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Dear Delegates,

Welcome to the 2020 Model United Nations Lycées (MUNL)! We are pleased to introduce you to our Committee, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund Committee (UNICEF). The topics under discussion for the UNICEF Committee are:

I. Enhancing Children's Living Conditions in Post-Conflict Area.

II. Reinforcing Regulations about Child Labor for subcontracting companies.

UNICEF is the primary entity within the United Nations (UN) system working to promote and protect the rights of children, who are often disproportionately affected by conflict, instability, and poverty. Further, UNICEF plays a critical role in the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). UNICEF seeks to address a wide range of topics regarding children, such as mainstreaming their significance in efforts to further the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and advocating for their human rights. In order to accurately simulate this committee, delegates will need to understand its role and mandate, while also keeping a global viewpoint to ensure solutions meet the needs of all children.

This Background Guide serves as an introduction to the topics for this committee. However, it is not intended to replace individual research. We encourage you to explore your Member State’s policies in depth and use the Annotated Bibliography and Bibliography to further your knowledge on these topics.

Assia ZAOUI

Head Chair of the UNICEF Committee

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T O P I C 1 ENHANCING CHILDREN’S LIVING CONDITIONS IN POST-

CONFLICT AREAS

Introduction

With more than 50 ongoing armed conflicts worldwide, 420 million children currently live in conflict-affected areas, representing over 20% of the global youth population. The United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) (1990) defines a child as "a human being below the age of 18 years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier." Children and adolescents are vulnerable by nature, and in the case of conflict, young people are even more critically vulnerable than others. Children and youth tend to be the main civilian casualties of armed conflict and are further vulnerable because they are under the age of legal independence. The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund Committee acknowledged a significant increase in the globally reported violations of children’s rights from 15,500 in 2016, to 21,000 in 2017. These grave violations can include recruitment and use of children in conflict; killing and maiming of children; rape and sexual violence, particularly of girl children; attacks on schools and hospitals; abduction of children; and denial of humanitarian access.

While there is no single definition of “conflict,” the UN Global Compact broadly determines that conflict areas are those experiencing high levels of armed violence, and political or social instability; where there are serious concerns about abuses of human rights and political and civil liberties; and where there is violent conflict, including interstate and civil war. Two billion people are affected by the humanitarian consequences of armed conflict, including extreme poverty, displacement, and lack of education and employment opportunities. As estimated by the World Bank Group, due to fragility, conflict or violence 46% of these people are estimated to be subjected to extreme poverty by 2030.

The UN, supported by the international community, has put in substantial effort to develop the global standards on protecting children in armed conflict and post conflict areas, supporting reintegration programs, and conducting activities to mainstream children’s rights. However, with the increasing number of violations of human rights in areas of conflict, there is clearly still a need to further empower and support conflict-affected children and youth. Supporting these high-risk youth will require the UN, governments, adults, children, civil society, businesses, and all other stakeholders to

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conduct comprehensive and nuanced support projects with the goal of youth empowerment.

Role of the International System

Within the UN system, the UNICEF shapes global policies on human rights, social issues, and humanitarian affairs, and specifically supports the efforts of Member States in protecting and empowering conflict-affected children and youth. The UNICEF’s guideline to help enhancing children’s living conditions in post conflict areas can be summed up in 4 points today. First, UNICEF’s Rapid Response Mechanism is at the heart of our ability to urgently support children in emergencies. In Iraq, in 2017, they reached nearly 1.3 million children on the move with lifesaving supplies like water and ready-to-eat rations. Then, UNICEF takes a long-term development approach that goes beyond the immediate emergency: In Syria, for example, UNICEF supported the rehabilitation of water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in 558 schools across the country in 2017, benefiting nearly 384,000 students. Also, they engage with all parties to a conflict in a non-political way, which is vital to negotiating humanitarian access and building trust on all sides as UNICEF seeks to serve children. Finally, they build new partnerships to reach children living through these conflicts, from local government to NGOs and local businesses. In 2017, UNICEF collaborated with a total of 1,328 civil society partners in the field for its humanitarian work.

