Categories
Funding (33)
Reports (158)
Submissions (136)
Community Notices (601)
White Ribbon (3)
Legislation (11)
Flood and storm relief (4)
Lectures and Seminars (2)
Network Meeting (9)
Campaigns (66)
Sexual violence (1)
Pacific (3)
Te Puna Aonui (1)
Young people (2)
Sexual harassment (2)
Children (4)
Research (148)
Training (612)
News Media (589)
Rainbow community (1)
Education (1)
Children's Network (2)
OT Inquiry (3)
MSD (6)
White Paper for vulnerable children (30)
Housing (3)
Policy and Legislation (56)
Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care (8)
Job Vacancies (129)
Our People (1)
Disability (3)
Resources (108)
Courts (9)
Programmes (73)
Oranga Tamariki (40)
Conference (33)
Events (657)
It's not OK (35)
Library (18)
Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse (10)
Government (192)
COVID-19 (42)
Joint Venture (9)
White Ribbon Day (46)
Service (124)
Reviews (13)
Te Aorerekura (3)
Pay equity (10)
Newsletters (182)
Juvenists (23)
Projects (5)
Consultation (15)
Tags
Archive
2024
February
March
NZFVC Quick Reads: 27 March 2024
Being trauma-informed in practice with Dr Nicola Atwool - 3 part online workshop
Survivor Experiences Service
ACC RFP for community-led primary prevention 'anchor partners'
Survey and consultation for kaimahi Māori
Rob Veale Workshop: Risk assessment in the context of intimate partner violence
MSD's FVSV Update April 2024
NZFVC Quick Reads: 18 April 2024
The Intersections of Domestic and Family Violence with Substance Use – Webinar
Child Protection and Family Violence
Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Family Violence
Sexual violence in tertiary education: Aotearoa and international research and resources
Whakamanawa - The National Social Services Conference 2024
Weekly Media Roundup
Court related changes: FV Safety programme and cultural reports
NZFVC Quick Reads: 11 April 2024
Te Pai Ora SSPA Presents: Enhancing Leadership
Lifewise Parenting Courses for Term 2 2024
Group Facilitating Training with Fay Lilian
Weekly Media Roundup
NZFVC Quick Reads: 5 March 2024
Community Meeting - Save School Lunches
April webinars at the Grief Centre
Government Responds to UN Committee on the Rights of Children
September 22, 2016 at 4:46 PM
Government responds to UN Committee on the rights of children
*From the New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse*
Social Development Minister Anne Tolley led a delegation to meet with the UN Committee that oversees the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC).
The delegation answered questions from the Committee on New Zealand's implementation of the UNCROC, outlined in New Zealand’s Fifth Periodic Report.
The Committee raised concerns about the new Ministry for Vulnerable Children. UN Rapporteur Kirstin Sandberg said "Your whole policy focus...seems to be on vulnerable children and you've done a lot of commendable work on vulnerable children." Ms Sandberg went on to say "But we would like to see a comprehensive policy for the implementation of these rights for all children" and then asked "A whole ministry for only vulnerable children? It might have been for all children?"
Minister Tolley has said "There was some misunderstanding as to what we're trying to achieve with that [Ministy for Vulnerable Children] but I think we had good dialogue about it."
Children's Commissioner Andrew Becroft, also part of the delegation, said "The committee was really I think asking we've got a lot of initiatives that are going on at the moment - is there an overarching plan that covers everything? Is there a comprehensive concerted plan to deal with all under 18-year-olds in New Zealand? Have we narrowed the focus unduly on vulnerable children to the detriment of New Zealand children as a whole?"
The Committee also asked specific questions about the Government's investment strategy and outsourcing of essential services and child poverty and homelessness.
Minister Tolley said in a media release “I will be highlighting the important initiatives that have been introduced since New Zealand submitted our Fifth Periodic Report, such as the $790 million child material hardship package, which came into effect on 1 April 2016. This raised benefit rates for families for the first time in 43 years, increased Working for Families payments for low income working families and increased Childcare Assistance payments."
However, non-government groups have raised concerns of the current status of children and have been critical of the government's approach to child well-being, protection and care.
In addition to the Government's report and response to questions, representatives from number of non-government agencies submitted reports and attended the Committee meeting. The UNCROC Monitoring Group was formed in 2011 to monitor how the UN Committee’s 2011 Concluding Observations have been addressed in New Zealand. The UMG is convened by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner, and consists of representatives from the Human Rights Commission, Action for Children and Youth Aotearoa (ACYA), Save the Children New Zealand, and UNICEF New Zealand.
ACYA have said they are “...deeply concerned about the quality of life and wellbeing of a significant number of children and young people in Aotearoa New Zealand, especially the disproportionate burden of inequalities borne by Māori, Pacific, disabled and ethnic minority children.”
The Human Rights Commission has made a number of recommendations calling on the New Zealand Government to develop "...a properly funded children’s rights plan that identifies actions and measures results in an effort to address the significant issues facing many of New Zealand’s children."
UNICEF NZ said the UNCROC Monitoring Group have previously been concerned about the lack of children's voices. Save the Children, UNICEF NZ and ACYA have recently published Our Voices, Our Rights to ensure children's voices were included in the review.
The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) has recently commented that the Ministry of Justice report on Household Incomes in New Zealand published in August 2016, "...show no real signs of improvement in the quality of life for most New Zealand children living below the poverty line."
The UN committee is expected to publish concluding observations from the review in October.
For more information see
- Ministry of Justice UNCROC reporting webpage
- UNCROC Monitoring Group supplementary report
- The Children's Commissioner's supplementary report
- Action for Children and Youth Aotearoa supplementary reports
- The Human Rights Commission full and summary reports
- Previous NZFVC story Government invites public comment on draft reports to UN