Evaluation of the Child Rights Governance Regional Programme in West Africa:

Transcription

1 Evaluation of the Child Rights Governance Regional Programme in West Africa:

2 This material/production has been financed by the Government of Sweden. Responsibility for the content lies entirely with the creator. The Government of Sweden does not necessarily share the expressed views and interpretations. Save the Children Sweden 2016 Author: Gorgui Sow, Moussa Faye and Ame Atsu David Project Leader: Rakeb Messele Aberra, CRG TA for West Africa, Save the Children Sweden Coverphoto: Glenna Gordon Photo page: 14: Krista Armstrong/Save the Children, 26: Josh Hughes/Save the Children, 30: Jonathan Hyams/Save the Children, 40-45: Save the Children and CONAFE, 51: Jonathan Hyams/Save the Children, 60: Julien Lejour/Save the Children, 73: David Hartman/Save the Children, 80: Save the Children Design: Anna L Andrén

3 Table of contents Acknowledgements... 5 Acronyms Executive Summary I. Introduction Background and purpose Methodological approach Limits of the evaluation...18 II. Programme context and overview Programme context Overview of SCS CRG Regional Programme evolution in West Africa Overview of programme objectives, expected results and indicators over the period III. Main findings of the evaluation Impact of the work of child rights coalitions Direct impact of SCS technical and financial support to child rights coalitions at national and regional levels Indirect impact of SCS financial and technical support to child rights coalitions Sustainability issues Gaps between the Secretariat of the national coalitions and the member organizations Gap between UWAC and the national coalitions Weak advocacy skills Limited human and financial capacity of the Secretariat for effective implementation Limited capacity to use the complementary reports and concluding observations to plan and implement a holistic advocacy programme Limited monitoring of capacity building and advocacy activities Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 3

4 3.2.7 External factors limiting the impact of the work of the coalitions Sustainability issues at SC level Lack of a clear linkage between CRG and Child Protection programmes Limited coordination Gaps in monitoring of the work of the coalitions Internal challenges within SC IV. Overall conclusion and recommendations...74 V. References VI. Annexe, List of people interviewed at SC and in the targeted countries Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

5 Acknowledgements The consultants would like to thank Save the Children for entrusting them with this complex and important evaluation. Special thanks go to Ms. Rakeb Messele Aberra, Child Rights Governance (CRG) Regional Advisor for West Africa, Save the Children Sweden (SCS) based in Abidjan, and Ms. Ouleye Deme, CRG Specialist, and Birahim Sidibe, CRG Programme Coordinator, both based in the Save the Children International (SCI) Senegal Country Office, who provided us with the technical and logistical assistance throughout the evaluation. We are indebted to respondents from SCS in Sweden who were involved in the CRG programme implementation in West Africa, respondents from the SCI management in Senegal, and all respondents in the different countries who fed us with the necessary information either through face-to-face interviews or by filling out the semi-structured questionnaire and sending it to us by . We would also like to give a special mention to the boys and girls who took part in the focus group discussions in The Gambia, Niger, and Senegal and enlightened us on the added value of child participation and how to make it more meaningful. Many thanks to the secretariats of the national child rights coalitions in The Gambia, Senegal, Ghana, Niger, Guinea Bissau, and Benin who organized all of the logistics that enabled us meet all of the relevant stakeholders in their respective countries. We hope that this report will be useful in guiding future programming and increasing the impact it has on children s rights. Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 5

6 Acronyms ACERWC ACPF ACRWC CDDE CLOSE CO CODEDIG CONAFE CONIDE CP CPA CSO ECOWAS EU FGD FODDET GMI GNCRC INGO M&E NGO OCD OPAC OPSC RO African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child African Child Policy Forum African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child Coalition pour la Défense des Droits de l Enfant au Cap Vert Comité de Liaison des Organisations de la Société Civile pour les Droits de l Enfant Country Office Coalition des ONG pour la Défense de l Enfant en Guinée Bissau Coalition Nationale des Associations et ONGs en Faveur de l Enfant Coalition des Organisations Nigériennes des Droits de l Enfant Child Protection Child Protection Alliance Civil Society Organisation Economic Community of West African States European Union Focus Group Discussion Forum des ONG de Défense des Droits de l Enfant au Togo General Measures of Implementation Ghana National Child Rights Coalition International Non-Governmental Organisation Monitoring and Evaluation Non-Governmental Organisation Organizational Capacity Development Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography Regional Office 6 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

7 SC SCI SCI CIV CO SCI SEN CO SCS Sida TA UN Committee UNCRC UPR UNECA UWAC WACSOF WAF WARO Save the Children Save the Children International Save the Children International Cote d Ivoire Country Office Save the Children International Senegal Country Office Save the Children Sweden Swedish International Development Agency Technical Assistants United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child Universal Periodic Review United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Union of West Africa Coalitions West African Civil Society Forum West Africa West Africa Regional Office Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 7

8 Executive Summary All countries in West Africa have ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC). However, these instruments are not widely known at the national level, and the states do not usually respect their commitment to submit periodic reports to the mandated reporting mechanisms. Most countries have overdue reports to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (the UN Committee) and other human and child rights mechanisms, and reporting to the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Children (ACERWC) is still not considered to be a priority. Resource allocations for child rights are often lower than any other sectors and are not used efficiently. Child rights coalitions have an important watchdog role to play, but they are usually not strong enough to actually hold their governments accountable for their commitments to the UNCRC and ACRWC. Save the Children Sweden (SCS) began its work in West Africa in 1977 providing support to maternal and child health services in Cape Verde. The work of SCS developed progressively from 2002 onwards from a quite fragmented child rights promotion project with individual partner organisations in a few countries to a child rights governance (CRG) regional programme supporting child rights coalitions at both the national and regional levels. The overall objective of the regional CRG programme has been to push states in West Africa to implement the UNCRC, the ACRWC, and other international and regional human rights instruments related to child rights by supporting civil society in its watchdog role and empowering children to claim their rights. In 2010, SCS supported the idea of four coalition representatives from Senegal, Niger, Mali, and Benin to create a regional platform named the Union of West African Coalitions for Children (UWAC). UWAC, with time, extended its coverage to all fifteen countries that are members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). SCS thus increased its geographical coverage in the region through UWAC activities, which included regional capacity building, experience sharing, and regional advocacy. Currently, the CRG programme in West Africa is financed by SCS and managed by the Save the Children International Country Office (CO) in Senegal and consists of a CRG country programme and a CRG regional programme. The country programme is implemented through the child rights coalition in Senegal, while the regional programme is implemented through the respective national coalitions in The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Niger, and Togo and through the regional UWAC coalition. After several years of intervention, SCS initiated this evaluation to assess the impact of the Child Rights Governance Regional Programme as well as to analyse issues that might undermine the programme s sustainability. The main focus of this evaluation is on the results that were achieved during the period 2009 to The evaluation is expected to provide Save the Children (SC)1 with lessons learned and 1 By Save the Children (SC), it is meant the whole Save the Children family, including SCI and SC members. 8 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

9 with evidence of the added value and limitations of the CRG regional programme as well as to feed into the discussion with Save the Children International (SCI) and its partners and stakeholders on the strengths and weaknesses of the regional approach taken by the CRG regional programme. Below are the main findings of the evaluation: Impact of the CRG regional programme Over the period , SCS invested in building the capacity of child rights coalitions through the provision of organisational capacity development (OCD) and institutional support, as well as the organisation of various thematic trainings in such areas as child rights programming, advocacy, child rights and business, and child-friendly budgeting. SCS also supported the capacity building and advocacy activities conducted by child rights coalitions aiming at increasing awareness on children issues, monitoring the implementation of children s rights, and creating a safe environment for children to voice their opinions on processes and decisions concerning them. This support has had the following impacts: Thanks to the trainings organised by the child rights coalitions, there is now a greater understanding of the provisions of the UNCRC and ACWRC by state officials and their role in complying with the procedures and recommendations of the monitoring mechanisms. This increased understanding has led to some states taking the necessary measures to improve the submission of their reports to human rights and child rights monitoring mechanisms. Over the period , five of the countries under evaluation here have submitted their periodic reports to the UN Committee, one country ratified the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, four countries ratified the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, five countries submitted their initial reports to the ACERWC, and seven countries submitted their reports for the first cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) within the period and another seven within the period Although these states have started taking their commitments seriously, child rights coalitions need to continue to exert pressure on their respective governments to ensure timely submission of these reports. The CRG regional programme has built the capacity of child rights coalitions to mobilize child rights actors, including children themselves, at the national level to submit complementary and alternative reports to the UN Committee and the ACERWC. Over the period , six complementary reports were submitted to the UN Committee, one complementary report to the ACERWC, and five complementary reports to the UPR. According to the UN Committee and ACERWC, the complementary reports have enabled them have a better overview of the situation of children in these countries. The ACERWC also observed that in countries where there is a child rights coalition, the process for the elaboration and submission of the report was performed more efficiently. However, members of the ACERWC interviewed for this evaluation recommended that child rights coalitions improve their complementary reports by highlighting the concrete advocacy actions they undertook at the national and regional levels as well as provide Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 9

10 concrete recommendations to advance child rights implementation in their respective countries. The CRG regional programme has strengthened the capacity of national and regional coalitions to create a conducive and enabling environment for children to voice their concerns and opinions in the interventions and processes that concern them. The voluntary, safe, and inclusive participation of children in the preparation and submission of the complementary reports and the follow up on the implementation of the recommendations of human and child rights mechanisms is becoming a common component of the programme. With the expertise in lobbying and advocacy acquired through the various capacity-building activities provided through the CRG regional programme, the national child rights coalitions have been able to follow up on the concluding observations of the UN Committee by contributing to the advocacy processes that led, among other things, to the adoption of various laws and policies, the development of child protection systems (The Gambia and Senegal), and the drafting of a decree for the establishment of a national coordination mechanism in Togo. Child rights coalitions in Senegal, The Gambia, Togo, Niger, and Guinea were able to advocate for improved and specific resource allocation for child rights implementation at the municipal level. Through their awareness-raising activities at the community level and through the media, child rights coalitions have contributed to educating rights holders and duty bearers on the importance and added value of respecting the rights of the child, as well as helping the communities to put in place child protection mechanisms. Since the creation of UWAC, there has been an increased collaboration with the ACERWC and greater regional advocacy through the West African Civil Society Organisation Forum (WAC- SOF, which is the civil society arm of ECOWAS) to push the states in West Africa to submit their reports and to strengthen implementation measures. UWAC has also gained important advocacy space by integrating WACSOF as a full member in charge of child rights issues. The OCD and institutional support provided by SCS through the CRG regional programme has ensured the long-term existence of the national and regional child rights coalitions. This support has helped child rights coalitions to greatly improve their governance structures and their administrative and financial management. The increased level of professionalism has also enabled them to attract additional funding from other donors. The creation of UWAC has increased regional knowledge exchange and learning among child rights coalitions. With the support of SCS, UWAC has developed a guidebook to facilitate the preparation, submission, and presentation of the complementary reports to the UN Committee and the ACERWC. UWAC has also facilitated more practical learning and knowledge exchange among the national coalitions. In conclusion, the impacts highlighted above show that the objectives and expected results outlined in the planning documents of and have been to a large extent achieved. However, these achievements need to be sustained, and the following issues have been observed as factors that have 10 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

11 the potential to undermine the sustainability of the programme. The issues undermining the sustainability of the CRG regional programme have been analysed at the child rights coalition level and the SC level. At the coalition level Despite all of the capacity-building activities to strengthen collaboration and synergy among the national coalitions members so they can speak with one voice, some members of some coalitions are still lacking a clear understanding of the advocacy role of the national and regional coalitions. The coalitions need to understand their responsibilities, to put in place strategies to ensure strong advocacy at different levels, to represent the voice of all the organisations defending children s rights in the country, and to be more proactive in putting in place a mechanism to keep the members connected and focused on the vision and mission of the coalition beyond just the drafting of the complementary reports. Although all of the national coalitions agree on the added value of UWAC, the regional institution seems to be a giant with feet of clay because its constituency base is weak and it is unable to provide the human and financial resources required for effective and joint advocacy at the national and regional levels. There is a need to conduct an institutional assessment of UWAC to identify the best strategy and structure to put in place to support its mission. Despite all of the capacity-building activities aimed at building the technical capacity of child rights coalitions, the coalitions still do not have the technical capacity to implement effective advocacy plans. This is mainly due to the fact that child rights coalitions like many other NGOs in Africa do not have the financial capacity to recruit qualified and skilled staff to accomplish various tasks. Although the impacts highlighted in this report show that child rights coalitions have conducted activities that have contributed to the implementation of the concluding observations, there is still a lot to be done in order for the follow-up processes to become more systematic both in terms of coverage of recommendations and in terms of continuity, regularity, and frequency between periodic reports. The coalitions seem to focus their activities on trainings with limited links to the overall advocacy activities for long-term change. For greater impact, follow-up activities need to be embedded in the overall strategic and action plans. The impact of the CRG regional programme is also limited by external factors beyond the child rights coalitions control. Although they are now showing great commitment to the adoption of new laws and policies aimed at protecting children, governments in the region still have to make adequate budgetary allocations, develop sufficient human resource capacity, and improve coordination to support the implementation of the existing laws and policies. In some countries, national emergencies affected the implementation of the regional programme. This situation calls for the inclusion of emergency response protocols in the CRG regional programme. Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 11

12 At the Save the Children level A greater linkage between the CRG regional programme and the Child Protection (CP) Regional Programme is key to ensuring the sustainability of both programmes. There is a need for SCI to open up its collaboration to other international institutions, such as Plan International and UNICEF, to maximize its effectiveness. Monitoring visits are critical elements of OCD and sustainability, and SC needs to invest more in coaching and mentoring activities and in enhancing its OCD support. The link between the SCI CO managing the CRG regional programme and the SCI regional office (RO) for West and Central Africa (WCA) need to be strengthened to maximize the impact of the CRG regional programme. There is a need to reflect on the added value of all the core countries that are currently receiving direct funding from SCS, and restructuring should take place if necessary. SC could consider handing over some coalitions to other international institutions that are interested in supporting such coalitions to ensure the sustainability of the CRG regional programme s impact. Recommendations At the SC level Document and share good practices SCS needs to analyse and document the results achieved through its regional approach in Africa and beyond, which will allow it to better promote and market the regional approach within SCI. Promote CRG within the SCI RO SCS needs to better communicate to the SCI RO the outcomes of the CRG regional programme and its subsequent impact and added values on child protection and other aspects of child rights. Develop a clear strategy for the regional approach SCS should develop a clear strategy for its regional approach based on lessons learned. Greater linkage between CRG and Child Protection Regional Programmes SC needs to reflect more holistically and on a long-term basis on the best way to link the CRG regional programme and the CP regional programme for both programmes to have greater impact. Review the M&E system for the CRG regional programme and the reporting format The CRG regional programme is a long-term programme that cannot be measured in the same way as child protection or any other child rights promotion activities. It is therefore important to ensure that the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and reporting format take into consideration the specificities of the CRG regional programme. 12 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