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, whose current mandate holder is Virginia Gamba, plays a key role in promoting the protection of children affected by armed conflict and ensuring accountability of Member States. In the Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict on Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Children (2018), the Special Representative outlined key aspects of ensuring the rights of children in armed conflict, highlighting the importance of having children considered in transitional justice, the creation of country task forces, and conflict resolution and peacebuilding. The Special Representative also discussed the need to continue protecting children under the auspices of international humanitarian law, preventing the unnecessary detainment of children who have been coopted into working for non-state actors or militias, and ensuring that the rights of children support progress towards the SDGs.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) sets out best practices to support Member States in developing their reintegration programs for children and youth following armed conflict. These programs involve psychosocial support, and education and training for the conflict-affected young people. Reintegration programs contribute to breaking the cycle of violence, reducing risk of recruitment of children and youth to the armed forces, and increasing resilience of communities. For instance, UNICEF implements the “Armed Violence Prevention and Reduction Programme in nine countries of Latin America and the

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Caribbean.” This program aims to enhance community participation, public awareness and schoolbased initiatives for conflict-affected children and youth. Activities of UNICEF in conflict-affected areas encompass, among others, carrying out development of life skills programs for adolescents and establishing mediation centers for positive parenting and peaceful conflict resolution.

The work of the UN is also supported at the regional level, where regional organizations such as the European Union and the African Union (AU), among others, can help set norms and standards for protecting the rights of children and youth. For example, in the 1990 African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child adopted by the AU, Articles 7-11 established a regional framework on ensuring their freedom of expression and association, freedom of thought, protection of privacy and the right to education, while the Article 22 contains provisions on protecting children in armed conflicts.

Supporting the work of the UN and regional bodies, there are many civil society organizations advocating for the empowerment of children and youth, including Search for Common Ground (SFCG). The work of SFCG is funded by several foundations, business corporations, governments, and UN bodies, such as UNICEF, the World Bank, the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), and the International Organization for Migration. SFCG then implements programs by using the media, policy, education, and action-focused programming to enable children and youth to transform their communities and be recognized as peacemakers.

Empowering Children and Youth in Post-Conflict Decision-Making

One of the main challenges impacting conflict-affected children and youth is the lack of political autonomy and civil empowerment. As stated in the 2018 Report of the Special Representative of the SecretaryGeneral for Children and Armed Conflict on Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Children, in addition to social and gender disparity between youth, many children and youth feel disempowered over their post-conflict future. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child also specifies that many adults do not consider children as human rights defenders and do not believe in their capacities, which creates one of the fundamental obstacles to the empowerment of children and youth.

Additionally, in many societies, children and youth are not allowed to speak politically or vote, as they are still viewed as legal minors, which can lead to less investment in political processes and post-conflict rebuilding. For this reason, states will often prioritize child protection frameworks, over child empowerment programs.

However, civil society studies from organizations such as the Global Partnership for Children and Youth in Peacebuilding, have noted that empowering children and youth

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provides an opportunity to express their influence on political and social decisions that impact them, learn new skills, and develop a closer connection to their community, and it gives them increased autonomy by being involved in decision-making. Empowered children are also more likely to have the ability to respond appropriately to risks by becoming active citizens and support positive change towards a violence-free environment through stopping cycles of violence. Additionally, when children belong to peer-led local organizations such as those at school, religious and cultural organizations, or community groups, they are more likely to build awareness of the risks of violence and increase their ability to provide peer-support to others at risk. Such organizations can conduct training on child rights, sexuality and reproductive health education, communication and negotiation skills, and gender equity. However, the application of programming and policy for children’s empowerment can also be expanded to include training and opportunities for political and civic life at all levels, including electoral activities, participation in government and non-governmental decision-making, building skills and capacities for governing and carrying out civil service functions, participation in village child protection committees to prevent and respond to violence; government accountability and information.

