UN CRC Implementation 2009 - CWC Report

Third and Fourth Periodic Report on CRC Implementation FOCUS : Child Trafficking/Pornography and other Protection Measures Presented by: Deputy Executive Director Ma. Elena S. Caraballo Council for the Welfare of Children

Monitoring children’s rights: Committee on the Rights of the Child Body of independent experts Monitors implementation of CRC Monitors implementation of two optional protocols to the Convention Sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography Involvement of children in armed conflict All States Parties are obliged to submit regular reports First report, two years after acceding to the Convention, and then Every five years

Monitoring children’s rights: Committee on the Rights of the Child Consideration of reports of States Parties by the Committee Pre-session working group Constructive dialogue Concluding observations, which include suggestions and recommendations Follow-up by States Parties on the concluding observations

Reporting process and schedule 1990: RP ratified CRC 1992: 1 st report due 1993: 1 st report submitted 1995: Concluding observations on 1 st report 1997: 2 nd report due 2002: 3 rd report due 2003: 2 nd report submitted 2005: Concluding observations on 2 nd report 2007: 4 th report due. RP will submit on 19 Sept. its 3 rd and 4 th reports as one document

Reporting process and schedule 19 Sept 2007 2007 4 th 19 Sept 2007 2002 3 rd 2003 1997 2 nd 1993 1992 1 st Report submitted Report due

Outline of presentation By cluster of rights Issues Actions Results Continuing challenges

Cluster of rights General measures of implementation General principles Civil rights and freedoms Family environment and alternative care Basic health and welfare Education, leisure, and cultural activities Special protection measures

General measures of implementation : Legislation ISSUES : Minimum age of criminal Minimum age of sexual consent Discrimination against children born out of wedlock Use of children for pornography Prohibition of torture Lack of comprehensive juvenile justice system Corporal punishment

General measures of implementation : Legislation ACTIONS AND RESULTS : Passage of RA9344 or Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act: increase minimum age of criminal responsibility from 9 to 15 years; provides for comprehensive juvenile justice system; prohibits torture Studies in progress on corporal punishment and violence against children at home and in schools Draft bill on child pornography

General measures of implementation : Legislation Legislative agenda for the 14 th Congress: Minimum age of sexual consent Child pornography Corporal punishment and other forms of violence in the home, school and community Discrimination against children born out of wedlock CONTINUING CHALLENGES:

General measures of implementation: National Plan of Action for Children ISSUES: Limited awareness of NPAC at local level Monitoring mechanisms are insufficient to monitor and evaluate NPAC implementation Ned to organize , strengthen and sustain LCPCs

General measures of implementation: National Plan of Action for Children ACTIONS AND RESULTS: NPAC localized in: 54 provinces 50 cities 438 municipalities LCPCs organized in : 73 provinces 126 cities 1,365 towns 40,994 barangays LCPCs functional in: 49 provinces 71 cities 548 municipalities 8,324 barangays

General measures of implementation : Legislation CONTINUING CHALLENGES : Continue NPAC localization Organize, activate, strengthen, and sustain LCPCs particularly at barangay level A multi-level institutional mechanism should be made fully operational – effective link between LCPC, RSCWC and CWC – and adequately provided with manpower, technical and financial resources

General measures of implementation: Budgetary allocations for children More than 30% of the national budget is allocated to debt service-interest payment Insufficient budgetary allocations for children No accurate estimates of government allocations for children, both at national and local levels Review of fiscal performance of 24 CPC 6 provinces and cities showed between 20% to 30% of their budget had been allocated to social services in 2005 and 2006 Share of social services in the total government expenditures declined from 31.06% in 2002 to 28.9% in 2004 and then to 27.9% in 2006

General measures of implementation: Budgetary allocations for children Resource gaps for achieving critical MDGs, which are child-related, amount to Php 777.9 billion for the period 2007-2015 (Rosario Manasan, Financing the MDGs, April 2007) Education: Php 348.8 billion Health: Php 83.6 billion Water and sanitation: Php 1.9 billion Poverty reduction: Php 343.6 billion The challenge is to advocate for “child-friendly budgets” as concrete indicator of government commitment and capacity to honor its obligations in CRC implementation