13 Tap into the growing interest in CRG to increase collaboration within SCI and other partners Given the limited resources to implement the CRG regional programme, SC could consider enhancing its collaboration with other SCI COs in the region, as well as with international institutions, to maximize resources and synergize their efforts to develop stronger CRG programmes. SC could initiate discussions with key stakeholders on how to work together to maximise outcomes and eventually ensure the sustainability of its interventions. Lobby with international institutions to provide institutional support for child rights coalitions SC should also help child rights coalitions lobby for institutional support, which most international institutions are reluctant to provide. At the UWAC and national coalition levels Need for institutional assessment of UWAC and the establishment of an independent permanent secretariat An institutional capacity assessment of UWAC and, if possible, of all national coalitions should be conducted to effectively plan the OCD support that could bring about a lasting change in the sustainability and the capacity of national and regional coalitions. To improve the efficiency of UWAC, there is a need to assist UWAC to establish an independent secretariat with skilled staff. Effective regional advocacy also entails supporting the salary of a regional advocacy manager who will be part of the UWAC secretariat. SC also needs to support regular bi-annual regional exchange meetings and needs to encourage UWAC and child rights coalitions secretariats to identify common advocacy issues. Review the content of the OCD support The content of the OCD support should not focus only on compliance with SCI procedures and standards, but it should also aim at strengthening partner organizations overall and long-term capacity to give voice and leverage to children s claims for their rights. Continue to support child rights coalitions to enhance children s meaningful participation Children s participation in the CRG regional programme should be based on a clear approach and concrete methodologies. The coalitions should take measures that address the risks that might prevent the safe and meaningful participation of children. Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 13

14 14 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

15 I. Introduction 1.1 Background and purpose The adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1989 and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) in 1990 were major achievements for children at the global and regional levels. These two legal instruments have provided the basis for greatly increased accountability for the realisation of children s rights at the national level. The UNCRC and the ACRWC are the only international and regional human rights treaties that cover the whole spectrum of civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights of children. The UNCRC has been ratified by all of the countries in the world except the United States of America and Somalia, while all member states of the African Union have signed the ACRWC and all but seven have ratified it as of January Article 4 of the UNCRC makes it clear that once a country becomes a State Party to the UNCRC by ratifying it, it has an obligation to put into place the means by which children s rights can be realised. Notwithstanding the commitments of the State Parties to the UNCRC and the ACRWC, translating the vision of children s rights and the principles embodied in the two legal instruments into national policy and practice is far from straightforward. Persistent violations of children s rights across the world highlight the significant gap that exists between legal and political declarations and the reality of children s lives. Children s rights continue to remain low on the national agenda in the face of other competing priorities, and children s concerns tend to be viewed as soft issues confined to sector-specific debates as opposed to being elevated to a national priority. The periodic reporting process to the UN Committee for the Rights of the Child (the UN Committee) is the primary international mechanism for monitoring state obligations under the UNCRC and mobilising civil society to press for change. The ACRWC also provides the same mechanism at the regional level through the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC). The UN Committee and the ACERWC play crucial roles in monitoring the implementation of children s rights. The UN Committee s General Comment Number 5 sets out concrete steps that all governments must take to put in place the infrastructure necessary to implement the UNCRC. These obligations are what are known as the General Measures of Implementation of the UNCRC. In West Africa, Save the Children Sweden (SCS) through its Child Rights Governance Regional Programme initially known as the Child Rights Monitoring Programme has been pushing for 2 Africa Union website, available at < Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 15

16 greater accountability for children s rights, notably by supporting child rights coalitions in engaging with regional and international human rights accountability mechanisms. The overall objective of the SCS CRG regional programme is to push West African states to implement the UNCRC and its optional protocols, the ACRWC, and other international and regional human rights instruments by building the capacity of child rights coalitions at national and regional levels to play their watchdog role and by empowering children to claim their rights. The support given to child rights coalitions to achieve these governance objectives started in After several years of intervention, SCS initiated the present evaluation to assess the impact of the CRG regional programme and to analyse issues that might undermine its sustainability. The purpose of this evaluation is therefore to undertake a results and outcome-oriented evaluation of the SCS CRG regional programme in West Africa. The main focus will be on results achieved during the period 2009 to 2014 as well as the analysis of issues with the potential to undermine the sustainability of the programme. The evaluation is expected to provide SC with the knowledge to further strengthen and develop the CRG regional programme and other regional programmes. The evaluation will identify lessons learned and the evidence of the added value and limitations of the CRG regional programme, and it is expected to feed into the discussion with SCI and its partners and stakeholders on the strengths and weaknesses of working with a regional approach in supporting CRG programmes. 1.2 Methodological approach The CRG regional programme under evaluation consist of a country programme and a regional programme. The country programme is implemented through the child rights coalition in Senegal, while the regional programme is implemented through the respective national coalitions in The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Niger, and Togo and through the regional coalition of child rights coalitions known as the Union of West African Coalitions for Children (UWAC) that currently has members in all 15 of the member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Although the programme covers the 15 countries in West Africa through UWAC, this evaluation focuses only on 10 selected countries. The 10 countries selected with the guidance of SC comprise the six countries with direct interventions under the CRG country and regional programmes, namely Senegal, The Gambia, Togo, Ghana, Guinea, and Niger; three countries where UWAC has supported national coalitions, including Nigeria, Mali, and Guinea-Bissau; and one other country where SCI is implementing a CRG programme funded by SCS, Cote d Ivoire, which also used to be one of the countries with direct interventions under the CRG regional programme but was transferred to the SCI Cote d Ivoire Country Office (SCI CIV CO) in 2010 after the transition to SCI. Due to time and budget constraints, SCS recommended conducting face-to-face interviews in five selected countries (Senegal, Togo, The Gambia, Niger, and Guinea-Bissau) and collecting data online in the five remaining countries (Nigeria, Guinea Conakry, Ghana, Cote d Ivoire, and Mali). Nigeria 16 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

17 and Mali were later replaced by Benin and Cape Verde due to the challenges in getting responses from respondents in those two countries. Face-to-face interviews were finally conducted in Benin and Ghana by one of the consultants who volunteered to travel to those two countries by road to fast track the data collection given the proximity with Togo, where she is currently based. The 10 countries were selected to provide an overview of the key elements to be highlighted in the report: Documentation of children s participation and the influence of proximity to SCI SEN CO in achieving results using The Gambia and Senegal as case studies. Analysis of the complementarity between the CRG regional programme and CP programmes and the impact of distance from SCI SEN CO for M&E using Togo as a case study. Analysis of the impact of emergency situations on the implementation of the CRG regional programme using Guinea Conakry as a case study. Analysis of the impact of the support of UWAC to national coalitions in countries that are not part of the CRG regional programme core countries using Guinea-Bissau, Benin, and Cape Verde as case studies. Analysis of the impact of the support of SC in a country believed to have a high profile as far as child rights is concerned using Ghana as a case study. Analysis of the impact of the CRG regional programme in SCI COs and the link that should be established between the CRG regional programme and other SCI COs using Cote d Ivoire and Niger as case studies. The evaluation is mainly qualitative, and the following methods were used for the data collection: Review of the relevant documentation provided by the SC staff and its partners. The literature included relevant planning documents, SC and partners reports, the Description Report of the Child Rights Monitoring Regional Programme, and other relevant reference documents. Elaboration of the data collection tools, including the semi-structured questionnaires and the focus group discussion (FGD) guide to collect information from children. Elaboration and finalisation of the inception report with the integration of the inputs provided by Ms. Rakeb Messele Aberra, CRG Regional Advisor for West Africa, SCS, and Ms. Ouleye Deme, CRG Specialist, SCI Senegal CO. Face-to-Face interviews and consultation in Dakar, Senegal, with Ms. Susan Grant from the SCI RO and Ms. Ouleye Deme, Ms. Rakeb Aberra, Ms. Anna Barkered, and Ms. Sara Dahl from SCS. Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 17

18 Data collection through face-to-face interviews in Senegal, The Gambia, Togo, Niger, Guinea- Bissau, Ghana, and Benin using semi-structured questionnaires designed for each category of respondents (SC staff, coalition members and staff, state institutions, international institutions, and private sector institutions). Data collection through the semi-structured questionnaires sent by to SCS staff in Sweden involved in CRG programme management; key informants in Cote d Ivoire, Guinea Conakry, and Cape Verde; and key informants with the UN Committee, the ACERWC, and the West Africa Civil Society Forum (WACSOF) of ECOWAS. Data collection through FGDs with children in The Gambia, Niger, and Senegal. Analysis and compilation of all of the data collected and the drafting of the report. In each country, the consultants endeavoured to interview at least two persons from each category, namely, coalition members and staff, government institutions, and international organisations. See the list of respondents in Annex Limits of the evaluation As with most online surveys, the online data collection faced many challenges. Some addresses were no longer in use, and in spite of numerous reminders, some informants never returned their questionnaires. Some people responded but explained that they were unable to fill out the questionnaire given their workload. In Cape Verde, only the coordinator of the child rights coalition sent back her questionnaire. In Guinea Conakry, only the coordinator of the child rights coalition and the Director of the Department of Children s Affairs responded to the questionnaire. All attempts to get responses from other government officials and international institutions proved futile. In Cote d Ivoire, despite all of the reminders, none of the informants from the state institutions returned their questionnaires. The questionnaire was also sent to the members of the UN Committee and the regional body WACSOF, but no one responded despite numerous reminders. This situation limited the sample and diversity of informants targeted by the team of consultants. For those who responded, the poor Internet connection in the region did not allow for further interaction to crosscheck the information provided in the questionnaires. For the face-to-face interviews in the selected countries, the consultants were obliged to rely on the assistance of the coordinators of the national coalitions secretariats and the president of UWAC to select informants and to arrange the interviews. This was due to the fact that the consultants had limited knowledge of the key stakeholders that the coalitions collaborate with and needed to be introduced by the coordinators. In Ghana, some key informants could not be interviewed because the visit coincided with important events coordinated by the national coalition. The visit also coincided with the flood disaster, which killed about 200 people, leading to the cancellation of some key interviews. 18 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

19 In The Gambia, some of the informants had only taken up their positions in the coalition within the past year and therefore had limited knowledge on the work conducted by the coalition prior to Despite these limitations, the in-depth information provided by all of the key respondents from the selected countries and from SC as well as the documentation received from SC and its partners enabled the team of consultants to develop an overview of the impact of the CRG regional programme in general and on issues with the potential to undermine the sustainability of the programme. Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 19

20 20 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

21 II. Programme context and overview 2.1 Programme context Over the last 45 years, the population in West Africa increased from 88 to 290 million people.3 According to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA 2007), Middle Africa (at 2.7%) and Western Africa (at 2.3%) have the two highest population growth rates in the world, and Niger (at 3.3%) has the highest population growth rate of any country in the world. The population of West and Central Africa is young a product of the twin forces of high birth rates and low life expectancy and children under 18 generally comprise about half of the population of each country. Although many of the countries are still predominantly rural, the region is marked by rapid urbanisation such that in around half of the countries a majority of the population now lives in urban areas.4 Countries in West Africa lag far behind in human development, particularly in terms of education, health, access to drinking water, sanitation, and other basic infrastructure services. These persistent social challenges have seriously hampered efforts of the countries within the sub-region to accelerate growth and reduce poverty. Poverty remains the major challenge facing countries in the sub-region, and the incidence of poverty is among the highest in the world. Over a third of the countries within the sub-region are ranked among the poorest in the world.5 However, between the period and the period, most countries in ECOWAS experienced a decrease in their poverty rates. The Gambia experienced the largest decline in terms of percentage point decrease, from 59.2% in to 10.7% in , followed by Guinea, which went from 63.7 in to 42.4% in Mali also experienced a significant decrease, from 70.3% in to 51.5% in In terms of per cent change, The Gambia experienced the largest decrease between the two periods, at 81.9%, followed by Guinea at 33.5% and Togo at 33.3%. Only three countries experienced an increase in the poverty rate between the two periods: Guinea-Bissau, from 48.7% in to 51.9% in (a 6.7% increase); Cote d Ivoire, from 21.6% in to 27.4% in (a 26.6% increase); and Nigeria, from 64.4% in to 67.2% in (a 4.4% increase).6 Several countries in the region have suffered serious political instability or violent conflicts in the past 20 years (including Cote d Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Northern 3 ECOWAS Sahel and West Africa Club (SWAC)/ Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Atlas on Regional Integration in West Africa, Population Series, Migration (August 2006) Page 9, available at < 4 UNICEF Strengthening Social Protection for Children in West and Central Africa (2009) Page 17, available at wcaro_unicef_odi_1_strengthening_social_protection.pdf. 5 Dr. Genevesi Ogiogio, Technical Advisor, NEPAD Agency and Institutional Development Advisor, Pan African Parliament Executive Director, African Centre for Institutional Development Draft Africa Regional Report on the Sustainable Development Goals United Nations Development, Economic and Social Council, African Union, African Development Bank, (October 2013) page 10, available at 6 World Bank Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (ReSAKSS), ECOWAS Millennium Development Goals Targets (2014) available at Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 21

22 Niger, Northern Mali, and the Niger Delta of Nigeria). In 2014, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia were severely hit by the deadly Ebola virus leaving thousands of children orphaned. Poverty, armed conflict, child labour, harmful social practices, and physical, sexual, and other forms of violence contribute to high levels of child vulnerability in the region. Girls across West Africa are subjected to harmful practices such as female genital mutilation and early marriage. In Sierra Leone, 90% of women aged have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting, 62% marry before age 18, and 27% marry before 15 years of age according to UNICEF surveys. Sexual assault and child rape are a serious problem in many West African countries. In Ghana, about 1,000 children are raped each year, three times as many as adults, according to government data. Surveys and studies conducted by International Labour Organizations (ILO) s International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) in 11 out of 15 ECOWAS Member States found that the region has a high number of economically active children as well as those involved in hazardous child labour. These statistics indicate a significant regional problem, with Senegal reporting 36% of its children being economically active with 16% of those being involved in hazardous work, Togo reporting 58.1% economically active children and 53.1% involved in hazardous work, and Niger reporting 50.4% economically active children with 61.8% involved in hazardous work. All countries in West Africa have ratified the UNCRC and ACRWC, but these instruments are not widely known at the national level. Most countries have overdue reports to the UN Committee and other human and child rights mechanisms. Reporting to the ACERWC is still not considered a priority, and resource allocations for children s rights is often low or inefficient. ECOWAS seeks to address the many challenges facing the sub-region through regional mechanisms and economic policies designed to guide the conduct of states and government leaders. ECOWAS has been most active in the elaboration of specific human rights instruments dealing with children such as the Declaration of the Decade of a Culture of the Rights of the Child in West Africa ( ) and the Declaration on Child Soldiers adopted by the region s ministers of foreign affairs in The problem is that these instruments are non-binding declarations and have limited legal value. In 2000, the African heads of state, including those from West African states, committed to halving malaria deaths by 2010, providing financial resources and incentives to access goods and services, and supporting malaria research. The second Abuja Declaration, signed on April 24, 2001, committed African heads of state to allocate at least 15% of their national budgets to health, as well as to mobilize resources for improved access to HIV medications, vaccine research, and prevention programs. The ECOWAS Peer Review in 2002 on the situation of children was the first of its kind to be held in the sub-region, and it sought to translate the active commitments at the highest levels of government into action to improve the situation of children living in the ECOWAS region. Unfortunately, there is no information on what became of the mechanism in subsequent years. According to the African Report on Child Wellbeing 2013, produced by the African Child Policy 22 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