Some national laws and policies have been adapted to align with the CRC and UN recommendations on children’s empowerment. For instance, Nepal, who is recovering from armed conflict, adopted legal and policy frameworks in 2011 that support the participation of disadvantaged children and youth, and their representation in decision-making processes concerning them. Nepal’s Child Friendly Local Governance National Strategy (2010) contains indicators ensuring children aged 12 to 18 years participate in the decision-making processes of local bodies through the development of institutional participation mechanisms, such as child club networks. In addition, the National Youth Policy (2010) in Nepal covers women, men, and third gender persons aged between 16 and 40 years, and establishes a full range of rights, including the right to livelihood, education, health, family welfare, employment, and social security, and to participation, empowerment, and leadership opportunities. While policies such as these, and the work of bodies such as the Tunisian Youth Leadership Council, represent excellent progress towards empowering youth, some parents, community members, or local government officials remain unaware of relevant laws and policies, while there can also be insufficient implementation and monitoring of laws and policies due to the weak political process, especially at the local levels and where conflict has further weakened existing infrastructure.

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Conflict-Sensitive and Peace-Building Programming

A key principle of UNICEF’s programing in humanitarian situations is to be conflict-sensitive or ‘do-no-harm’, and to contribute to peacebuilding or ‘do-more-good’ when appropriate. Involving children and young people in conflict prevention and peacebuilding activities is critical in this regard. In Mali, for example, UNICEF supported the implementation of Inclusive Community Dialogue workshops which gave local communities and young people of diverse background opportunities to discuss their needs and priorities, informing UNICEF’s programming in education, child protection, health and beyond. In the Philippines, UNICEF supported the establishment of community-based child protection networks and learning institutes as ‘zones of peace’ in conflict-affected communities of Mindanao. This community-driven, systems-based approach of protecting children and education enhanced security, resilience, empowerment and social cohesion. In Liberia, UNICEF and the Ministry of Youth and Sports supported the youth component of a broader peacebuilding programme for the country. It empowered young people by establishing a National Youth Service Programme to help address the causes of conflict and build social cohesion. The programme appointed National Volunteers who served as agents of change and positive role models in their communities and institutions.

Conclusion

As armed conflict continues to negatively impact already vulnerable children and youth, the UN has established a comprehensive framework to protect these populations and to support Member States in adhering to international human rights standards. The lack of empowered children and youth has continued to be one of the major obstacles to building sustainable peace and helping societies holistically recover from armed conflict. Ways to increase the participation of conflict-affected children and youth have been widely discussed within the UN system, and the UNICEF leads the international discourse on various approaches achieving rights of children and youth. However, given the progress that still needs to be achieved, the international community continues to look to the UNICEF Committee to lead the conversation on, among other issues, opportunities of enhancing children’s conditions through education and expanding the participation of children and youth in the decision-making process.

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Bibliography

https://www.unicefusa.org/mission/emergencies/conflict

https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/world-has-failed-protect-children-conflict-2018-unicef

https://onu.delegfrance.org/Children-and-armed-conflicts-10458

https://www.regjeringen.no/en/topics/foreign-affairs/humanitarian-efforts/safe-school/id2538336/

https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/

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T O P I C 2 REINFORCING REGULATIONS ABOUT CHILD LABOR FOR

SUBCONTRACTING COMPANIES

Introduction

Around 215 million children across the globe work full time jobs, with no access to education or play time like other young children. Child labor includes being exposed to dangerous working conditions, slavery, and illegal activities including drug trafficking and human trafficking. Food, water, and healthcare, along with physical safety are all issues that must be addressed for children who are forced to work to earn a living. About 50 to 60 million working children are between five and 11 years and are exposed to hazardous circumstances, which is the definition of child labor because of the effect on their physical and mental health. Many nations use child labor to increase profits in their business industry, which promotes the utilization of cheap labor in exchange for a better economy. In Nepal, for example, children are exploited as dish washers or used in fabric industries. An estimated 1.6 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 are in the work force. Like many other countries, Nepal’s constitution vouches for the rights of children, but enforcement of the law is very weak. In 2011, however, the worst forms of child labor were identified and addressed by the Nepalese government by providing “free and compulsory” educational requirements and various forms of legal protection. Though resources are running low and many provisions have yet to be implemented, these actions are encouraging other nations to take a stand against child labor and enforce currently existing laws protecting children. Reasons for continued child labor include lack of education, cultural values, easy profit for businesses, and poverty within families. In addition, enforcement of currently existing child labor laws is weak, so many protocols and conventions denouncing child labor are ineffective. Juan Somavia, the director of the International Labor Organization (ILO) once said, “A world without child labor is possible with the right priorities and policies: quality education, opportunities for young people, decent work for parents, a basic social protection floor for all. Driven by conscience, let’s muster the courage and conviction to act in solidarity and ensure every child’s right to his or her childhood. It brings rewards for all.” It is important for the United Nations to encourage nations to be active in enforcing existing laws to eradicate child labor.