General measures of implementation: Data collection ISSUES: Children living in extreme poverty Abused and neglected children Children with disabilities Children within the justice system Children of indigenous peoples

General measures of implementation: Data collection ACTIONS AND RESULTS: Subaybay Bata Monitoring System(SBMS) installed in 2003: Macro monitoring system (143 indicators for seven clusters of child rights) Micro monitoring system-still being developed Project-based monitoring system

General measures of implementation: Data collection CONTINUING CHALLENGES: Subaybay Bata Monitoring System(SBMS) installed in 2003: Macro monitoring system (143 indicators for seven clusters of child rights) Micro monitoring system-still being developed Project-based monitoring system

General principles: Non-discrimination ISSUES: Discrimination against children born out of wedlock Discrimination against vulnerable groups of children including children living in poverty, children with disabilities , girl children, IP and Muslim children, I.e. , poor access to and ineffective utilization of services in education, health, nutrition and other basic social services

General principles: Non-discrimination ACTIONS AND RESULTS: On going programmes for vulnerable groups of children: GOP-UNICEF CPC 6, AusAID-supported BEAM Government initiatives in Mindanao: peace building , functional literacy for Muslim and IP children and women, protection of CIAC Girl Child Plan 2000-2004 RA 9255 has allowed a child born out of wedlock to use surname of the father

General principles: Non-discrimination CONTINUING CHALLENGES: Programmes are still inadequate to reach all vulnerable groups of children Need for gender disaggregation of data on child rights indicators Girl Child Plan needs to be updated and mainstreamed in government programmes Need to address discriminatory provisions of the Family Code and RA 9255,I.e. rights to inheritance

General principles: Right to life, survival and development ISSUES: Extra-Judicial killings involving children Children placed on death row without definite proof of their age Deficiencies in reporting system of newborn deaths and stillbirths

General principles: Right to life, survival and development ACTIONS AND RESULTS: Supreme Court convened a multi-sectoral summit to address extra-judicial killings RA 9344 enacted in 2006 prohibits imposition of death penalty to minors JJWC did inventory of all minors in jails; has been taking appropriate actions pursuant to RA 9344 Registration of newborn deaths and stillbirths has been reinforced by the Newborn Screening Act of 2004

General principles: Right to life, survival and development CONTINUING CHALLENGES: New judicial rules and procedures addressing extra-judicial killings are still to be issued by the Supreme Court Need for quick response on the part of JJWC in terms of: public dissemination of RA 9344, training of pillars of justice, localizing juvenile intervention Mobilize LCRs and BCRAs in registration of newborn deaths and stillbirths

General principles: Respect for the views of the child ISSUES: Children’s right to participation and free expression of their views is still limited , partly due to traditional attitudes in society

General principles: Respect for the views of the child ACTIONS AND RESULTS: Cwc Board adopted the National Framework for Children’s Participation (NFCP)in 2004 Existing various opportunities for children’s participation: CBS under NAPC, CWC Board, LCPCs, Sanguniang Kabataan, students councils in schools Children’s organization : NACCAP, BCAs

General principles: Respect for the views of the child CONTINUING CHALLENGES: Full appreciation of the meaning and implications of Article 12 of CRC Developing indicators of effective and meaningful children’s participation in various institutional settings Challenging society’s values and attitudes that tend to promote conformity rather than critical thinking among children

Civil rights and freedoms: Birth registration ISSUES: Difficulties in ensuring timely birth registration particularly of IP children and children living in remote areas of the country: 2.6 million unregistered children nationwide Birth registration is not free of charge and not equally accessible to all parents Simulations of birth certificates

Civil rights and freedoms: Birth registration ACTIONS AND RESULTS: UCP jointly implemented by NSO AND Plan in 2000-2004; UCP has been continued as BRP from 2004-2007 1,863,232 children registered 1,987 barangay chairmen;2,405barangay secretaries;and 5,508 BCRAs trained on civil registration law and procedures 127 municipalities with computerized birth registration systems February 23 of each year proclaimed as National Birth Registration Day BCRS established