23 Forum (ACPF), African governments have become more child-friendly and more accountable for their children over the last five years. On average, there was an increase of about 11.5% in the childfriendliness scores of African governments between 2008 and Two-fifths of African countries (22 out of 52) have improved their child-friendliness budgeting and improved their rankings since Those countries that achieved the most significant relative improvements were Swaziland, The Gambia, Liberia, Togo, Egypt, and Benin. Other countries with marked improvements in childfriendliness ranking included Lesotho, Guinea-Bissau, Ghana, Guinea, and Sierra Leone, which have all moved 7 12 places up the table to achieve their current rankings. The overall gain by these countries can be attributed to recent efforts in reforming laws and extending legal protection to millions of boys and girls who were actual or potential victims of violence, exploitation, and abuse. Through a combination of social protection, health, and nutrition policies, these states were also able to decrease their numbers of underweight children. They also expanded child immunisation services and access to improved sanitation facilities and safe drinking water sources. Finally, they did all this within the framework of increased general spending on sectors benefiting children Overview of the evolution of the SCS CRG Regional Programme in West Africa SCS interventions in West Africa started in 1977 with support to maternal and child health services in Cape Verde. In the late 1980s, an SCS office was established in Guinea-Bissau where a country programme was built up, first focusing on maternal and child health and later broadened to address other issues and countries in the region. Although SCS support for national child rights coalitions in West Africa started as early as the 1990s, it is only from 2002 that the support was better structured when the RO was transferred to Senegal. SCS s child rights monitoring programme in West Africa developed progressively from 2002 onwards from a quite fragmented child rights promotion project with a few partner organisations in a few countries to a regional child rights governance programme supporting child rights coalitions at both the national and regional levels.8 The national coalitions receiving broad, long-term support from SCS increased from zero in 2002 to seven in 2009 (Senegal, The Gambia, Côte d Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Niger, and Guinea). Up to 2010, coalitions from five other countries (Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Benin, Mali, and Guinea-Bissau) occasionally received support from SCS for various kinds of activities. In 2010, after several failed attempts by the national coalitions to establish a regional coalition, SCS supported the idea of four coalition representatives from Senegal, Niger, Mali, and Benin to build a strong regional platform named UWAC. UWAC, with time, extended its coverage to all 15 West African countries that are members of ECOWAS. SCS thus increased its geographical coverage in the region through UWAC s activities, which include regional capacity building, experience sharing, 7 The African Child Policy Forum (ACPF) The African Report on Child Wellbeing 2013 Towards greater accountability to Africa s children (2013) Executive summary, page xv. 8 Åsa Rapp Baro Regional Programme on Child Rights Monitoring, Description of the Programme for the period of SCS (2015) Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 23

24 and regional advocacy. The current CRG regional programme consists of a country programme and a regional programme. The country programme is implemented through the child rights coalition in Senegal, while the regional programme is implemented through the national coalitions in The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Niger, and Togo and through UWAC. The SCS CRG regional programme, which was earlier named A Civil Society for the Rights of the Child and Human Rights, originally consisted of three projects: West Africa Child Rights Monitoring, West Africa Stronger Partner Organisations, and West Africa Child Rights Mainstreaming. From 2012, the projects were merged into one: West Africa Child Rights Monitoring. The focus of all projects was on supporting civil society organizations (CSOs) working for children to become stronger child rights actors holding states accountable for their commitments to respect, protect, and fulfil children s rights. The overall programme goal is to strengthen the child rights movement in West Africa, including children s own organizations, in claiming their rights at both the national and regional levels. Child Rights Governance is one of the six priority areas of the Save the Children Strategy for and is one of the two SCS priority areas.9 Considering the complexity of CRG concerns in the region and the limited funding opportunities for the CRG programme in general, SCS believes that taking a regional approach and working through the coalitions is the most strategic and cost-efficient way to have greater impact on the realization of child rights in the region. The regional approach has enabled SCS to have greater impact in at least six countries with direct interventions through the technical and OCD support of national coalitions and through indirect support to the remaining countries within the region through the Regional Coalition, UWAC. The programme not only allows SCS to support national coalitions in holding their respective governments accountable to the commitments they made towards the realization of child rights, but it also helps develop the capacity of national coalitions to become a strong voice for children in the long term and to ensure the sustainability of future interventions. Furthermore, the CRG regional programme helps develop and maintain strategic partnerships with regional and continental structures such as ECOWAS and the ACERWC for more effective and strategic advocacy. Moreover, the regional programme facilitates the sharing, learning, and exchange of knowledge between national coalitions and their member organizations and helps them to capitalize on this knowledge, to document promising practices, and to build evidence for the impact of various interventions.10 From 2002 to 2009, the Child Rights Monitoring regional programme, currently known as the CRG regional programme, was managed by the SCS RO based in Senegal. From 2010, the management of the CRG regional programme was transferred in a phased manner to the SCS Senegal country programme in preparation for the transition to SCI. CRG projects in Senegal and Cote d Ivoire that were initially part of the regional programme became country programmes under the management of the Senegal CO and the Cote d Ivoire CO. The five remaining core countries (Togo, The Gambia, 9 Save the Children WAF Child Rights Governance, Regional Programme Document Template Åsa Rapp Baro (2015) and the interviews with SCS and SCI staff. 24 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

25 Niger, Ghana, and Guinea) remained part of the regional programme. After the unification process, the full management of the CRG regional programme and the Senegal country programme were transferred to the SCI Senegal Country Office (SCI SEN CO) in mid-2012, and the Cote d Ivoire country programme was transferred to the SCI Cote d Ivoire Country Office (SCI CIV CO). 2.3 Overview of programme objectives, expected results, and indicators over the period The CRG regional programme as implemented during the period was guided by a planning document elaborated upon during the period , and later extended to 2012, and a second planning document for the period An analysis of the objectives and expected results for the two periods reveal similarities, which could be explained by the fact that the CRG regional programme cannot yield tangible results in the short term. In the Thematic Programme Plan West Africa Child Rights Monitoring , the programme comprised the following two projects and their overall goals: Child Rights Monitoring: By 2012, West African states will increasingly apply the UNCRC, the ACRWC, and other regional and international human rights instruments, while CSOs will play an active role in holding the governments accountable and empowering children to claim their rights. Organizational Capacity Building: There will be a strengthened child rights movement in West Africa in which SCS partner organizations, including children s own organisations, will play leading roles in claiming children s rights at both the national and regional levels. In the planning document , the interventions were divided into three sub-themes building on the Save the Children CRG strategy Sub-theme 1: Child rights monitoring Sub-theme 2: Building awareness and capacity Sub-theme 3: Child rights and business11 The main activities supported in both planning documents to achieve the expected results included: Capacity building of the coalitions Institutional support and OCD Support for child rights capacity building and advocacy activities at the national level Support for UWAC s regional exchange and advocacy initiatives 11 Sida-SC Results Framework, Country programme and regional programme Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 25

26 Overview of CRG regional programme coverage Summary of countries in which the SCS child rights regional programme 12 had interventions in West Africa from 2002 to 2014 Country where the regional programme had a partner coalition since Country where the regional programme had a long-term partner coalition Country where the regional programme provided ad hoc support for a coalition s activities 12 Child Rights regional programme refers to both Child Rights Monitoring Programme from , and CRG regional programme from Note: the partnership could have started in 2002 but may have not lasted for various reasons. 26 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

27 Summary of the objectives for the two planning periods as presented in the logframes Objectives for and expected results Expected outcomes and results for Sub-theme: Child rights monitoring Objective 1: Outcome 1: By 2012, at least six West African states are on track with their UNCRC and ACRWC reporting and are implementing plans of action based on the Concluding Observations from the UNCRC and ACRWC monitoring committees. Increased awareness and capacity among civil society and children s groups in West Africa to influence selected states and relevant regional institutions to comply with legal child rights instruments and to hold them accountable for their implementation by 2015, including in emergency situations. Expected results: State reports on the UNCRC and its optional protocols and the ACRWC have been submitted to child rights monitoring committees. National committees and mechanisms for child rights monitoring are functional in four countries (Guinea, The Gambia, Niger, and Senegal) Expected Results (Country Annual Plan): Effective legislative reforms and consequent provisions for improving child rights are enacted according to international legal instruments in Togo, Guinea, Niger, Ghana, and The Gambia. Regional institutions such as ECOWAS, Economic and Monetary Union of West Africa, and the African Union have in a systematic way introduced child rights issues in their political documents. Regional bodies are successfully supporting the advocacy initiatives of child rights coalitions. Functional national coordination mechanisms for child rights monitoring are set up in selected countries. Indicators The number of new laws and/or legal reforms that are adopted by the selected countries. The provisions that are efficiently provided for child rights implementation in selected countries. The decisions taken by regional bodies aiming to promote and to protect children s rights. The number of CSO contributions that are considered by decision makers at the national and regional levels. The number of national child rights monitoring mechanisms that are operational in different countries in West Africa. The measures taken by the Mali Government to protect children from exploitation Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 27

28 Objective 2: Outcome 2: Child rights coalitions in eight countries have strengthened their thematic and organizational capacity and actively monitor and advocate for the implementation of the UNCRC, ACRWC, and other human rights instruments. Strengthened thematic and organizational capacity of national coalitions and UWAC to actively monitor and advocate for the implementation recommendations of the UNCRC, ACERWC, UPR, and other relevant legal instruments. Expected Results: Alternative UNCRC and ACRWC reports are produced in all countries where state reports are submitted Advocacy plans based on concluding observations are being implemented by national coalitions supported by SCS National coalitions successfully push states to ratify and report on two optional protocols Increased regional networking and joint advocacy towards ECOWAS through UWAC The national coalition partners participate in the process of elaboration of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and are involved in the monitoring of its recommendations CSOs increasingly work at influencing budgets Expected Results: Children are actively involved in all of the planning, monitoring, and reporting processes of the institutional and social actors Selected national child rights coalitions have submitted their complementary reports in a timely fashion and monitored the implementation of the related recommendations Optional Protocol 3 of the UNCRC is ratified by all of the selected countries Children s rights are progressively reflected in selected governments and regional bodies political documents, budgets, and programmes thanks to the initiatives of child rights coalitions Indicators: Testimonies of children on their participation in the reporting process The number of alternative reports produced The number of state ratifications of CRC Optional Protocol 3 The number of child-friendly programmes and projects designed and implemented by local governments Objective 3: Children participate in an ethical and meaningful way in the UNCRC and ACRWC monitoring and advocacy work of child rights coalitions supported by SCS Expected Results: Child-led organizations are stronger and more involved in the work of national coalitions supported by SCS Children develop and implement their own advocacy activities 28 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

29 Sub-theme: Building awareness and capacity Outcome 3 Strong coalitions and a regional platform with improved institutional, organizational, and governance standards and practices for child rights fulfilment in selected countries and at the regional level are in place by 2015 Expected Results: National child rights coalitions have increased their knowledge in communication, advocacy, and child rights monitoring National coalitions have progressively improved their governance system UWAC has progressively become the regional reference platform for the advancement of child rights Indicators The number of strategic exchange meetings/workshops organized by UWAC A Personnel Policy and Procedures Manual is in place for national coalitions and for UWAC The staff play their full role Member organizations activities are better coordinated Sub-theme: Child Rights and Business Outcome 4 Increased awareness among companies in the private sector about their responsibility to protect and promote children s rights Expected Results (Country Action Plan) Increased knowledge by companies staff on child rights and child issues in the selected countries Staff from CSOs have increased their knowledge on Child Rights and Business Principles and successfully advocate for children s rights to be respected The identified companies support national coalitions to carry out their activity plan Indicators Decisions/measures taken by identified companies to protect and promote children s rights Product packaging is used to disseminate information about child rights Companies participate in the advocacy work of national child rights coalitions Joint activities between companies and national coalitions promote children s rights Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 29

30 30 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

31 III. Main findings of the evaluation 3.1 Impact of the work of child rights coalitions The impact of coalitions work is divided in two parts: direct impact and indirect impact. The direct impact relates to achievements obtained through the funding of SCS or joint funding with other financial partners. The indirect impact refers to programmes or activities implemented by child rights coalitions with funding from other financial partners. The analysis is based on the objectives targeted for the two planning periods. The structure follows the objectives according to the sub-themes outlined above for the planning period Direct impact of SCS technical and financial support to child rights coalitions at the national and regional levels Sub-theme: Child rights monitoring To achieve the objectives defined for the period , SCS supported various activities aiming at building the capacity of the national and regional child rights coalitions in the implementation and monitoring of the UNCRC and ACRWC and to improve the coalitions use of monitoring mechanisms in child rights programming, advocacy, and child rights and business. SCS provided OCD and institutional support so the coalitions could fulfil their role as watchdogs and become better performing national and regional coalitions in West Africa. In addition to building the capacity of the national and regional child rights coalitions, SCS funded various activities related to monitoring the child rights situation, advocating for the implementation of the General Measures of Implementation14, raising awareness of children s rights, and enhancing child participation at the national and regional levels. At the regional level, SCS facilitated networking and the exchange of experience as well as regional advocacy initiatives carried out by UWAC. This evaluation has noted the following impact resulting from SC support Increased willingness of State Parties to submit reports to the UN Committee, ACERWC, and the Human Rights Council The UNCRC and ACRWC reporting mechanisms serve as an important basis for action on addressing the imbalance between state obligations on paper and implementation in practice with regard to children s rights. The reporting process begins with the development of the state report. For the UNCRC, the initial report is due two years after the UNCRC enters into force in the country, 14 The General Measures of Implementation also known as GMIs are set out by the UNCRC and are considered as the pre-requisites for the realization of children s rights. They are about 11 and one of the sub-themes of the CRG programme focuses on the realization of the GMIs. Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 31

32 which occurs 30 days after ratification. Thereafter, periodic reports are due every five years. For the ACRWC, the initial report is submitted two years after ratification, and the periodic reports are submitted every three years. Upon receipt, the UN Committee/ACERWC will set a date for consideration of the state report at the next available session. If the state does not submit its report on time, the UN Committee or ACERWC sends a reminder. The state report should provide the committees with a comprehensive review of the child rights situation in the country and should cover legislative, administrative, judicial, and any other measures undertaken to implement the UNCRC/ACRWC, and this should be backed up with detailed disaggregated data. States must also report on how they have responded to the UN Committee s recommendations from the previous reporting session. More recently, the UPR process facilitated by the UN Human Rights Council has provided an additional accountability mechanism that can be used to hold national governments to account for their performance in promoting and protecting children s rights. SC engagement in the UPR began with the first cycle in 2008, and this is now an integral part of SCS s child rights monitoring strategy. The UPR peer-review by the international community has proven to be a powerful tool to hold states accountable for their human rights records.15 The reports and interviews that were part of this evaluation revealed that the trainings and sensitization workshops organized by the coalitions targeting government officials at central and decentralized levels have contributed to enhancing the officials understanding of the content and relevance of the UNCRC and the ACRWC as well as their monitoring mechanisms. The trainings have also improved the officials understanding of their role as a state and the importance of respecting their commitments. Although the countries in West Africa delayed submitting their periodic reports to the UN Committee and the initial reports to the ACERWC, this evaluation has noted a growing interest by the states in fulfilling their commitments. The tables of submission or consideration of state reports below show an overview of trends regarding the submission and consideration of state reports to the UN Committee, the ACERWC, and the Human Rights Council and the ratification of the UNCRC protocols. 15 Save the Children Universal Periodic Review, Successful Examples of Child Rights Advocacy Child Rights Governance (2014) 32 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

