality of life for Jordanian families through a national vision that supports the country's development policies and enables all Jordanian families to achieve their optimal aspirations. Acting as an umbrella organisation, NCFA works as a support agency that coordinates and facilitates the work of its partners and relevant institutions which work for the best interest of the Jordanian family.