Civil rights and freedoms: Birth registration CONTINUING CHALLENGES: Raising awareness of parents , particularly among Muslims and Ips , on relevance of birth registration Expansion and strengthening of mobile registration system to reach remote barangays Continuing training on BCRS to reach more barangays and communities of Muslims , IPs,and those effected by armed conflict DSWD to monitor and take action against simulation of certifiactes

Civil rights and freedoms: Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment ISSUES: Reported cases of torture , inhuman and degrading treatment of children, particularly of children in detention Existing legislation does not provide children with adequate protection against torture and ill-treatment

Civil rights and freedoms: Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment ACTIONS AND RESULTS: Passage of RA 9344 prohibits and criminalizes torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of children in detention As per JJWC inventory, number of CICL decreased from 5,297 in December 2006 to 1,392 in June 2007

Civil rights and freedoms: Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment CONTINUING CHALLENGES: Massive public dissemination of popularization of RA 9344 Continuing training of pillars of justice on the new law Localization and implementation of the comprehensive juvenile intervention programme, with adequate budgetary allocation

Civil rights and freedoms: Corporal punishment ISSUES: No provision of corporal punishment in the Child and Youth Welfare Code Corporal punishment in the home is not explicitly prohibited by the law

Civil rights and freedoms: Corporal punishment ACTIONS AND RESULTS: RP prepared a country report as of the UN study on Violence Against Children (VAC) Save the Children Sweden conducted a study in 2005 on physical and emotional punishment of children’s in eight(8) countries including the Philippines-providing basis for policies and legislation Additional in-depth studies on violence against children in the home and in the schools have been initiated by CWC and UNICEF, in partnership with Save the Children Sweden and PWU

Civil rights and freedoms: Corporal punishment CONTINUING CHALLENGES: Need for public awareness –raising on issues concerning discipline and corporal punishment CWC’s legislative agenda for the 14 th Congress should include the issue of corporal punishment Need to develop programmes to better protect children from abusive forms of discipline at home , in schools and other institutional settings

Family environment and alternative care: Foster care and adoption ISSUES: Foster care bill has been pending in Congress for several years Lengthy process of declaring a child for adoption results in a prolonged stay in institutions Inter-country adoption is not used as a last resort

Family environment and alternative care: Foster care and adoption ACTIONS AND RESULTS : In the absence of Foster Care Law, DSWD issued in 2004 MC No. 22, Policy on De-Institutionalization of Children-giving importance to alternative family care As a matter of policy , inter country adoption is a last resort. To ensure compliance to this policy , DSWD issued series of guidelines (a) to facilitate and expedite adoption process (ARRO), (b) establish model of foster care for children in the barangay,(c)institutionalize post-adoption services, etc. PP No. 72 declared 1 st Saturday of Feb as “Adoption Consciousness Day”

Family environment and alternative care: Foster care and adoption CONTINUING CHALLENGES: Effective and Consistent Enforcement of RA 8552 and RA 8043 Advocacy and lobbying for the passage of Foster Care Law

Family environment and alternative care: Abuse, neglect, mistreatment and violence ISSUES: Increasing reports of cases of child abuse and neglect Notable deficiencies in domestic laws as regards penalizing all forms of abuse, neglect, and mistreatment , including sexual abuse Alleged cases of sexual abuse in the framework of religious institutions

Family environment and alternative care: Abuse, neglect, mistreatment and violence ACTIONS AND RESULTS: Relevant provisions of RA 7610 reviewed and amendments proposed to penalize all forms of abuse, neglect, violence and mistreatment including sexual abuse DSWD issued in 2006 guidelines and standards on psychosocial services to victims; established therapy centers in NCR, Region 7 and 11 DSWD successfully acted on a case of sexual abuse in an institution managed by a religious community ; perpetrator is currently in jail