33 Submission of state reports to the UN Committee over the period Country Date of ratification of the UNCRC Date of submission of the initial report Date of submission of the 2nd periodic report 17 Date of subsequent periodic reports Core countries under the CRG regional programme and SEN CRG country programme The Gambia 8/08/ /11/ nd and 3 rd report 28/10/2011 Combined 4 th to 7 th reports due by 6/03/2021 Ghana 5/02/ /11/ /03/ rd 5 th reports submitted on 24/05/2012 Guinea 13/07/ /11/ /12/2009 Due on 01/09/2017 Niger 30/09/ /12/ /11/ 2007 Was not submitted during the evaluation period. 18 Senegal 31/07/ /09/ /02/ /04/2013 Togo 1/08/ /02/1996 6/01/ rd and 4 th reports submitted on 17/01/2011 SCI CIV CRG country programme Cote d Ivoire 4/02/ /01/1999 Due since 05/03/1998 Not submitted yet Countries covered by UWAC Benin 3/08/ /01/ /04/2005 Submitted on 29/07/2013 Cape Verde 4/06/1992 Due since 3/07/1999 Not yet Not yet Guinea-Bissau 20/08/ /09/ nd 4 th reports submitted on 11/12/ th and 6 th reports due on 18/03/ OHCHR website, available at < 17 The UN Committee refers to it as the 2nd periodic report, whereas the ACERWC refers to it as the 1st periodic report. 18 Submitted on 13/08/2015 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 33

34 Status of ratification of the UNCRC optional protocols and the submission of state reports Country Date of ratification of the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (OP1) 19 Date of submission of the initial report Date of ratification of the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography (OP2) 20 Date of submission of the initial report The Gambia Signed 21/12/2000-8/04/2010 Due since 08/04/2012 Ghana 09/12/2014 Not applicable yet Signed 24/09/2003 Not applicable. Guinea Not yet - 16/11/2011 Due since 15/12/2013 Niger 13/03/2012 Due since 13/03/2014 Senegal 3/03/2004 Due since 03/04/2006 Togo 28/11/2005 Due since 28/12/2007 Cote d Ivoire 12/03/2012 Due since 12/03/2014 Benin 31/01/2005 Due since 28/02/2007 Cape Verde 10/05/2002 Due since 10/06/ /10/2004 Submitted on 13/08/2015 5/11/2003 Due since 05/12/2005 2/07/2004 Submitted on 03/03/ /09/2011 Due since 19/10/ /01/2005 Due since 28/02/ /05/2002 Due since 10/06/2004 Guinea-Bissau 24/09/2014 Not applicable yet 1/11/2010 Due since 01/12/ OHCHR website 20 OHCHR website 34 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

35 Submission of initial reports to the ACERWC Country Date of ratification of the ACRWC Initial date for submission of the initial report Date of actual submission Date for periodic reports Core countries under the CRG regional programme and SEN CRG country programme The Gambia 14/12/ /11/2003 Not yet 29/11/2006 Ghana 10/06/ /07/2007 November /07/2010 Guinea 27/05/ /01/ /01/2005 Niger 11/12/ /11/ /11/2006 Senegal 29/09/ /11/ /11/2006 Togo 05/05/ /11/ /11/2006 SCI Cote d Ivoire country programme Cote d Ivoire 01/03/ /06/2009 Not yet 18/06/2012 Countries covered by UWAC Benin /11/2003 Not yet 29/11/2006 Cape Verde 20/07/ /11/ /11/2006 Guinea-Bissau 19/06/ /10/ /10/2013 Consideration of state reports to UPR Country Date of consideration 1 st cycle Date of consideration 2 nd cycle Core countries under the CRG regional programme and SEN CRG country programme The Gambia 10/02/ /10/2014 Ghana 5/05/ /10/2012 Guinea 4/05/ /01/2015 Niger 01/02/2011 Due on 26/10/2015 Senegal 6/02/ /10/2013 Togo 6/10/2011 Due on 25/07/2016 SCI CIV country programme Cote d Ivoire 03/12/ /04/2014 Countries covered by UWAC Benin 7/05/ /10/2012 Cape Verde 10/12/ /04/2013 Guinea-Bissau 7/05/ /01/2015 Source: Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 35

36 An analysis of the table shows that over the period , six countries under evaluation submitted their periodic reports to the UN Committee (The Gambia and Togo in 2011, Ghana in 2014, Guinea in 2012, Guinea-Bissau in 2009, and Senegal in 2013). Ghana ratified the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict to the UNCRC (OP1) in Niger and Guinea are the only countries among the CRG regional programme core countries that have not yet ratified OP1. The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau ratified the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography (OP2) in 2010, and Guinea and Cote d Ivoire ratified it in Ghana is the only country that has signed but not yet ratified OP2. Togo is the only country that has submitted its initial report on OP2 during this period. Furthermore, six countries submitted their initial reports to the ACEWRC (Senegal in 2009, Togo in 2010, Guinea in 2013, and Ghana, Cape Verde, and Guinea-Bissau in 2014). For the UPR, seven countries submitted their reports for the first cycle within the period and seven within the period This shows that despite the long delays, the states in West Africa are progressively respecting their commitment to the human and child rights monitoring mechanisms. As highlighted in the table, the UPR process has contributed to increased accountability. According to the African Child Policy Forum (ACPF) s The African Report on Child Wellbeing , a most encouraging development in Africa is the effort exerted to ensure follow up and monitoring of the implementation of government policies on children. All African countries have a National Plan of Action for Children and a coordinating body for children in the form of a government department, and some also have an independent child rights body (as in Kenya, for example). Among their many obligations, these coordinating bodies are responsible for ensuring timely and substantive periodic reporting to the ACERWC and the UN Committee and for keeping both bodies up to date on progress in implementing the ACRWC and the UNCRC. While all African countries have reported at least once to the UN Committee, only 16 have submitted reports to the ACERWC. Although there is still a long way to go, it is important to note that the CRG regional programme and the coalitions have undeniably contributed to the improved reporting and ratification of legal instruments relating to child protection by governments in West Africa. In order to ensure that the CRG regional programme continues to yield more fruits, SC needs to continue to support child rights coalitions to further improve their advocacy strategies in order to exert more pressure on their states to submit their reports on time. The fact that there are still delays in the submission of government reports means that in some countries, like Cote d Ivoire, The Gambia, and Benin, coalitions still face some challenges in pressuring their respective governments. Among the countries under evaluation, the case of Cote d Ivoire is particularly worrisome because it has had overdue reports to the UN Committee since 1998, and it has never submitted its initial reports to the ACRWC, which were due since The Gambia and Benin also have overdue initial reports to the ACERWC. Accord- 21 ACPF (2013) p Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

37 ing to respondents from state institutions and international organizations in the countries targeted under this evaluation, child rights coalitions need to go beyond trainings and must engage their states through dialogue to respect their commitments. In 2014, UWAC and ACERWC conducted joint advocacy visits to Ghana and Cape Verde to encourage the State Parties to submit their initial reports to the ACERWC. The outcomes of these visits were positive and demonstrated that the national coalitions and UWAC are capable of finding strategies to compel their respective governments to submit their reports on time Increased capacity to mobilize child rights CSOs and to submit complementary reports The UNCRC and ACRWC specifically allow for reports from other competent bodies or nonstate actors, including NGOs and children s groups, in order to gain a more detailed understanding of child rights in the country. These reports help to fill in the gaps in the state report and to clarify misleading or incorrect information. They also provide other perspectives that might assist the UN Committee in understanding the climate of rights enjoyment, including both resistances and obstacles as well as forces for change. Alternative/complementary reports should be submitted within six months of the state report and three months prior to the pre-session (a closed session where the civil society presents its reports) to ensure that they are taken into account and translated. Given the fact that the UN Committee and ACEWRC have a lot of countries to cover and are pressed for time, they appreciate receiving complementary reports prepared by a coalition or group of NGOs who represent different areas of expertise and regions in the country, and this is another added value of child rights coalitions. The NGO report is an opportunity to include children s voices in the reporting process, and this is a stimulus for the creation of coalitions of NGOs that can engage in processes of change, and, if necessary, raise concerns and make recommendations at the international level.22 According to the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, most child rights coalitions generally emerged in response to the need for an alternative/complementary report to the UN Committee that offers a different perspective on the state of children s rights compared to that given by the government.23 Over the period , SCS built on the outcome of the previous years to further strengthen the capacity of child rights coalitions in terms of child rights monitoring, child rights programming, advocacy, and the role of coalitions through UWAC. The training organized once a year by UWAC enhanced the understanding and expertise of the child rights coalitions at the national level and encouraged them to mobilize their members at the grassroots level, including children, to write, submit, and present complementary reports to the UN Committee and the ACERWC. With SCS support, UWAC drafted and distributed in 2014 a guide (in French) for child rights coalitions on the preparation and submission of complementary reports and how to follow 22 Save the Children UK Reporting to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child A Starter Pack for Country Programmes (2007) available at <resourcecentre.savethechildren.se/sites/default/files/documents/3460.pdf> 23 NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child Networking for Children s Rights- A Guide for NGOs page 3, available at < Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 37

38 up on the recommendations. UWAC also facilitated the exchange of experience between the coalitions to enable them to gain practical knowledge from one another. For instance, during a workshop CONAFE-Senegal and CONIDE shared their experiences in preparing and submitting complementary reports to the UN Committee, ACERWC, and the Human Rights Council, and they supported COLTE in its child rights monitoring endeavour. In Senegal, The Gambia, Togo, and Niger, children were consulted and were given the opportunity to take part in the elaboration of the complementary reports. The coalition also ensured that children took part in the presentation of the complementary reports (see below for more information on child participation). Respondents from state institutions and international organisations lauded the expertise developed by child rights coalitions in elaborating their complementary reports thanks to SCS support. According to respondents from the ACERWC, they noted that in countries where there are child rights coalitions, the complementary reports were prepared in a participatory manner and clearly pointed out the inconsistencies in the state report. They also observed that the reports were submitted in a more efficient way. Complementary reports of child rights coalitions help crosscheck information provided by the states. They help the Committee see the gaps in the implementation of child rights. Ms. Sidikou Aissata, Chairperson of the ACEWRC. I have received direct feedback from a member of the Committee in Geneva that our work with the coalitions on the reporting is highly appreciated because they get one report, with good information to discuss, instead of a number of reports that are sometimes contradictory to the information from different NGOs. Anniken Elisson-Tyden, International Programme Director, SCS 38 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

39 Overview of the submission of complementary reports to the different mechanisms by the national coalitions during Country UNCRC Periodic report ACRWC initial report UPR report Core countries under CRG regional programme and SEN CRG country programme The Gambia February nd and 3 rd periodic reports No 2014 Ghana 2014 Combined 3 rd 5 th periodic reports No No Guinea In 2012 No Niger No 2009 No Senegal 2012 Yes 2014 Togo rd and 4 th periodic reports No No SCI CIV country programme Cote d Ivoire No No 2014 Benin Countries covered by UWAC 2 nd periodic report on 01/03/2005 No 2012 Cape Verde No No No Guinea-Bissau 2011 No No Despite the increased capacity developed by child rights coalitions in the mobilization and elaboration of complementary reports, the ACERWC pointed out the fact that most of the CSO reports do not highlight their contributions and advocacy initiatives towards their government and do not include concrete recommendations that the Committee should forward to the respective State Parties. Even though complementary reports tend to provide extensive and detailed information on a couple of issues, which are usually overlooked by the government, they fail to adopt a systematic approach that provides a wide-ranging, holistic, and comprehensive outlook. The complementary reports therefore need to be improved by providing detailed information about the problems as well as solutions and advice on measures to be undertaken in order to inform and advise human and child rights committees. The ACERWC also highlighted the fact that the delegations representing child rights coalitions at the pre-session were often few in number and with limited technical capacity, which often prevented the representatives from addressing the Committee s queries fully and satisfactorily. The pre-session meeting is a private and confidential meeting during which the Committee conducts a preliminary review of the report submitted by the State Party and examines reports from other sources, including Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 39

40 Increased participation by children The right of children to express their views and to be listened to is internationally recognised in both Article 12 of the UNCRC and Article 7 of the ACRWC. However, in the African context there is still the difficulty of reconciling treaty-based notions of child participation with traditional attitudes that require children to respect adults and often be passive listeners. In other words, children are expected to be seen and not heard. However, the right of children to participate is a fundamental component of respecting them as holders of their own rights, and being able to influence decisions that affect an individual is one of the defining characteristics of human rights principles. When it comes to designing opportunities for children to participate, conditions need to be adjusted in accordance with the child s age and maturity. The basic principle for children s participation is that children should not be pressured, constrained, or influenced in ways that might prevent them from freely expressing their opinions or might leave them feeling manipulated. Effective and meaningful participation depends on many factors, including the child s developing capabilities, the openness of parents and other adults to dialogue, and safe spaces. During the period , the CRG regional programme contributed to strengthening the understanding of the members of child rights coalitions on the importance and added value of child participation. The training workshops not only equipped child rights coalitions to meaningfully involve children in their organisational structures and in the data collection and elaboration of complementary reports, but also to raise awareness among the general population and state institutions on the added value of child participation. With the deepened understanding of the importance of children s participation, child rights coalitions were able to create safe spaces for children to take part in the elaboration process of the complementary reports on the UNCRC, the ACRWC, and the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography (only in Togo) that were submitted by coalitions in Niger, Guinea, Togo, Senegal, and The Gambia. In all cases, it was the first time children participated actively in the UNCRC and ACRWC complementary reporting process. Beyond involving children in the complementary reporting processes, CONAFE in Senegal, CPA in The Gambia, and UWAC have also created space for children to be represented on their boards. Child rights coalitions in Senegal and The Gambia in particular have invested in training and coaching children to understand their rights as spelled out in the UNCRC and ACRWC, to understand the monitoring mechanism, and to understand the role of child participation and advocacy. However, children are still not invited to become members of the board in other countries such as Togo and Niger. CONIDE in Niger argues that Niger s legislation does not allow 40 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

