On the 20^th November 2009, we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) by the General Assembly of the United Nations. This event provides us with the opportunity to revisit the implementation of this convention in the Islamic State Parties. All Islamic countries short of Somalia have shown their commitment by ratifying the Convention and, sending regular updates on the implementation of the Convention in their respective States .

The member states of the Islamic Conference have been inspired by the teachings of Islam thereby, repeatedly urging the provision of due care of children and granting them their full rights. The Khartoum Declaration of February 2009, utilized the CRC as the framework for the promotion and protection of the Rights of the Child.

Over the past 20 years a number of national seminars and meetings were held to discuss the relationship between the  CRC and the Islamic Shari’a.  On the other hand, few international gatherings of Islamic countries and international experts on the Rights of the Child, were held for sharing experiences on the implementation of the CRC in Islamic States – analyzing achievements, obstacles and closely identifying challenges.

This Conference is an opportunity for Islamic States to exchange views and experiences on ways and means to strengthen their commitment to the CRC.

Some Muslim State Parties to the CRC have made reservations to the effect that the CRC would only be implemented if it is not in conflict with the Islamic Shari’a. The Conference will provide an opportunity for Muslim States to examine the extent to which such reservations have varied from one Muslim country to the another. This is an indication that there is a need for consensus in the areas that may or may not be in harmony with the Islamic Shari’a. The Conference will provide a forum to learn from the concrete experience of countries who may later withdraw their reservations, if any.

1.  Objectives of the conference:

The conference provides a forum to achieve the following objectives:

A. The Overall Objective of the Conference:

- To assess progress made in the implementation of the CRC; with examples of best practices, achievements, as well as to highlight challenges.

- To provide space to reach a consensus of building on ways and means of additional challenges, charting the way forward on the full implementation of the CRC.

B. Specific Objectives:

- To harmonize the understanding of the CRC in the light of Shari’a by identifying complementarities between the two, thus mitigating potential conflicts.

- To encourage Muslim States Parties to the CRC to strengthen measures of implementation of the Convention in their respective countries by:

• Reviewing reservations by revisiting any reservations in the light of experiences of other Muslim States.
• Raising awareness to the necessity of periodically reviewing the domestic legislation to ensure its compliance  with CRC.
• Strengthening the role of the national entities in charge of coordinating the implementation of the Convention, by ensuring that they are adequately mandated and resourced.

- To utilize Egypt’s National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) as a case study, as it will coincide with the 20th Anniversary of the CRC. NCCM is the highest national body mandated to coordinate national activities related to child development and protection and to monitor the implementation of CRC.

- To Raise awareness of the various forms of discrimination and violence against children and the responsibility of States in this respect.

- To emphasis the right of the child to be heard in article 12 of the Convention and the Committee general Comment No. 12. The conference will be preceded by a two day pre-conference for children. Delegations are encouraged to include children in this event.

- To provide a venue for dialogue and knowledge sharing among Islamic countries. Most of the experts and resource persons will come from member States and case studies will be mostly from Islamic countries. This will present a unique situation for dialogue amongst Islamic countries. Non Islamic experts and organizations will also  be invited to take part in the discussion.

2. Conceptual Framework

The Conference will focus on measures for implementing the Convention: Legislation and its compatibility with Islamic Shari’a and the CRC

- Reservations:

Reservations entered by a number of  Islamic States are of two categories: General and specific. Some States entered reservations of a general nature, for example reservation to the articles and provisions which may be interpreted to be contrary to the Islamic Shari’a. Other States made reservations to certain articles; such as articles 14 and 21 of CRC. This will include presentations and discussions on “the why” of these reservations and on the reasons/experiences with the withdrawal of these reservations as is the case of Egypt, Pakistan, Tunisia and Qatar for example.

- The right to non-discrimination:

Non discrimination is a fundamental principle guiding the letter and spirit of the Convention. In addition, it is a right that establishes legal responsibility on States Parties to CRC and, ensures that in their jurisdiction they are not discriminated against be it for age, place of birth, race, sex, or any other grounds. Focus will include the girl child and certain issues facing them such as deprivation of education, child or forced marriage as well as FGM.  

- Violence Against Children:

Muslim countries have played an important role in the development and adoption of the UNSG study on Violence against children which, provides a valuable framework for consideration of the issue. Efforts exerted by many Muslim countries to combat violence against children will be discussed. Emphasis will be given to certain forms of violence such as child labour or street children; children victim of trafficking; and sexual exploitation. The Report of the Third Global Congress on Sexual Exploitation of children (Rio De Janiro, November 2008) and its follow up will be discussed.

- Juvenile justice:

The rights of children within the Justice system are a major concern of many States worldwide. The conference will devote special attention to shed light on the need to put in place a comprehensive restorative justice system. This system will have to focus on prevention of child delinquency; avoid the maximum extent possible for punitive measures and instead focus on the rehabilitation and reintegration of these children. The Committee on the Rights of the Child adopted a General Comment on the Rights of children involved with the Juvenile Justice System (GC no. 10).

The Conference will provide an opportunity to solicit the views of Muslim countries on the implementation of this document.

- Child participation: A preparatory meeting with children will take place from 21-22 November.

Child participation is another issue that will be discussed. Child participation within the educational system is a very critical issue. The conference will listen to the experience of some Muslim countries who introduced the pedagogy of active learning in various forms. Participation of children within the education system is a very crucial issue. The session on education will provide an opportunity to share experiences of the Aflatoun program on social and financial active learning for children. The program, though new, is expanding rapidly and is currently implemented by over 40 countries including some Muslim States.