Family environment and alternative care: Abuse, neglect, mistreatment and violence CONTINUING CHALLENGES: Institutionalizing community level mechanisms for monitoring , early detection and quick response to all cases of abuse , neglect,and mistreatment including sexual abuse (e.g.,BCPC,C/MCPC) Responsible and effective parenting education , with focus on special protection measures Amend RA 7610 and ensure effective enforcement of all laws protecting children from abuse, neglect, violence and mistreatment including sexual abuse

Family environment and alternative care: Children in prison with their mothers Poor living conditions and inadequate access to health and basic social services of children in prison with their mothers Prison conditions fall below international standards ISSUES:

Family environment and alternative care: Children in prison with their mothers Except for DSWD action on specific reported cases, there are no regular programs and interventions for these children BJMP does not keep official records on children in prison with their mothers ACTIONS AND RESULTS

Family environment and alternative care: Children in prison with their mothers While this issue is outside the mandate of JJWC, it can initiate action by getting DSWD, BJMP and the Bureau of Correction to formulate policies and guidelines on the care and protection of children in prison with their mothers Such policies may consider: (a) keeping a baby or a young child in prison is inadvisable; (b) greater use of non-custodial sanctions for women offenders be explored; (c) female offenders with young children could be better managed in the community CONTINUING CHALLENGES:

Basic health and welfare: Children with disabilities Inadequate implementation of RA 7277 (Magna Carta for Disabled Persons) and relevant provisions of the Child and Youth Welfare Code, particularly at local level Many children with disabilities live in poverty and have limited access to education, health and other social services Prevailing prejudices against children with disabilities in Philippine society ISSUES :

Basic health and welfare: Children with disabilities NCWDP formulated in 2002 a comprehensive national plan of action for persons with disabilities DepEd: inclusive education: children with special needs enrolled in ES and HS for SY 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 totaled 136,523 and 130,161 respectively DSWD: Tuloy Aral Walang Sagabal (TAWAG): 3-5 year old CWD in day care centers in 851 brgys, 19 cities and 23 municipalities in 2004 NGOs like KAMPI: CBR programs: 60 STACs served 8,000 CWD during 2001-2006 ACTIONS AND RESULTS:

Basic health and welfare: Children with disabilities Push for effective implementation of the HSRA; increase budget for health care Enforce Formula One to actualize HSRA: (a) financing, (b) good governance, (c) proper regulation, (d) service delivery and effective coordination of health care delivery Address issue of outmigration of health professionals Strengthen community based, preventive health care and services to reach families in urban slums as well as in rural areas, armed conflict areas and IP and Muslim communities CONTINUING CHALLENGES:

Basic health and welfare: Health and health services Insufficient prenatal and postnatal health care, particularly in rural areas Low prevalence of breastfeeding Malnutrition, including micronutrient malnutrition Limited access to quality health services in remote areas Free trade agreements negatively affect access to affordable medicines ISSUES:

Basic health and welfare: Health and health services National framework and strategic plan to reduce MMR being developed REB strategy to improve immunization National policy and plan of action on IYCF formulated; MBFHI re-launched; training on Milk Code monitoring RP version of WHO manual on PCPNC adopted; tools and training materials developed: BEmOC, CMMNC Nutrition interventions include: AHMP, ANI, GP, Bright Child Promotion of ASIN law resulted to 75.4% of HH using iodized salt as of 2005 ACTIONS AND RESULTS:

Basic health and welfare: Health and health services Push for effective implementation of the HSRA; increase budget for health care Enforce Formula One to actualize HSRA: (a) financing, (b) good governance, (c) proper regulation, (d) service delivery and effective coordination of health care delivery Address issue of outmigration of health professionals Strengthen community based, preventive health care and services to reach families in urban slums as well as in rural areas, armed conflict areas and IP and Muslim communities CONTINUING CHALLENGES:

Basic health and welfare: Adolescent health Alcohol, tobacco, and drug abuse among adolescents Early pregnancies and limited access among adolescents to accurate information and counseling on reproductive health (RH) Lack of legislation establishing minimum age for purchasing and consuming alcohol Lack of measures to prevent suicide among adolescents ISSUES :

Basic health and welfare: Adolescent health DOH launched in 2001 the AYHDP providing comprehensive health package for adolescents and youth; one-stop-shops to reach 70% of adolescents nationwide POPCOM-assisted ARH programmes focusing on sexuality education and peer education NGOs: FAD, BCYA, Kaugmaon, Tambayan, Plan, CCF, WVF, Childhope, Prolife, etc: total of 76 ARH programmes nationwide, with more ARH education and information activities than ARH services ACTIONS AND RESULTS:

Basic health and welfare: Adolescent health Advocacy for passage of a law on sexual and reproductive health care Expand coverage of comprehensive human sexuality education, life skills education among young people Establish teen centers in every town and city so that adolescents can avail of ARH services and have venue for learning more about ARH Work out a strategy of working with the Catholic Church on ARH issues; the Church has institutions for educating parents, adolescents and youth on ARH CONTINUING CHALLENGES:

Basic health and welfare: HIV/AIDS Presence of risk factors predisposing HIV infection, e.g., high number of sex workers Inadequate level of HIV/AIDS awareness among Filipino adolescents ISSUES :

Basic health and welfare: HIV/AIDS RA 8504 provides strategic direction for national efforts in HIV/AIDS prevention and control PNAC in place to push for implementation of RA 8504; PNAC has been localized – 24 LACs to date With support from UNICEF, UNAIDS, prevention education thru: theater arts, posters, symposia, life skills and peer education reach 15,000 young people annually Music summit on HIV/AIDS in 2005 reached 85,000 young people directly and 5M reached thru TV and radio coverage More than 25 NGOs engaged in community-based education Training of health workers on STI management and basic HIV/AIDS prevention Churches getting involved in prevention education ACTIONS AND RESULTS:

Basic health and welfare: HIV/AIDS Strengthen monitoring of HIV/AIDS incidence in each government agency and in the LGUs Expand HIV/AIDS education, both school-based and community-based Improve access to care, support and treatment including psychosocial support and alternative parental care Develop and maintain database on most-at-risk and vulnerable populations Increase civil society involvement and participation, particularly faith-based organizations CONTINUING CHALLENGES:

Education, leisure & cultural activities: Education including vocational training Several barangays are without schools Unequal access to elementary education among children living in poverty, children with disabilities, child labourers, street children, children in armed conflict, IP children, etc. High rate of non-completion of primary education High drop-out rates in secondary education Low number of children enjoying early learning in preschools ISSUES :

Education, leisure & cultural activities: Education including vocational training BESRA with five KRTs launched in 2006 to attain EFA goals by 2015 RA 9155 decentralizes decision-making to division and school levels With UNICEF support, CFSS strategy has been documented and expanded; OXFAM and Plan adopted CFSS framework Based on 2002-2005 data: basic education outcomes show declining rates for net enrolment, completion and achievement rates ECCD local plans developed in 29 cities and 77 provinces; National ECCD Directional Plan formulated; ECCD program has reached 34% of 3-5 year old children 1,400 TVET schools, 80% in private sector; TESDA Dev’t Plan to improve TVET; between 50% to 60% of TVET graduates are employed ACTIONS AND RESULTS:

Education, leisure & cultural activities: Education including vocational training Increase budget for basic education: Php 285.1 billion needed between 2007-2015 to achieve MDG target Scale up the CFSS strategy and other effective learning schemes including ALS to reach children in poverty, CWD, child labourers, street children, children in armed conflict, IP and Muslim children Finalize and implement ECCD Directional Plan; scale up ECCD activities and move from project to program; prioritize barangays which are most needy and have highest child population TESDA should re-visit its policies and address following issues: poor quality of TVET, internal inefficiency of TVET schools, mismatch between training and job opportunities CONTINUING CHALLENGES:

Special protection measures: Children in situations of emergency Children recruited by armed rebel movements to serve as combatants, spies, guards, cooks or medics Continuing displacement of children and their limited access to education, health and other social services Adverse effects of armed conflict on children not involved in hostilities particularly Muslim children in Mindanao ISSUES:

Special protection measures: Children in situations of emergency Children are given priority and protection in the gov’t-initiated peace process EO 56 provides for continuing peace education and peace building and the implementation of CP-CIAC, led by OPAPP Thru CP-CIAC, DSWD has provided package of social services and issued guidelines on the handling and treatment of CIAC With UNICEF support, thru CPC 6 and DoP campaign, services were provided to more than 250,000 under-five children, 50,000 children less than one year old, and 60,000 mothers in 70 conflict-affected barangays in Mindanao as of mid-2007 ACTIONS AND RESULTS :

Special protection measures: Children in situations of emergency Take advantage of the UN Security Council Resolution No. 1612 to establish MRM on violations of children’s rights in situations of conflict Update and sustain implementation of CP-CIAC Upgrade capacities of service providers and program implementers on CRC, rights-based programming, and building protective environment for children Improve inter-agency coordination at national level and facilitate setting up of community level protection mechanisms CONTINUING CHALLENGES:

Special protection measures: Economic exploitation including child labour High number of working children: 4.0 million as of 2001 Weak enforcement of labour laws Cultural attitudes and practices regarding child labour ISSUES:

Special protection measures: Economic exploitation including child labour Led by DOLE, continuous implementation of NPCL and PTBP on eliminating the worst forms of child labour (PTBP in 6 regions: NCR, Regions 3, 5, 6, 7 and 11) SBM-QRT operational in 16 regions; 601 rescue operations from 1998 to 2006 led to rescue of 2,161 child labourers, 1,100 of whom were girls in prostitution On prevention of worst forms of child labour, various NGOs provide educational assistance & conduct community advocacy: ERDA, WVF, VF, TUCP, FFW, KDF, reaching over 80,000 children in 2003-2006 Child labourers have actively participated in Global March against Child Labour and World Day against Child Labour celebrations ACTIONS AND RESULTS:

Special protection measures: Economic exploitation including child labour DOLE needs to increase its budgetary allocations for NPACL and PTBP Pursue a more comprehensive strategy to combat child labour through a strengthened multi-sectoral partnership maximizing convergence of resources, initiatives and good practices from government, NGOs, FBOs, academe and international organizations Expand and strengthen educational strategy as prevention of child labour CONTINUING CHALLENGES:

Special protection measures: Sexual exploitation, child pornography and trafficking Sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution and child pornography Provisions of RA 7610 are mainly related to child prostitution and do not adequately protect victims from other forms of sexual exploitation Minimum age of sexual consent is not clearly enough established in domestic legislation and fall below CRC standards ISSUES:

Special protection measures: Sexual exploitation, child pornography and trafficking Several studies conducted in 2001-2006 as basis for advocacy & programming RA 9208 calls for instituting policies and programs to eliminate trafficking in persons, especially women and children; created IACAT to monitor and coordinate enforcement of the law National Strategic Action Plan against Trafficking 2004-2010 adopted by IACAT Various gov’t initiatives: DOT Child Wise Tourism Campaign, PCTC action plan for law enforcement agencies, DOJ-NPS on gender-sensitive and child-friendly investigation procedures & effective gathering & handling of evidences against perpetrators, PNP-WCD, NBI-VAWCD & AHTRAD also for child-sensitive investigation procedures ACTIONS AND RESULTS:

Special protection measures: Sexual exploitation, child pornography and trafficking Increase investment in and support for community-based, preventive interventions Tap networks and resources of faith-based communities to undertake initiatives on parenting education, child and youth participation, life skills education, vocational training, etc Organize, strengthen and sustain functional LCPCs, particularly at barangay level Build capacities of the pillars of justice to deal with sexual exploitation cases CONTINUING CHALLENGES:

Special protection measures: Sexual exploitation, child pornography and trafficking Children both within country and across borders Risk factors contributing to trafficking such as persistent poverty, overseas migration, growing sex tourism, and weak law enforcement ISSUES :

Special protection measures: Sexual exploitation, child pornography and trafficking NGO initiatives: IJM, CJL, Women LEAD help in prosecution of cases; Asia ACTs, ECPAT, PACT, VF, CHAP conduct community-based education, advocacy and direct services; CPTCSA conducts personal safety lessons in partnership with DepEd FBO initiatives: PCEC-PCMN, NCCP-EBICF, CBCP-NASSA and PHILINC conduct training among church workers on preventive, community-based interventions With UNICEF support, CWC SC-SACSEC conducted regional conferences and multi-sectoral dialogues US State Dept annual TIP report: RP was upgraded from tier 3 watch list in 2004-2005 to tier 2 in 2006 8 convictions of trafficking cases since RA 9208 ACTIONS AND RESULTS:

Special protection measures: Sexual exploitation, child pornography and trafficking 5. As part of CWC legislative agenda, mount a vigorous advocacy and lobbying campaign to enact laws on: Child pornography, including pornography on cyberspace Minimum age of sexual consent in conformity with CRC provisions and standards CONTINUING CHALLENGES:

Special protection measures: Drugs and substance abuse Massive narcotic trade and its adverse effects on children and adolescents: over 200 major drug syndicates and 3,489 drug-affected barangays as of 2004 High incidence of drug and substance abuse, including glue and solvent sniffing among street children: 3.4 million drug users in 2004, a big jump from 1.8 million users in 2003 Costs of treatment and rehabilitation prevent children of limited means to access these services ISSUES:

Special protection measures: Drugs and substance abuse Preventive education and awareness-raising conducted by PDEA reached 3,398 students and youth; 3,240 OSCY; 831 barangay leaders in 2006 DepEd, in coordination with DARE, conducted prevention education for in-school children; DOLE is responsible for work-based prevention and control of drugs, alcohol and other substances NGOs like CHAP, PREDA, NCSD, etc. have conducted life skills education and peer education LGUs: in partnership with PDEA, implement Project Himagsik and Barkadahan Kontra Droga RP participated in the UNODC/WHO Global Initiative on Primary Prevention of Substance Abuse 1998-2003 ACTIONS AND RESULTS:

Special protection measures: Drugs and substance abuse Scale up and sustain best practices on primary prevention of substance abuse Expand coverage of substance abuse prevention education and life skills education among vulnerable groups of children and adolescents, particularly street children More effective law enforcement directed against drug syndicates More child-friendly drug rehabilitation centers providing affordable treatment and recovery services CONTINUING CHALLENGES:

Special protection measures: Children in conflict with the law and juvenile justice Lack of child-sensitive and adequately trained juvenile courts Low minimum age of criminal responsibility Mixing CICL with adults in detention Unlawful detention of children for extended period of time and lack of access to legal assistance and adequate social and health services Delays in hearing of cases in court Poor detention conditions ISSUES:

Special protection measures: Children in conflict with the law and juvenile justice Passage of RA 9344 increased minimum age of criminal responsibility from 9 to 15 years With passage of RA 9344, number of CICL detained with adults already decreased; BJMP data showed 50% reduction Completely separate detention facilities for CICL achieved in Cebu and Metro Manila 5-year comprehensive juvenile intervention program already developed by JJWC; needs to be localized at LGU level 13% of prosecutors already trained on RA 9344 ACTIONS AND RESULTS:

Special protection measures: Children in conflict with the law and juvenile justice Urgent need for public orientation on RA 9344 Expedite training of the pillars of justice on the new law Localize the comprehensive juvenile intervention program in 81 provinces, 1,496 municipalities, 132 cities, and 41,994 barangays with adequate budgetary allocations Activate, strengthen and sustain LCPCs, particularly at barangay level, as provided for under Section 15 of JJWA Strengthen JJWC secretariat CONTINUING CHALLENGES:

Special protection measures: Children living or working on the streets High number of street children and their vulnerability to sexual abuse, violence, economic exploitation, and substance abuse Lack of systematic and comprehensive strategy to address situation of street children Health risks, including environmental health risks, faced by street children Limited access of street children to education, health, nutrition and other social services ISSUES :

Special protection measures: Children living or working on the streets NNSC has long been in place to address plight of street children Local task forces on street children in 32 cities and the NNSC provided over 65,000 street children with education, sports and recreation, life skills, values formation and other services from 1997-2006 Documentation of success stories among street children proved their spirit of resilience CHAP has demonstrated best practice on street education with 2,500 street children being reached annually NNSC pioneered in providing opportunities for child participation With UNICEF support, 30,000 street children were provided alternative education, counseling and psychosocial services, legal assistance, etc. ACTIONS AND RESULTS:

Special protection measures: Children living or working on the streets The NNSC needs to pursue its revised TOR towards more strategic response to the plight of street children: (a) advocacy & policy development, (b) coordination & networking, (c) training & capacity building, (d) innovation, piloting & model-building, (e) organizing for participation and empowerment, and (f) monitoring and evaluation Reactivate and strengthen city task forces and form island wide networks Build and strengthen family stability thru responsible and effective parenting education Organize, strengthen and sustain LCPCs Create more opportunities for children’s participation Expand educational opportunities for street children in the context of EFA CONTINUING CHALLENGES:

Special protection measures: Children of indigenous peoples Widespread poverty among IP children and limited access to education, health and other social services Arranged early marriages among IP children Discrimination against Muslims ISSUES :

Special protection measures: Children of indigenous peoples Pursuant to RA 8371, a MTPDP-IP was formulated for the period 2004-2008 which provides for education & training, health & nutrition, housing, special protection, peace and development initiatives Generic and culture-sensitive curriculum for IP children was developed in 2005 with DepEd’s BALS, integrating IKSPs IIPE was formed to promote culturally relevant IP education in Mindanao Establishment of IP community primary and secondary schools per ethnographic region Setting up of 60 IP community health centers and more than 700 ECCD centers Non-recruitment of IP children as child soldiers and child labourers ACTIONS AND RESULTS:

Special protection measures: Children of indigenous peoples Improve NCIP database and monitoring system on IP children and young people Fast track the implementation of MTPDP-IP by ensuring adequate budgetary allocations, with focus on health, education and special protection Improve NCIP’s coordination with other government agencies and build stronger partnership with NGOs and civil society organizations Ensure widest possible participation of IPs, including children, in NCIP activities at all levels CONTINUING CHALLENGES:

What do children think about the status of their rights? They consider survival and development rights as least denied and least violated They consider special protection from harm, abuse, neglect, violence, exploitation and discrimination as the least fulfilled and therefore most challenging They think that they have opportunities for participation and for their views to be heard; but they realize there are dangers of their being used and manipulated in the guise of participation

My own assessment There are tested standard packages of interventions for health, nutrition and education Structures and systems, guidelines and procedures exist for health and nutrition and education – despite gaps and inadequacies When it comes to special protection, we can hardly speak of an operational structure and system; packages of interventions are still being developed and improvised as we move along

My own assessment Dealing with protection issues (various forms of abuse, violence, exploitation) brings us to a confrontation with our deep-seated values, attitudes, beliefs and practices as individuals and as a group We may not always be aware that these values, attitudes, beliefs and practices contribute to abuse, exploitation, and violence against children It requires extra effort to question ourselves and challenge our own values, attitudes, beliefs and practices Special protection rights are therefore most challenging and most difficult to fulfill

CWC and the CRC Periodic Report Periodic monitoring and data gathering using SBMS indicators Public dissemination of CRC and periodic report down to the barangay level Facilitating follow-up actions on the Concluding Observations Ensuring effective and meaningful participation of children and young people in monitoring CRC implementation

Children’s rights are the most important human rights! Promote, protect and fulfill the rights of children! CWC can make a difference !

Invest in children today for tomorrow!

UN CRC Implementation 2009 - CWC Report

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