41 children under 18 to be part of the coalition and that they do not want children to bear the risk related to advocacy and perhaps possible repression related to advocacy work. According to the children who took part in the FGDs in Senegal and The Gambia, the capacity building provided by child rights coalitions has increased their communication skills as well as their ability to speak out and advocate for the implementation of children s rights. The trainings have also enabled them to make their families understand the importance and benefits of children s rights. In terms of best practices, CONAFE and CPA are recognized in the region as role models for child participation. As a result of their enhanced capacity to facilitate child participation, the coalitions in Togo, Ghana, and Niger were approached by Plan International in their respective countries to establish national child rights councils and children s panels. The child rights coalitions used the support from Plan International to further create space for children to express their views and to participate in the decision-making processes that affect them. However, despite the progress that has been made to ensure that children enjoy their right to be heard and to participate in decisions affecting their lives, the UN Committee, in the concluding observations of most countries in West Africa, remains concerned that the principle of respect for the views of the child is not clearly expressed in most of State Parties legal frameworks. The UN Committee is also concerned about traditional societal attitudes that prevent children from freely expressing their views within their families, schools, and communities as well as during judicial and administrative proceedings. Children who took part in the FGDs in Senegal and Niger highlighted the fact that their message and advocacy efforts are still downplayed by some actors such as the members of parliament who applaud children and make pledges but never fulfil their promises. It seems like Members of Parliament don t believe us; therefore, next time we should bring videos that expose the issues we are talking about. Aissata, a 13-year-old activist and member of a children s club working with AVDEC, a local community-based organization (CBO) and member of CONAFE Senegal. The same situation prevails in my neighbourhood. We asked for tools to clean our streets and the mayor promised to provide them, but he never did. Ismaila, a 13-year-old activist and member of a children s club working with AVDEC, a local CBO and member of CONAFE Senegal. Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 41

42 According to children interviewed during the FGD, there are times when their right to participation affects their right to education because they miss classes to take part in various events and activities. However, according to children in The Gambia, this is the price they have to pay to have their rights respected. Thus child rights coalitions and the CRG regional programme need to explore other ways to get children s views and to ensure that their participation does not affect their education. Child participation does not always imply physical presence, and it can often be sufficient to ensure that they are consulted and that their views are taken into consideration. It might be worthwhile to explore other methods of ensuring children s meaningful participation using new information and communication technologies. Children also noted during the FGDs that they are not always provided with child-friendly materials for in-depth analysis of issues faced by children across the country before attending important meetings at national and international levels. Selection of children to take part in international meetings and regional meetings is not always done by children themselves. According to CPA coordinators, children are sometimes selected by the Coalition when there is insufficient time to communicate important information to the executive members of the children s group. It is important that children should always be provided with relevant information prior to any meetings, and representatives selected by the children s group should work with the group to gather information in order to adequately represent the voice of all the children. A greater interaction between urban and rural children should also be strengthened to enable children in the urban areas who are often selected to attend international conferences to have a better understanding of the situation of children in the rural areas. Children s advocacy initiatives should be integrated into the advocacy plans of the coalitions so that they will have a greater impact. At the moment, children s advocacy initiatives are often ad hoc in relation to different events and opportunities and fail to be well planned and integrated in the programming cycle. Children s involvement in advocacy initiatives should be documented in order to see how their contributions are taken into consideration, and assessment of the impact of children s involvement in the elaboration and presentation of complementary reports should be further explored. Because the UN Committee also welcomes complementary reports from child-led groups, SC can support child rights coalitions in the future to assist children in elaborating their own complementary reports. Despite the great strides made by child rights coalitions to promote and make child participation a reality, SC should continue to equip child rights coalitions with the various manuals produced by SC to ensure meaningful child participation. 42 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

43 Child participation best practices with CRG regional programme support Voice of the Young in The Gambia The Voice of the Young is a child-led advocacy group established by the CPA in October The group is recognized by all stakeholders in The Gambia as the mouthpiece for children. In the rural areas, the Voice Clubs are only active in schools. In the capital city of Greater Banjul, the membership is open to all children, including those out of school. Any child in The Gambia can apply to be a member of the Voice of the Young at any time. Currently, there are no members who are differently abled. The group often organises activities with different institutions dealing with vulnerable children such as orphanages during which children are encouraged to become members. The membership of the group in the capital city is currently 123 children aged 10 to 18 years. The age range of the majority of the members is years. The CPA has supported the group in establishing its governance structure, which includes a general assembly that makes decisions for the group and meets once a month and an executive committee that meets twice a month. The president of the executive committee represents the group on the board of the CPA. The CPA has put youth coordinators at the disposal of the members of the Voice of the Young to help them build their capacity, guide them, and provide them with all the necessary assistance to exercise their rights. The group conducts media programmes to raise awareness on the plight of children in The Gambia, it builds the capacity of other children in terms of life skills, advocacy, and child rights promotion and protection, and it engages policy makers, politicians, and other duty bearers in dialogue for greater respect and realisation of the rights of children. They also take part and provide input in the drafting process of the complementary reports. When there is an international meeting to attend, they are provided with relevant information and they select their representative after consultation with the members of the executive committee. The preparation for the international meetings is done with the youth coordinators or the national coordinator of the CPA. According to the children who took part in the FGD, the support from SC helps them to plan important activities such as the Bantabas where all children meet and agree on the major activities that will be carried out over the year. They feel that their involvement with the Voice of the Young has helped them to make their parents understand the importance of respecting their rights and has helped them to increase their capacity to speak out and advocate for the implementation of children s rights. Most of the participants have been able to build a better relationship with their parents as a Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 43

44 result of taking part in activities organized by the Voice of the Young. It has also helped them to be more focused and excel at school. Moreover, most of those who join the group with a timid character end up developing their leadership and public speaking skills. Although they feel that their participation often conflicts with their education, they believe this is the price to pay for children s rights to be prioritized on the national agenda. The children shared that the CPA consults them and involves them in decisions that concern them. The participation of the president of the group on the CPA board keeps the group abreast of activities implemented by the CPA. They have been involved in the drafting process of the complementary reports and state reports and have joined the civil society delegation24 to present the reports in Geneva. Most of the former members of the Voice of the Young who are now adults have gotten good jobs, and those who are still in The Gambia are serving as mentors for the new young members. CONAFE in Senegal With support from SCS, CONAFE has built the capacities of children to advocate for their rights, to hold local leaders accountable, and to create public pressure on local authorities for putting child protection, education, and wellbeing in their local action plans and budgets. CONAFE built on initial child rights participation projects to strengthen children s leadership at the local level by assisting member organisations to create space for children to express themselves at the grassroots levels. To ensure that all children have the opportunity to participate, CONAFE and its member organisations have helped the children to put in place a mechanism whereby they work Child consultation in the preparation of the pre-session in June 2015 in Geneva. together to provide input in all 25 decision-making processes. At the national level, all 14 regions of Senegal are represented by two children from each region. These 28 children form the caucus that compiles data collected by children in the different regions. For the elaboration of complementary reports, children choose the questions for the interviews and choose 24 There are usually different groups of NGOs that submit complementary reports. In the case of The Gambia, there were three complementary reports on the UNCRC. 25 Photos curtesy of CONAFE, Senegal 44 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

45 the respondents, they lead the interviews, they take notes, and they write their own summary for each region. The summaries from all regions constitute the national report that is edited and published by CONAFE as part of its national complementary report on the status of child rights and child protection in Senegal. During the parliamentary and local elections in Senegal in 2014, children used their report and critically engaged the local candidates on child protection and wellbeing issues. Children from district associations played key roles in changing attitudes and behaviours of adults and families towards children, but also in including child budgeting debates in local forums and in interactions with candidates Children s messages to candidates during the local elections of 2014 in Senegal. during the local elections. As a result of the latter endeavour, some candidates made public commitments that if elected they would take measures to address some of the child rights issues in their communities. Annual dialogue mechanisms have been put in place by CONAFE to allow children and local municipality councillors to discuss child rights issues. The success of CONAFE in facilitating children s participation can be explained by the fact that it built on previous child participation initiatives such as a children s parliament and support for children who were active in child-led groups. Some of the children who were members of the child parliament have become members of the national assembly, while other are now working with CONAFE. One of those children is now the lead finance officer of the CONAFE national office in Dakar. Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 45

46 Follow up on concluding observations and recommendations a) Contribution to national advocacy initiatives The concluding observations of the UN Committee is the outcome document of the reporting process under the UNCRC. Following the thematic structure of the state report, the UN Committee highlights positive aspects and concerns and forwards its recommendations. The concluding observations help the State Parties to set an agenda for action over the coming five years until the next report is due. Similarly, recommendations and/or concluding observations are issued at the end of both the UPR and ACRWC reporting processes. Child rights coalitions have an important role to play in ensuring that the recommendations and/or concluding observations are advocated for and implemented by their respective governments. Interviews with respondents highlighted the fact that child rights coalitions have contributed to disseminating the concluding observations and have developed advocacy plans to press State Parties to take the necessary actions to implement them. Their contribution to advocacy initiatives has led to legislative and legal reforms recommended by the UN Committee and other monitoring mechanisms. Advocacy activities or contributions to other advocacy initiatives of child rights coalitions have produced the following results: In Togo, thanks to the advocacy of the child rights coalition FODDET, the Minister of Social Welfare has agreed to establish a Conseil National de l Enfant (CNE) as a national coordination mechanism for children s issues, which has been one of the recommendations of the UN Committee and was a provision in the Children s Act adopted in The Ministry has elaborated upon this with the help of FODDET to draft the decree, which is yet to be adopted. According to the Director of the Child Protection Department, FODDET should follow up and continue the advocacy for the decree to be adopted and to make the CNE a reality. In The Gambia, the CPA has played a key role in supporting the Government of Gambia in reviewing its child protection system, in conducting a mapping of child protection services, and in adopting a comprehensive child protection system with a plan of action in 2013 and According to the Director of the Department of Social Welfare, the CPA has played an important role in the whole process. The CPA has also lobbied for the state to establish a Children s Department, which has been approved by the President. However, the Children s Department is not yet operational, and the CPA is following up on this. According to ACPF s African Report on Child Wellbeing , between 2005 and 2011 The Gambia increased health spending by about 92% and education spending by about 95%, and the government s financial contribution to the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) increased by about 67%. This increased 26 This was also a result of advocacy work under the regional programme ( ), see Åsa Rapp Baro (2015) 27 ACPF (2013) page Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

47 spending achieved impressive results in terms of reducing infant mortality (to 58 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2011 from 97 deaths in 2005), expanding immunisation coverage by 7% (from 84% to 91%), and increasing access to improved sanitation and safe drinking water. The country also raised the minimum age for criminal responsibility and the age of marriage in line with international standards. While these positive developments are welcome, there remains much room for improvement in terms of enhancing child protection and improving access to and quality of education, especially at the secondary level. In Ghana, the Ghana National Child Rights Coalition (GNCRC) has contributed to a number of policy and institutional reforms, which include the creation of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) in 2013, the creation of the Department of Children within the MoGCSP in 2013, the adoption of the Child and Family Welfare Policy in 2015, the adoption of the Education Strategic Plan for , and the National Plan of Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Ghana for The GNCRC has also contributed to the lobbying process that led to the ratification of the Optional Protocol of the UNCRC on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict in 2014, ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2012, and ratification of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children which supplements the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime in In Senegal, CONAFE has played a key role in the analysis of the country s situation with regard to children s rights and the drafting of the national strategy on child rights and child protection. The Coalition worked closely with parliamentarians and media specialists to enact major changes in the family code, and a children s code will be adopted soon. In Guinea, COLTE contributed to the advocacy that led to the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the UNCRC on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography in November COLTE has also taken part in the revision of the Children s Act, which is yet to be adopted. In Niger, CONIDE took part in the advocacy that led to the adoption of a law on human trafficking in It also contributed to the advocacy for the creation of a national commission for the coordination of the elimination of human trafficking, which is responsible for the design of anti-human trafficking programmes, as well as the national agency for the elimination of human trafficking, which is in charge of the implementation of the programmes. CONIDE also took part in the development of a policy document for the care of vulnerable children, which has yet to be adopted. It also contributed to the elaboration of a draft bill on the protection of the child in school, which was blocked in the parliament by religious lobbyists. Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 47

48 Although the three countries below are not part of the core countries receiving direct financial and technical support under the CRG regional programme, the ad hoc indirect support mainly through UWAC has contributed to the following changes over the period : In Benin, CLOSE contributed to the advocacy process that led to the adoption of the Children Code in In Guinea-Bissau, CODEDIG, one of the youngest member coalitions of the UWAC, has played a key role in building a broad-based network of associations, NGOs, INGOs, and child rights and child protection foundations. With support from UWAC, the Coalition is currently engaging with the Ministry of Family and Social Cohesion on the country s overdue reports on child rights. In partnership with Plan International, the Institute for Women and Children, and SOS Village, CODEDIG is preparing a three-year strategic plan that emphasizes research and evidence-based advocacy for more resource allocation and the adoption of laws in favour of children. In Cape Verde, the newly founded Coalition for the Defence of Child Rights (CDDE) is mentored by strong child protection organizations like ACRIDES (a founding member of UWAC), Plan, UNICEF, and SOS Village Cape Verde. For the past 10 years, the founding members of the new coalition have been working closely with governmental institutions on drafting of national reports and on building the capacities of their members in child rights advocacy. In Cote d Ivoire, although the child rights coalition is not part of the CRG regional programme, it benefitted from some support from the CRG regional programme, especially in terms of capacity building through the exchange of experience and knowledge about effective practices used in other countries that are more advanced on certain issues such as advocacy for legal reform and adoption of the Children Code. It also received support in advocating for the timely submission of state reports. The indirect support also enabled Forum des ONG to contribute to the elaboration and adoption of a national child protection policy and a national policy for the legal protection of children and young people as well as the institutionalization of the Children s Parliament. It has also contributed to the advocacy that led to the creation of a department to assist vulnerable children called Direction d Assistance aux Pupilles de l Etat, Pupilles de la Nation and a children s helpline, which is now operational. According to ACPF s African Report on Child Wellbeing 2013, two-fifths of African countries (22 out of 52) have improved their child-friendliness rankings since Togo, Liberia, The Gambia, and Benin in West Africa are among the countries that achieved the most significant relative improvements. Guinea-Bissau, Ghana, Guinea, and Sierra Leone are also among the countries with marked improvements in child-friendliness, and all have moved up 7 12 places to achieve their current rankings. Generally speaking, recent efforts in reforming laws and extending legal protection to millions of boys and girls who were actual or potential victims of violence, exploitation, and abuse led to these improvements. These states were also able to reduce the number of underweight 48 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

49 children through a combination of social protection, health, and nutrition policies; the expansion of child immunization services; access to improved sanitation facilities; and safe drinking water sources. Finally, they did all this within the framework of increased general spending on sectors benefiting children.28 Togo moved from the 21 st position in 2008 to the first position in 2013 after taking a number of measures to harmonise its child-related laws with international standards. The country now has a domestic law on child trafficking, a constitutional guarantee of the right to free and compulsory education, minimum ages of employment and criminal responsibility in compliance with international standards (15 years and 14 years, respectively), and a non-discriminatory minimum age of marriage of 18 years for both boys and girls. It has also ratified all the relevant and fundamental instruments on children, including the Hague Convention on Inter-Country Adoption.29 Ghana s leap from 29 th on the Child-Friendly Index in 2008 to 18 th in 2013 was due mainly to its increased spending on education and health (by 53% and 42%, respectively), a decline in infant mortality by 24%, and improvement in immunisation coverage by about 10%. During this period, Ghana also ratified ILO Convention No. 138 (Minimum age for employment) and the UN Convention on Persons with Disabilities.30 Guinea-Bissau jumped 12 places (from 52 nd to 40 th ) in the ranking over the five-year period, mainly due to ratification of regional and international laws such as the ACRWC, the Optional Protocol to the UNCRC on Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography, and ILO Conventions No. 138 (Minimum age for employment) and No. 182 (Worst forms of child labour). Laws were also put in place to prohibit harmful traditional practices, and there was a significant increase in health spending (by about 123%) and a decline in infant mortality of about 21%.31 However, Niger and Mauritania were among the countries that showed a sharp fall in their ranking. The main reasons for the lower rankings of these countries in 2013 in relation to 2008 were internal crises, especially in Niger, reductions in government spending on sectors that benefit children, and relatively low performances with regard to efficient and effective translation of resources into improved child wellbeing outcomes. The Government of Niger has a serious staff capacity problem as stated by the Director of Child Protection, the SCI staff, and others, and the country has only about 30 trained social workers. 28 ACPF (2014) page xv 29 Ibid, page Ibid, page Ibid, page 79. Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 49