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Fighting Child Exploitation Through International Laws

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has unanimously adopted a resolution declaring 2021 as the  International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour  , and has asked the International Labour Organization to take the lead in its implementation. The resolution highlights the member States’ commitments “to take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms.”

The UNGA acknowledged the importance of the ILO’s Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138)    and the Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, 1999 (No. 182)  – which is close to universal ratification by the ILO’s 187 member States – as well as the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It also recognized the importance of “revitalized global partnerships to ensure the implementation of the  2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development , including the implementation of the goals and targets related to the elimination of child labour.” Argentina took a lead role in advocating for this global commitment, as a follow up to the  IV Global Conference on the Sustained Eradication of Child Labour  , which took place in Buenos Aires in November 2017. Seventy-eight countries co-sponsored the resolution. “We hope that this will be one more step to redouble our efforts and our progress to advance, day by day, towards a world in which no child is subjected to child labour or exploitation and a world where decent work for all will be a reality,” said Martin Garcia Moritán, Argentina’s representative to the UN. The ILO has been working for the abolition of child labour throughout its 100 year-history, and one of the first Conventions it adopted was on Minimum Age in Industry (No. 5, 1919) . The organization is a partner in Alliance 8.7   and serves as the secretariat of this global partnership for eradicating forced labour, modern slavery, human trafficking and child labour around the world. Substantial progress has been achieved in recent years, largely because of intense advocacy and national mobilization backed by legislative and practical action. Between 2000 and 2016 alone, there was a 38 per cent decrease in child labour globally.

“The struggle against child labour has gained extraordinary momentum over the past two decades,” said Beate Andrees, Chief of the ILO’s Fundamentals Principles and Rights at Work Branch. “Yet, 152 million children across the world are still in child labour. We obviously need to scale up action further, and the decision by the General Assembly to declare 2021 the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour will be a great

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help in focusing attention on the millions of girls and boys still toiling in the fields, in the mines and in factories.”

Increasing Child Education Programs

More children and adolescents today are enrolled in pre-primary, primary and secondary education than ever before. Yet, for many of them, schooling does not lead to learning. A lack of trained teachers, inadequate learning materials, makeshift classes and poor sanitation facilities make learning difficult for many children. Others come to school too hungry, sick or exhausted from work or household tasks to benefit from their lessons. The consequences are grave: An estimated 617 million children and adolescents around the world are unable to reach minimum proficiency levels in reading and mathematics – even though two thirds of them are in school. This learning crisis is the greatest global challenge to preparing children and adolescents for life, work and active citizenship.

Children and adolescents are excluded from education for many reasons. Poverty remains one of the most obstinate barriers, with children from the poorest households almost five times more likely to be out of primary school than those from the richest. Children with disabilities and from ethnic minorities are also more likely to be left behind. For girls in some parts of the world, education opportunities can be especially limited. Only 66 per cent of countries have achieved gender parity in primary education. Harmful gender norms can have severe effects for boys, too.

Location also keeps children from school. Children from rural areas are more than twice as likely to be out of primary school than their urban peers. In conflict zones, 27 million children are out of school. Without skills for lifelong learning, children face greater barriers to earning potential and employment later in life. They are more likely to suffer adverse health outcomes and less likely to participate in the decisions that affect them – threatening their ability to build a better future for themselves and their communities.

