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xUpcoming General Comment to UNCRC on public spending
Date: 9th December 2014
Category:
General Comments
Together has received an update on the forthcoming General Comment to the UNCRC on 'Public Spending to Realize Children's Rights' from Professor Jorge Cardona Llorens, member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.
The update from Jorge Cardona Llorens was delivered at the Eurochild Annual Conference 2014 in Bucharest on Wednesday 26th November 2014.
Professor Llorens highlighted that in the current financial climate, we must take advantage of all resources we have and to our maximum ability. He suggested that the new General Comment to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) on public spending to realise children's rights will include the following:
- How to embed a rights perspective which cuts across all public management spending and budgets; in design, approval and execution, and in monitoring, evaluation and auditing.
- Restatement that public spending on and investment in children is a legal obligation under the UNCRC.
- Outline of the financial advantages of investing in children (investing 1 dollar can lead to a return of 14 dollars).
- Suggestions of how to involve children and young people in spending decisions.
- An annex on indicators.
Professor Llorens stressed that the General Principles of the UNCRC (Articles 2, 3, 5 and 12) will be reflected throughout the General Comment, and that the document will not only outline State obligations but explain how to implement and apply them.
Professor Llorens discussed that there needs to be effective investment in children and explanation of budgets; prioritisation of the interests of children in the current financial climate; ensurance that budgetary plans keep public strategies in mind and distribution of power both vertically and horizontally.
The deadline for the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child to publish the new General Comment on public spending is February 2016. Further updates will be published on the Together website.