50 b) Increased understanding of child-friendly budgeting by child rights coalitions In most of the concluding observations of State Parties in West Africa, the UN Committee has always expressed its concern that there are no specific budgets allocated for the implementation of the UNCRC and that the national budgets for child-related expenditures appear to be insufficient to respond to national and local priorities for the protection of children. According to ACPF s African Report on Child Wellbeing , African governments are still not investing adequately in children. While there has been considerable progress in national budget commitments for children, there are still significant gaps. The evidence indicates that African governments spend on average about 11% of their budgets on health. This is four percentage-points lower than the Abuja commitment (15%). African governments also spend on average only 4.6% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on education, compared to the 9% of the Dakar commitment made in According to a mapping and assessment of national child protection systems in Côte d Ivoire, Ghana, Niger, Senegal, and Sierra Leone conducted from 2009 to 2011 by Plan, SC, and UNICEF33 based on information from three of the five countries, none allocates more than 1% of its national budget to child protection, and in one case it is significantly less than that. Child protection and social protection budgets are extremely small even when compared with other social sectors, and most countries remain heavily dependent on donors to finance their child protection sectors. None of the countries analysed demonstrate a tradition of studying the costs of child protection activities so as to fully understand the costs of service provision and administration. The UN Committee in its concluding observations has always recommended to most State Parties that they prioritize a child-centred approach to increase budgetary allocations in the social sectors to ensure the implementation of the economic, social, and cultural rights of children, particularly for the improvement of healthcare services, education, and protection of vulnerable groups of children. Under the CRG regional programme, SC organised workshops to increase child rights coalitions understanding of child-friendly budgeting in order to strengthen their advocacy. Given the fact that much of the information related to budgets at the national level is not available to the public, child rights coalitions decided to start their advocacy at a decentralised level starting with selected municipalities. Below are some of the achievements obtained after child rights coalitions were exposed to child-friendly budgeting. 32 Ibid, Executive summary, page xvi 33 Plan, Save the Children, and UNICEF Mapping and Assessing Child Protection Systems in West and Central Africa, A Five-Country Analysis Paper (June 2011) page 20, available at < Paper_FINAL.pdf> 50 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

51 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 51

52 In Niger, after training the municipalities, CONIDE introduced the contest called Most friendly commune to children. The last winner of the contest, the commune of Tamaské in the region of Tawa, has increased its budget from CFA 2 million to CFA 25 million. The increased budget is intended to support projects aiming at promoting child rights at the community level. In Togo, FODDET trained two municipalities on child-friendly budgeting processes in Lomé and Kpalimé. According to the Mayor of the municipality in Lomé, subsequent to the training, funding has been allocated under the Mayor s special funds to support activities aiming at supporting local associations in providing assistance to children in the municipality. In The Gambia, local government councillors and officials from the Central River Region and Upper River Region were trained on child rights, child protection, and child-friendly budgeting. According to the Kanifing municipality, the training was the first of its kind to make them realize their duties towards children. As a result, Kanifing municipality was able to increase the budget it allocated for scholarships and support to vulnerable children. Unfortunately, the amount was not communicated to the evaluators, and the budget is yet to be approved at the central level. In Senegal, CONAFE developed a training manual on child-friendly budgeting that is used by CONAFE members to train members of parliaments and journalists and to enhance understanding of the process as well as to develop their own capacity on this complex issue. CONAFE has also worked with 11 municipalities that have committed to allocating more resources for their child protection and education budget lines. Despite the interest and willingness by the municipalities to allocate resources for children, they have been concerned about the lack of follow up of the trainings and the provision of technical assistance by the coalitions to translate the learning into practice. For most of the municipalities, the concept of child rights and child-friendly budgeting is new to them and they need technical assistance to find the best strategy to include specific budget lines for the implementation of children s rights. Unfortunately, child rights coalitions also have limited expertise in budgeting issues and need the support of experts to design long-term advocacy strategies to help the municipalities to achieve the desired impact. c) Increased rights consciousness and mobilization of rights holders In most concluding observations of countries in West Africa, the UN Committee notes the significant efforts made by State Parties to disseminate and raise awareness about the UNCRC among members of parliament, law enforcement authorities, traditional and religious chiefs, community leaders, etc. The main achievements in this area in the selected countries of evaluation are actually the result of the work of child rights coalitions through the CRG regional programme. Respondents from state institutions acknowledged the important role that child rights coalitions are playing in raising awareness of the rights of the child among the general population. Activities of the child rights coalitions include training of children, community leaders, women s groups, police officers, and social workers along with social mobilization campaigns and sensitization through the media (TV and radio). Child rights coalitions 52 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

53 also produced information, education, and communication materials (booklets, billboards, posters, and stickers) on the UNCRC and ACRWC and other child protection issues (sexual violence, corporal punishment, etc.), and these are distributed in different settings such as schools, organisations working for and with children, child-led groups, UN agencies, and government departments. In The Gambia, for instance, the CPA conducted social mobilization campaigns targeting various duty bearers in collaboration with the Department of Social Welfare and the Child Welfare Unit of the Gambia Police Force. It also conducted trainings for teachers in collaboration with the Ministry of Education. In spite of the increased knowledge gained by the different duty bearers and the general population through the different training and awareness-raising activities organized by child rights coalitions through the CRG regional programme, SC needs to support child rights coalitions in strengthening their advocacy for states to put in place long-term mechanism such as the inclusion of child rights in school curricula and training curricula of all professional groups, in particular law enforcement officials, teachers, health workers, social workers, and personnel working in all forms of alternative care for and with children as recommended in most concluding observations. They also need to advocate with media to institutionalise awareness-raising programmes relating to children s issues Increased collaboration with the ACERWC and regional advocacy at the ECOWAS level Since 2010, and with SCS support, UWAC has been able to forge strategic partnerships with ECO- WAS and the ACERWC. UWAC has become, as of 2013, a member of WACSOF, which is the civil society arm of ECOWAS. UWAC is also leading the CSO Forum, which is a CSO platform that works closely with the ACERWC. To institutionalise its partnership with UWAC, the ACERWC has integrated UWAC s activities under its strategic plan. Taking advantage of these opportunities, UWAC continues to strengthen its strategic partnership with ECOWAS and the ACERWC to advocate for child rights at the regional level and to better monitor child rights within regional political institutions. In 2014, UWAC conducted joint missions with the ACERWC in different West African countries that have not submitted their overdue reports to the ACERWC. Together with the national child rights coalitions in the respective countries, UWAC advocated for the governments of Ghana, Cape Verde, and Guinea-Bissau to submit their overdue reports Increased institutional capacity of the coalitions Up to 2011, OCD was a separate project under the CRG regional programme. In 2012, OCD was mainstreamed into all projects instead of having it as a separate project. The aim of this change was to build up internal mechanisms and to develop sets of tools for improved OCD work as well as to enhance the knowledge and understanding of SCS staff about the concept of OCD in theory and in practice. In parallel with this, SCS strengthened a number of so-called evolving core partners who benefit from a special package of OCD support, starting with OCD assessment followed by the development and implementation of OCD plans. Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 53

54 Thanks to SCS institutional support, child rights coalitions have been able to establish small secretariats with a dedicated staff to coordinate the day-to-day affairs of the coalitions. Although there are still major challenges concerning leadership, governance, membership, and fundraising, there has been much progress in terms of strategic planning, financial management, improvement of the governance system, development of procedural manuals, and elaboration of strategic plans. Before 2009, none of the child rights coalitions in the CRG regional programme core countries had a strategic plan except CONAFE of Senegal. The support over the period has enabled the national child rights coalitions in the CRG regional programme core countries and UWAC to develop strategic plans to guide their advocacy work. SCS OCD and institutional support has greatly enhanced the visibility, professionalism, and efficiency of child rights coalitions and has resulted in stronger coalitions that have earned the respect and recognition of their respective states and relevant ministries, departments, and agencies as the official mouthpiece of children s rights at the national level. This increased visibility has resulted in attracting support from other donors at the national level as highlighted in the indirect impacts described below. According to most respondents, the work of child rights coalitions has enabled the states in West Africa to give increased priority to children and to include issues relating to children on the national agenda. The fact that different organizations working on child rights have come together as child rights coalitions to speak with one voice has facilitated the interactions with the governments in the region. In most of the countries under evaluation, child rights coalitions have developed good working relationships and strategic partners with the various government ministries and departments; international organizations such as Plan International, World Vision, and UNICEF; the EU; and foreign embassies Increased regional exchange and joint advocacy The advent of UWAC has created the space for the national coalitions to exchange ideas and share lessons learned from the different countries, and it has led to increased capacity at both the national and regional levels. Learning from earlier failed attempts to create top-down or donor-driven pan- African coalitions, SCS has continued to support and strengthen national coalitions while offering increased opportunities for them to meet and exchange information and to find their own ways forward. The organization of regional workshops for national coalitions and support for participation in pan-african meetings has strongly contributed to the growth of the UWAC initiative with its core partners such as CONIDE, CONAFE, CPA, GNCRC, and FODDET playing key roles in the consolidation process. During the period , UWAC organized regional workshops on a bi-annual basis to build the capacity of the national coalitions in terms of child rights programming, monitoring of the General Measures of Implementation, etc. The last regional workshop was held in 2013 and focused on childfriendly budgeting. Beyond the regional meetings, there have also been a number of initiatives to increase practical learning through the exchange of knowledge and experience. For example, Niger, which is 54 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

55 currently facing the issue of internally displaced children after several Bokko Haram attacks, has learned from Cote D Ivoire about how to deal with this kind of emergency.34 UWAC and CONAFE-Senegal were invited by SCI CIV CO in December 2014 to share their experiences in child rights and business and their work in holding the private sector accountable for child rights in Senegal and other countries of the region. Both the CO and the national coalition Forum des ONG benefited greatly from the vast experience and knowledge of UWAC and CONAFE. According to the interviews, the challenge with the regional meetings is that they are often attended by one or two people at most and the information often does not trickle down to the member organisations at the grassroots level. In order to ensure that member organisations benefit the most from thematic trainings, SC should consider organizing thematic capacity-building activities at the national level and regional planning meetings involving the national coordinators and presidents of the coalitions and UWAC s coordinator at least once a year. Such meetings could help coalitions to exchange experiences, practices, and knowledge and to identify the focus of their activities for the years to come. The exchange visits among the national coalitions can also be prioritized in order to build upon each other s strengths and learn from each other s experiences Indirect impacts of SCS financial and technical support to child rights coalitions SCS institutional and technical support has played an important role in ensuring the long-term existence of several child rights coalitions. The organizational support has enabled these child rights coalitions to develop their professionalism and thus diversify their funding sources to ensure the sustainability of their activities. Some of the elaborations of the complementary reports were solely or co-funded with other financial partners such as Plan International, UNICEF, and the United Nations Development Programme UNDP among others. The following indirect impacts have been observed in the following countries. In Ghana, the GNCRC is serving as the implementing agency of a 3-year Juvenile Justice project funded by the EU. The GNCRC secretariat through its members in the districts has implemented awareness raising and advocacy on child rights at the community level. Currently, the GNCRC is using funding from Plan International to raise the awareness and advocacy aspects of the Girl Power project in the region. The GNCRC was also called upon by other international institutions to provide inputs and contributions into the development of some of their major grant proposals submitted to donors for funding. In Togo, FODDET has benefited from the support of the EU to carry out research on violence against children in school. FODDET used the research as a basis to develop a training manual that was used to train two schools on alternatives to corporal punishment. The experience was appreciated by UNICEF who offered to expand the training to other schools. FODDET is also currently benefitting from 4 years ( ) of support from Plan International for the implementation of child rights monitoring in Togo. 34 UWAC Annual Report Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 55

56 In The Gambia, the CPA conducted several research projects with the support of other financial partners such as End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes - ECPAT and the EU. These research projects were used in the development of the child protection systems and other policy reforms at the national level. In Senegal, the vibrant advocacy of CONAFE at the national level has elevated some of its members to national decision-making spheres that allows CONAFE to be involved in many official gatherings and consultations where CSOs are not usually included. One of the CONAFE founding members is now the focal point of the ACPF, a Pan-African child rights organization. In Niger, the indirect impact of the CRG regional programme can be seen in the growth of CON- IDE in terms of membership. The coalition has succeeded in attracting the membership of international NGOs who supported it in various forms (financial, logistical support, etc.). With the capacity building provided by CONIDE, its members are mobilizing more funding from donors thanks to successful fundraising. For instance, in Diffa town a NGO member of CONIDE (known by the acronym ARVER) received funding from the local municipality because they are now able to handle psychosocial work with child refugees coming from Nigeria. In Dosso, a member association called AERN (Assistance aux enfants de la rue) received funding from Plan Niger to conduct advocacy work with 11 municipalities to push them to develop child-friendly budgets. These indirect impacts highlight the importance of SCS s sustainable institutional and organisational support. Unfortunately, these impacts are not reported in the SCS reporting tools. Without a formal coordination mechanism between SCI and other financial partners supporting child rights coalitions, especially in the core countries, there is a risk of an overlap. As a way forward, SCI needs to help child rights coalitions to have an integrated approach in order to make maximum use of their funding for greater impact and sustainability. SCS should seek to engage with those international institutions to develop better coordination mechanisms. Child Rights and Business Developed by UNICEF, the UN Global Compact, and SC, the Children s Rights and Business Principles are the first comprehensive set of principles to guide companies on the full range of actions they can take in the workplace, marketplace, and community to respect and support children s rights. Based on existing standards, initiatives, and best practices related to business and children, these Principles seek to define the scope of corporate responsibility towards children. Covering a wide range of critical issues from child labour to marketing and advertising practices to the role of business in aiding children affected by emergencies the Principles call on companies everywhere to respect children s rights through their core business actions, but also through policy commitments, due diligence, and remediation measures. First proposed in 2010, development of the Principles was informed by an extensive multi-stakeholder consultation process involving businesses, civil society, governments, national human rights institutions, academia, and children. The hope is that these Principles will serve as an inspiration and a guide for all businesses in their interactions with children Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