Punishing Subcontracting Companies Using Child Labor

Anti-child labor policies used to only concern governments with laws considered not strong enough to fight against child labor. Today, UNICEF and the international system also targets subcontracting companies which take advantage of children.

To meet internationally established goals of the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, substantially increased efforts are needed, including by employers’ organizations and businesses. This was recognized in the roadmap adopted at the Hague Global Child Labour Conference in 2010, which called for the development of effective systems to combat child labour in supply chains. When we consider the numbers of children working in supply chains, whether for domestic or international markets, it is clear that promoting sustainable enterprises, free from child labour, is a major part of the

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challenge All enterprises are required to act to eliminate child labour that they cause or are linked with through their business relationships. Supporting businesses worldwide to fulfil this responsibility is a strategic priority of the ILO’s International Programme on the Elimination of child Labour (IPEC).

ILO has already targeted businesses and employers’ organizations in India, Brazil and South Africa. Research from India highlights the enabling environment behind progress in eliminating child labour, including better wages for adults and government enforcement while noting the continued difficulties presented by informal economy production.

According to the United Nations'  Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights,  business enterprises, “regardless of their size, sector, operational context, ownership and structure” have a responsibility to respect human. Businesses must “[a]void causing or contributing to adverse human rights impacts through their own activities, and address such impacts when they occur; [s]eek to prevent or mitigate adverse human rights impacts that are directly linked to their operations, products or services by their business relationships, even if they have not contributed to those impacts”.

The U.S. government has taken steps to identify sectors in which exploitative labor occurs. Since 2005, the U.S. Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) publishes an annual, public list of goods (and their country of origin) that ILAB has reason to believe are produced by forced and/or child labor in violation of international standards. In 2016, the Department of Labors's list identified 139 goods produced in 75 countries using child and/or forced labor in violation of international standards. The majority of goods was produced through the use of child labor, rather than forced labor, and can be divided into four main categories: agriculture (predominantly in the harvesting of sugarcane, cotton, coffee, and tobacco), manufacturing (bricks, garments, and textiles), mining and quarrying (gold), and child pornography. Goods range from bricks in Afghanistan to gems in Zambia, from rice in India to sugarcane in the Dominican Republic, from fireworks in China and Peru to fish in Ghana and Thailand, and from cotton in Uzbekistan to pornography in Russia.

A number of federal agencies, including the Department of Labor, work together to ensure that products made by forced labor and child labor in violation of international standards are not imported into the U.S. The Department of State's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons works to ensure that U.S. citizens “do not use any item, product, or material produced or extracted with the use and labor from victims of severe forms of trafficking” and that “such entities do not contribute to trafficking in persons involving sexual exploitation.”

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Researchers should remain aware that the Department of Labor's list does not refer to abuses in the production of such goods on local U.S. farms and construction sights. Nor does it address how the transportation and service industry is used to facilitate forced labor or sexual exploitation. While the list does not address what is occurring within the United States, the U.S. State Department's Trafficking in Persons Report partially fills that gap. Additionally, any government publication is subject to the political influences present within the government at the time of publication. Keeping these limitations in mind, the Department of Labor's list remains a worthwhile starting point for those interested in understanding the scope of industries which use forced and/or child labor. Beyond government lists, businesses initiatives are also worth assessing; both those that corporations join and initiate themselves.

Conclusion

UNICEF’s approach to preventing and responding to child labour involves providing access to basic services, strengthening national child protection systems and promoting social change. UNICEF has been working with governments in several countries to roll out programmes against child labour. However, it appears that a lot work still needs to ba achieved in order to eradicate child labour and to promote children’s education all over the globe.

Bibliography

https://www.un.org/ar/events/childlabourday/assets/pdf/Hague_Report.pdf

file:///C:/Users/renov/Downloads/Businees_fight_Child_Labour_EN_20131025_Web.pdf

https://www.un.org/ar/events/childlabourday/assets/pdf/Hague_Report.pdf

https://www.unicef.org/protection/files/child_labour.pdf

https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-protection/child-labour/

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