57 This component of the CRG regional programme is still at an early stage. Child rights coalitions have been trained on the concept, and as a result child rights coalitions in Togo and Senegal have initiated discussions with selected companies to get a better understanding of their core business actions, policy commitments, due diligence, and remediation measures. According to SC, this component will be further developed in the coming years. 3.2 Sustainability issues The CRG regional programme has made a great impact in building a stronger civil society to press for change. Although there is still room for improvement, various capacity building, technical assistance, and organizational and institutional supports provided by SC through the CRG regional programme have greatly contributed to the long-term existence of child rights coalitions in West Africa. The OCD support has improved their governance systems and thus increased their professionalism and visibility. The expertise acquired through SC support has enabled them to diversify their funding sources and to attract the support of other financial and technical partners. The coalitions have also served as a source of information and support to members and given members a chance to learn, to adopt a child rights approach to programming, and to speak with one voice. CRG regional programme support has also improved members understanding of advocacy and its application, but most of all it has resulted in practical gains for children as the various states in the region are slowly fulfilling their commitment to submit their reports to the UN Committee and the ACERWC. Despite all these significant achievements, there are still areas that need to be improved to ensure greater impact and sustainability of the work of child rights coalitions. The section below highlights some of the issues that are undermining the sustainability of the advocacy work of these coalitions Gaps between the secretariats of the national coalitions and the member organizations A national child rights coalition is in principle a membership organization, which brings a number of child rights actors together for child rights monitoring, sharing, learning, and advocacy at the national and regional levels. As such, national and regional child coalitions should have a strong base and constituency for any child rights monitoring and advocacy work at the national and regional levels. Despite all the trainings and exchange programmes provided through the CRG regional programme aimed at enhancing the understanding of the role of a coalition, the interviews with the members, the boards, and the staff working at the CRG regional programme secretariat highlighted that most members of child rights coalitions in the countries under review still do not have a clear understanding of the long-term mandate of child rights coalitions to monitor the implementation of the UNCRC and ACRWC and to mobilize funds for advocacy activities. 35 UNICEF, UN Global Compact, and UNICEF Children s Rights and Business Principles (2011) Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 57

58 During the period, I think that most people in the coalition boards and secretariats supported by SCS were well aware of this main role and mandate of a child rights coalition. However, the challenge was to make all the member organisations understand and agree upon the relevance of this role. One common misperception at the time was that a coalition was there to raise funds for its members activities within different fields. Åsa Rapp Baro, Former Regional Advisor CRG, SCS WAF, April 2009 January 2012 Active membership participation in coalition activities is dependent on the member s degree of interest and commitment to the mission or programme goals. Where members see the coalition as complementing their own work, they are more likely to be active. For them, the coalition reinforces and strengthens their own work. The opposite is also quite true and is often the case with many coalition members. The interviews with some members of the national coalitions showed that activities related to the coalition are often considered to be an add on to their regular work and with no remuneration. This mentality can be easily understood in a context where most local associations or NGOs are run by people who do not have a source of income and who depend on the activities funded by NGOs to survive. Participation of such members tends to be low and highly selective on a task-by-task or issue-by-issue basis. The same can be said for members who regard the coalition or certain members or personalities within it as competing with their own work. Not only do these members tend to minimally participate, but in extreme situations they can become counter-productive. It was observed through the interviews that coalition members generally have a strong moral commitment to the promotion of child rights, but their actual participation in the coalition is dependent on their perceived stake in the more specific goal of the coalition. In most cases, the members tend to view the secretariat as a competitor. The case of FODDET in Togo is particularly worrying because the members refer to FODDET as an independent entity. According to SCS s description of the CRG regional programme for the period , SCS s earlier experiences had shown that child rights coalitions in West Africa needed to have a small independent secretariat both to be able to work efficiently and for the coalition s specific mandate and role to be clearly defined and perceived. This led SCS to support the cost of a secretariat for core coalitions. However, in its efforts to look for resources to sustain and maintain the secretariat, the coalitions secretariats seem to be swaying more towards being an implementer rather than a coordinating agency for the member organizations. Often the work of the secretariat of the national and regional coalitions also seems to be embedded in one or two persons usually the national coordinator or the president and they seem to be distant and independent from the individual member organizations. In cases where the coalition is hosted by one member organisation to save costs, as in the case of CLOSE in Benin where the coordinator of the national coalition is also the president of ESAM, a local NGO and the founding member, it is difficult to perceive a clear demarcation between the advocacy work of the coalition and the regular activities of the member organisation hosting the secretariat of the coalition. The structures of child rights coalitions management such as the general assembly, board of directors, 58 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

59 and management are clearly defined in the coalitions organizational documents, but in practice the roles of various bodies are often confused. Often the entities are not even renewed from year to year. Despite all the OCD support and the great strides made by coalitions in improving their governance structures, some of them serve in both management and decision-making bodies. Coalitions should be trained in resource management procedures, reporting, and ways of keeping members and partners posted on the coalition s activities. The work of the GNCRC has strengthened collaboration and synergy of actions among its members only to a limited extent. This is because not all the members are actively engaged with its activities for various reasons. Joseph Assan, Child Protection and Advocacy Specialist, Plan International, Ghana The child rights coalitions usually consist of child-focused NGOs together with other organisations and groups that share an interest in child rights issues. Some coalitions include representatives from government departments or agencies and some recognise individual membership. Hence child rights coalitions do not conform to one common structure, but rather have adapted themselves to the context in which they exist. Despite differences in structure, they all bring together a range of skills, knowledge, resources, and commitments. In addition, coalition members have different spheres of influence in their society, some enjoying high credibility and recognition and others less. In becoming members of the coalition, these organizations, groups, and individuals normally lend their reputation and credibility to the coalition. In some cases, coalitions have been able to take advantage of the strength of individual members. In other cases, coalitions have failed to capitalise on them. To make child rights coalitions more effective, it is important not to focus on the number of members but rather on having on board those that have the willingness and the capacity to work together and to contribute to the overall advocacy objectives of the coalition. Some of the coalitions need to review their constitution to allow other actors to join the coalitions. For example, membership in the coalition in Togo (FODDET) is currently limited only to networks (9 in total, but only 5 are currently functioning). Although it might have been a good idea to ensure that all child rights actors were organised within a network at the time the coalition was formed, the current context might no longer be suitable for such a structure. SC could facilitate an exchange visit between the CPA in The Gambia and FODDET in Togo to learn from the strengths and weaknesses of having a variety of actors, including networks, individual NGOs, and national NGOs with international affiliations, as members of the coalition. The secretariats of child rights coalitions need to understand their responsibility to put in place strategies to ensure that each member plays its role and how its work fits into the larger advocacy work at the national level. They need to work harder to represent the voice of all organisations that are defending children s rights in the country, and they need to be more proactive in putting in place mechanisms to keep the members connected and focused on the vision and the mission of the coalition beyond just the drafting of the complementary reports to the UN Committee and the ACE- WRC. They need to further seek ways of looking for greater opportunities for all of their members, as Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 59

60 60 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

61 well as proactively calling on the members to live up to their expectation in terms of paying their dues and making contributions towards sustaining the work of the coalition. SC should consider the following points to increase the understanding of their roles among members of the coalitions and to strengthen the capacity of the secretariats to proactively play their role in the future. Capacity building should not be limited to workshops at the regional level where only two people can attend, but should instead aim at providing opportunities for core and active members to interact and honestly discuss stumbling blocks and ways around them. Regional level exchange workshops should be followed up by capacity building workshops at the national level to ensure that new skills, knowledge, and lessons learned from the regional level are effectively disseminated at the national level. The secretariats should be assisted in putting in place long-term strategies and mechanisms to increase the participation of all the members and to create a sense of belonging. SCI should support an annual meeting of member organizations to identify common issues of advocacy (at the grassroots, national, and regional levels) and to provide updates on the monitoring of child rights and the implementation of recommendations, etc. The capacity of the secretariat should be increased to allow them to compile annual reports and bulletins to keep members constantly updated on the coalition s activities. The CPA s model would be a good example to share with other coalitions. More technical exchange visits should be organized among the coalitions so they can learn from one another. For example, members and children from the CPA can spend a week or two with FODDET to provide technical assistance in reorganizing its membership base and putting in place a vibrant child-led organization like the Voice of the Young Gap between UWAC and the national coalitions The organizational structure of UWAC was adopted after drawing lessons from the earlier structure of CONAFE-Afrique, which was a pan-african platform of actors working on child rights. The regional organisation that preceded CONAFE-Afrique was supported by the Plan West Africa RO and was coordinated from Bamako. The cost of running this coalition s secretariat was high and not sustainable. UWAC, with its current 15 member coalitions, wanted an effective organization that relies on members resources. The running of UWAC is therefore expected to be based to a large extent on national coalitions efforts and contributions. Members contribute CFA 100,000 per year (150 euros) as a membership fee. UWAC is chaired by a national coalition on a rotational basis, and the host coalition has the duty of providing office space and utilities for the secretariat. Finance management is ensured by CONAFE Senegal, and communications are ensured by Mali for Francophones, The Gambia for Anglophones, and Guinea-Bissau for Lusophones. Information is shared from the coordinating body to the focal points of each language group, and from these language groups information is shared with the member coalitions. Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 61

62 This way of working allows UWAC to keep running a minimum level of networking activities and information sharing even if there is a shortage of funding. This model has reached its limits in terms of the efficiency of the communication and coordination processes because the focal points of the language groups with regional functions tend to give priority to the national tasks for which they are delegated to perform. This situation therefore limits the ability to rotate the presidency and the decentralized structures among the coalitions. Moreover, the current structure of UWAC looks like a giant with clay feet as many of its members have weak governance systems and do not realistically have the human and financial resources to support the regional structure. In terms of rotation, beyond the coalitions in Senegal and The Gambia, other coalitions do not seem to have the organizational strength to host and run the regional institution. Despite all of the significant achievements highlighted above, the interviews highlighted the fact that most national coalitions reported not being consulted on the decisions and planning of capacity building and advocacy activities. Most national coalitions feel that the process of identifying the issues that are of common interest for regional advocacy is not participatory and not well documented. It is essential, therefore, for UWAC to keep its members updated through annual reports and bulletins. The Description of the Programme by Åsa Rapp Baro36 mentioned that the CRG regional programme in partnership with UWAC used to organize a bi-annual meeting where all the national coalitions were invited for knowledge exchange and learning. In addition to the reports and bulletins, it would be helpful to use this event to allow the national coalitions to learn from the experiences of other coalitions in the region, to identify capacity gaps so that SC and its partner coalitions can plan the OCD support, to identify common advocacy issues at the regional level, and to determine how to complement this with research and evidence as well as advocacy activities at the national level. Despite these complaints, all informants believe that UWAC is a good initiative and that there is a potential for growth, structure, and significant future impacts. However, in order to achieve the intended objective, there is a need to review and invest in building UWAC s organizational structure and to support its interventions, especially its support for national coalitions. An institutional capacity assessment should be conducted to re-evaluate whether the current structure will enable UWAC to achieve its objectives, and whether there is a better structure that would allow it to effectively achieve its vision. All of its members should be consulted on the best ways forward for their regional coalition given the funding opportunities in the region. Rakeb Messele Aberra, CRG Regional Advisor for West Africa, SCS 36 Åsa Rapp Baro (2015) 62 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

63 As a way forward, SCS needs to consider the following: As suggested in the quotation above, there is indeed a need for an institutional capacity assessment, which should be done in consultation with all of the national coalitions. There is a need to support UWAC to have a permanent and independent secretariat in a country of easy access and where most regional and international child rights partners are based in order to coordinate all the activities with the secretariats of the national coalitions. The secretariat of UWAC should take into consideration primarily the proximity to the national coalitions and access to the regional institutions as part of its regional advocacy and resource mobilisation. Senegal would be a good option because there is easy access to other coalitions, and the country hosts the headquarters of most international and regional institutions. There is also a need to support the operational cost of the secretariat given the fact that most national coalitions do not have the financial resources to support the regional coalition. To effectively achieve the coalition s goals, it is critical to recruit technical and qualified staff to run the day-to-day activities of UWAC. Staff should include the following key positions: A regional advocacy manager A regional communication manager A regional finance manager SC needs to advocate with other financial partners such as Plan, UNICEF, World Vision, and UNDP to also contribute to the institutional costs of the secretariat Weak advocacy skills Although child rights coalitions have been trained in child rights programming, which highlights the link between direct interventions and advocacy initiatives, there is still not a clear understanding between the work of the members of the coalition who deliver services within child protection projects and those who engage in advocacy efforts or activities related to the General Measures of Implementation (also known as the GMIs). The situation is the same at the UWAC level where the work of the national coalitions does not feed into the regional advocacy activities. Interviews with representatives of child rights coalitions highlighted a gap in planning together with members. Projects submitted by the secretariats are usually written at the secretariat level and with limited involvement of the members. Ideally there should be a mechanism to facilitate joint planning whereby the role of the members and the secretariat in monitoring children s rights are clearly outlined. Most coalitions do not plan their advocacy well enough. They often plan for advocacy activities, but not for processes with well-defined strategies and objectives for change. The advocacy work done does yield results, but these are not as significant as they could be. In order for coalitions advocacy to have a greater impact, there is both a need to support coalitions in developing consistent advocacy plans, Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 63

64 but also to put more efforts into accommodating other coalitions advocacy along the way. SCS might also consider closer involvement and might begin to engage in joint advocacy campaigns with its partner coalitions. It is important to note that training activities alone cannot make child rights coalitions experts in advocacy. There is a need to assign specialists with both theoretical and practical knowledge to coach and empower the coalitions with the required skills needed for greater impact. There is also a need for coalitions to recruit advocacy officers to boost their advocacy work Limited human and financial capacity of the secretariat for effective implementation SCS is the only technical and financial partner that provides child rights coalitions with OCD and institutional support. The institutional support covers only the salary of at most two staff, which is insufficient to implement and monitor advocacy plans. The national coordinators are therefore expected to perform programming, administrative, and financial functions. Funding of national coalitions and their monitoring work is often a challenge, and donors rarely fund administrative costs, organizational development, or capacity building. All of the OCD and capacity-building activities provided by SC will have limited effects as long as child rights coalitions are unable to pay for qualified human resources. Qualified human resources are a priority for most child rights coalitions, but in practice this is often challenging. The search for better paying employment opportunities forces many people to look for employment in other sectors, including the informal sector. Despite the availability of good-quality employees, child rights coalitions like most local NGOs in general cannot afford their services because of high wage rates. In addition, the lack of motivation and weak capacity in mobilizing funds does not help mobilize competent staff, nor does it help retain competent personnel over the long term. The extreme poverty in most countries in West Africa also considerably weakens the practice of volunteering. Due to the low commitment of funding partners in addressing institutional support as a means to strengthen NGOs, the sustainability of many child rights coalitions is threatened. SC needs to consider not only helping find new donors, but most importantly advocating for donors to support institutional costs Limited capacity to use the complementary reports and concluding observations to plan and implement a holistic advocacy programme The interviews highlighted the fact that the reporting process is viewed by the members of the national coalitions as an ad hoc exercise that is separate from their service delivery activities and the ongoing advocacy of the coalitions. Although the impacts highlighted above show that child rights coalitions have conducted activities that have contributed to the implementation of the concluding observations, there is still a lot to be done to become more systematic both in terms of coverage of recommendations and in terms of continuity, regularity, and frequency in the follow-up process between periodic reports. Most of the advocacy for law reform needs to be followed up in order for implementing measures to be put in place. 64 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

65 It seems that there is a limited understanding among the members of how the reporting process can be used for leverage for the implementation of children s rights by the government. Beyond the elaboration of complementary reports, submission of the reports, and attending a meeting in Geneva or Addis every few years, complementary reporting mechanism should provide a framework for awareness raising and mobilisation, for analysing national policy and practice, for developing national and international linkages and advocacy, for capacity building of local NGOs, for monitoring state obligations, and for facilitating child participation. The follow up on the concluding observations and recommendations might be a major task and challenge for any national coalition, but this can be addressed by sharing responsibilities among its members. A committee of staff and board members from the member organizations can be established to identify coalition members working on a specific theme or in a certain geographical area for optimal distribution of the monitoring tasks between them. Following up on the General Measures of Implementation might then be left with the coalition secretariat. Member organizations would then be engaged both in their specific contributions and in the overall assessments through the coalition committee that would be set up to follow up on the concluding observations and recommendations. In the future, SC support should consider building the capacity of child rights organisations to take a comprehensive approach and to follow up on the full set of recommendations while adopting a campaign focused on a specific issue as a way to garner greater interest from members whose interest is also focused on this issue. This might help them see clearly the link between the advocacy role of the coalition and the direct interventions of member organizations at the grassroots level Limited monitoring of capacity building and advocacy activities Generally, there is also a lack of monitoring and follow up on training and advocacy activities. Most of the respondents at the state level pointed out the lack of follow up on training activities. Laws and policies that have been adopted as a result of child rights coalitions activities also need to be followed up to ensure that implementing measures are put in place. Most national coalitions focus on carrying out ad hoc activities and thus not on achieving results that lead to concrete changes in the lives of children. Although training sessions contribute to increased understanding and knowledge, a single training activity is often insufficient to achieve any sustainable result. These training activities need to be followed up with the provision of technical assistance, guidance, coaching, and mentoring if they are to have long-lasting results. For example, after the training of the municipalities on child budgeting, the coalitions needed to assist the technical staff of the municipalities in finding strategic ways to include specific budget lines for child rights implementation. This was not done. Respondents from the municipalities in Togo and The Gambia highlighted the fact that there were no follow-up activities from the child rights coalitions. Most coalitions tend to engage in ad hoc activities on different issues that are not linked with each other. Instead they should understand that child rights issues are complex and cannot be addressed by one-off activities, Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 65

66 but rather through a series of activities that build on each other. They should thus be very strategic and focus on only a few issues and make sure that the different activities address the issues in a more comprehensive and holistic manner. SC needs to look further into how to support child rights coalitions in developing more holistic projects, which includes follow-up activities through the provision of technical assistance. SC also needs to increase its institutional support to provide child rights coalitions with access to skilled staff who can provide the necessary technical assistance to their member organizations External factors limiting the impact of the work of the coalitions The advocacy work of child rights coalitions is limited by external factors related to the political and economic context. Despite the adoption of laws and policies, it is important to highlight the limited human and financial capacity of governments to implement those laws and policies. As mentioned in the section on child-friendly budgeting, most of the states in West Africa allocate less than 1% of their national budget to child protection.37 According to the respondents from state institutions, the numbers of child protection and welfare workers are far less than those needed to take on the social challenges they are facing. There is, therefore, significant reliance on volunteer workers in both the government and non-government arenas, which raises questions about sustainability, quality, and accountability. The constant reshuffling of government officials at the national level forces child rights coalitions to start their advocacy over and over again. They also have to constantly train new officials because most of the time these officials have limited knowledge of the provisions and commitments to human and child rights monitoring mechanisms. Although the individual constitutions and laws in most countries in West Africa provide for freedom of speech and the press, in practice CSOs often operate in a climate of fear, suspicion, and mistrust. For example, in The Gambia, although the constitution and law provides for freedom of speech and the press, the government has greatly restricted these rights. Individuals who publicly or privately criticize the government or the president risk government reprisal. The UN Committee has expressed concerns about reports indicating that activities by NGOs and CSOs are closely monitored by the NGO Affairs Agency placed under the authority of the Office of the President, resulting in many organizations exercising self-censorship. According to Amnesty International s information, Gambian law enforcement agencies, including the National Intelligence Agency and the Presidential Guard, have arrested at least 30 people, including a 16-year-old boy, since the beginning of January They are being detained without charges, and security forces have threatened to arrest anyone demanding the release or whereabouts of those who are arbitrarily detained.38 In Guinea, the UN Committee expressed concern that in the recent past, members of non-governmental human rights 37 Plan, Save the Children, and UNICEF (June 2011) 66 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

67 organizations, including those monitoring the situation of children as well as journalists, have been subjected to various human rights violations. The outbreak of Ebola in Guinea severely affected the implementation of the CRG regional programme. The political tensions, disease outbreaks, and the emergency situation in the Sahel call for the need to take into consideration emergency contexts in the CRG regional programme. Developing a contingency plan involves making decisions in advance on how to engage and consult child rights coalitions, including children, in prevention and response mechanisms, the management of human and financial resources, coordination and communications procedures, building the capacity of local partners, and a range of technical and logistical responses. According to SCS, emergency situations will be one of the main focus areas of the CRG regional programme for These external factors greatly undermine the advocacy efforts of child rights coalitions and imply that they will continue to need the support of SC and other donors to ensure that children fully enjoy their rights in a long-term humanitarian and development context Sustainability issues at the SC level Lack of a clear linkage between the CRG regional programme and CP regional programme According to informants from SCS and SCI, despite talking about creating linkages and synergies between the CRG regional programme and CP regional programme, this has not really materialized in the programming in a sustained way. They both agree that greater synergy between the two programmes could enhance the organizational capacity building of their partners, their advocacy work at the national and regional levels, and the sharing, learning, and exchange of knowledge. This integration should take place both at the national and regional levels for greater impact. By coordinating with the CP regional programme, the CRG regional programme could enhance the reliability and adequacy of data collected at the local level on child protection by CP partners working at the community level, which could further facilitate CRG regional programme s child rights monitoring work at the national level. Linkage between the CRG regional programme and CP regional programme could also ensure that the CP regional programme follows up in a more effective manner on the implementation of relevant recommendations of human and child rights mechanisms. In The Gambia, the CPA is the partner of both the CRG regional programme and CP regional programme, and it has been able to synergize the programmes to some extent, although the process and the impact of this coordination still needs to be documented and analysed. Both programmes could better strategize their advocacy work, and the CP regional programme could focus more on its thematic know-how on child protection, while the CRG regional programme could focus more on organizing and strengthening the national coalition and its constituency on 38 USAID Sustainability Index for Sub Saharan Africa 2009, 1st Edition (September 2010) Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 67

68 strategizing the advocacy work and creating a critical mass to voice issues of children s rights at the community, national, and regional levels. This, of course, presupposes better knowledge of the entire programme by the project/programme manager and technical advisors, including openness and an interest in sharing and learning from each other and not considering the programme to be personal territory. In addition, there need to be clear messages from the management level. Creating better synergies should be more cost effective (for example, in relation to trainings and monitoring of partners during missions in other countries) and should lead to stronger impacts of the respective programmes. Successful integration will also require a shift in the focus of the programme from the child rights infrastructure at the national level (as defined through the General Measures of Implementation of the UNCRC) to a broader focus on good governance and social accountability mechanisms related to specific social sector, such as education, health, and child protection. CRG works on an overall level, touching upon all other programme areas. The child rights monitoring components of CRG include child protection issues as well as education, health, etc. The strengthening of the civil society part of the CRG programme also has an impact on all thematic areas, as well as the General Measures of Implementations that are put in place. However, these links might not always be clear to staff or partner organisations. If they are not, a joint analysis must be done to determine the best ways to link programmes together for greater impact. For example, a child rights coalition can only perform efficient child rights monitoring and evidence-based advocacy if the member organisations working within different areas (such as child protection) are engaged in the overall coalition work, by, for example, providing facts and insights from their direct work with children. Åsa Rapp Baro, Former Regional Advisor CRG, SCS WAF, April 2009 January Limited coordination The interviews with technical and financial partners have shown a growing interest to support the CRG regional programme among SCI COs and other technical and financial partners at the national level. Besides the SCI COs in Senegal, Cote d Ivoire, and Sierra Leone, no other SCI COs, such as those in Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Liberia and Mali, have a CRG national programme. However SCI Niger CO is planning to start a CRG national programme this year financed by Save the Children Norway, while SCI Mali and Nigeria COs have been looking for funding to finance a CRG national programme. In Niger, SCI has expressed an interest in collaborating with SCI SEN CO on the CRG regional programme, but this interest needs to be followed up through a formalized framework of collaboration. SCI CIV CO also needs the support of the CRG regional programme to strengthen its CRG national programme. The Description of the Programme for by Åsa Rapp reported a good collaboration with the Plan International West Africa Regional Office (WARO) in Dakar in the past. However, according to respondents from Plan WARO, the collaboration with SCI has weakened over the past three years. At the national level, as highlighted in the indirect impact, although Plan International has 68 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

69 been supporting child rights coalitions in Togo and Ghana, respondents from Plan International Togo and Plan International Ghana deplored the fact that the SCS West Africa RO before the transition and the SCI CO after the transition did not formally engage them in a formal coordination mechanism at the national level. Plan International Togo has conducted an organizational and institutional capacity assessment of FODDET, which can be useful to the CRG regional programme. More recently, discussions have started between SCI SEN CO and Plan WARO in Senegal to coordinate their support for the child rights coalitions in West Africa. Furthermore, discussions are underway between SCS and Plan Sweden with the aim of developing and signing a memorandum of understanding to enhance the collaboration and coordination of the support provided to the regional and national child rights coalitions in West Africa. As a way forward, SC needs to strengthen its collaboration with and formally engage SCI COs and international institutions for an integrated approach. An increased formal coordination mechanism can only maximize the efficient use of resources to ensure the greater sustainability of child rights coalitions Gaps in monitoring the work of the coalitions According to SCS staff, the monitoring aspects of the CRG regional programme covering many countries is a challenge both now and when SCS managed the programme. According to Åsa Rapp Baro39, during (and earlier) the monitoring was done based on: partners annual and biannual narrative, financial, and audit reports, regular visits to the national coalitions, continuous follow-up phone calls and exchanges, and discussions at any meeting occasion such as the regional child rights workshops or the civil society forums on the ACRWC in Addis Ababa. According to the national coordinators of the national child rights coalitions in Togo and Ghana, since the transition to SCI the monitoring visits are no longer regularly scheduled. According to FODDET, SCI SEN CO conducted only two monitoring visits during the period CONIDE received just one monitoring visit in five years. These M&E visits in the past have greatly contributed to building the organizational capacity of child rights organisations. According to SCI SEN CO, Sida s requirements mean that only 30% of Sida s total funding can be used by SCI CO for technical support and monitoring, while 70% goes to SCI CO s partners. The 30%, according to SCI CO, does not allow them to conduct regular M&E of their partners. Even though SCS made additional funding under the crosscutting and non-thematic budget lines to SCI SEN CO, the fact that these budgets are labelled as crosscutting and non-thematic opens door for the funds to be used for other expenses. It is worthwhile noting that CRG regional programme is currently managed by 39 Åsa Rapp Baro was the Former Programme Officer of the Child Rights/Civil Society, SCS WAF, Nov 2002 March 2009 and Former Regional Advisor CRG, SCS WAF, April 2009 January 2012 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 69

70 two people with the following responsibilities: there is a CRG specialist providing strategic guidance, and a CRG programme coordinator ensuring effective implementation of interventions and M&E. Recently a regional advisor, who is based in Abidjan, was recruited by SCS to provide overall technical assistance to the SCI SEN CO team. Due to the regional nature of the programme, some interviewees felt that there is a need to recruit a programme manager who can provide general oversight and authority on the strategic planning, implementation, and M&E of the programme, which currently is not the case. However, looking at the number of people involved in the management of CRG regional programme during the SCS-managed period and now, it seems that the main issue is a need for better organisation of the staff to respond effectively to M&E needs. During the SCS-managed period, only one programme officer was in charge of programming, implementation, partnership, and M&E, but despite some challenges, the programme officer managed to maintain regular interactions with the coalitions. As a way forward, SC should consider reorganizing the staffing in a more strategic manner to ensure more complementarity and cohesion for greater impact. The team could be reorganised as follows: one staff member could provide the overall strategic planning and guidance, one person could focus on the partnerships and working closely with the partners, and the third person could focus specifically on UWAC Internal challenges within SC CRG is a priority for the SCI country office because we can t have lasting changes in any area (education, health, nutrition, child protection, etc.) if the governance regarding child rights in the country is not improved. Dr Bonzi Mathurin, Country Director. The statement of the Country Director of SCI SEN CO confirms the importance of the CRG work and the significance to other programmes. However, this recognition needs to be better communicated as CRG staff and partners stated that sometimes it feels that the CO is completely detached from the CRG regional programme. The strategic positioning of the management of the CRG regional programme has also been an issue. According to some SCS and SCI SEN CO staff, the CRG regional programme should be managed by the SCI RO. Others feel it should continue being managed by the SCI SEN CO, which is better placed in terms of having the most experienced and committed staff. Those in favour of SCI SEN CO managing the CRG regional programme also feel that SCI SEN CO has a better long-term working relationship with the coalitions. However, some staff at SCS and SCI SEN CO also believe that with regards to enhancing the regional advocacy work, SCI RO could facilitate this in a better and more effective way because it is a regional structure and has an advocacy director, which SCI SEN CO does not. The main challenge with the SCI RO according to SCS staff is its limited capacity in the CRG thematic area in general, and in the regional approach of the CRG regional programme in particular. Furthermore, the SCI RO does not have the structure for the operationalization and implementation of interventions on the ground. This is an important factor because the advocacy work needs to be fed 70 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

71 with knowledge from direct interventions that are implemented by national coalitions. Some also feel that there is a need for the overall CRG regional programme to be managed by staff who have experience in strategic development and true programmatic exchange with partner organizations. As a way forward, it is important for SCS and SCI to agree on the office that is best placed strategically to manage the programme for it to have its greatest impact. SCS also needs to create opportunities for SCI to have a better understanding of the added value of the CRG regional programme. Lessons learned from other regions could also help in this decision. The criteria below could be used as a yardstick in determining the office that is best placed to manage the CRG regional programme: Good understanding of the CRG thematic area and the regional approach by the staff and management Commitment of the management to support the staff who are implementing the programme Technical capacity of the staff to coordinate the planning and monitoring of the programme Capacity to facilitate the exchange of experience and knowledge between the regional coalition and the national coalitions Capacity to network with other SCI COs and international institutions in implementing similar programmes Capacity to make a clear linkage with the advocacy component of SC s work Capacity to market the CRG regional programme and to mobilize additional resources It was noted that due to some challenges, SCI SEN CO has proposed to phase out or hand over operations in Togo and Ghana to UWAC and operations in Niger to SCI Niger CO. While handing over the three countries to UWAC and SCI Niger CO might not be a wise decision at the present time given the current weak institutional capacity of UWAC and the fact that SCI Niger CO does not currently have a full-fledged CRG programme, SC needs to consider strengthening its collaboration with other international institutions such as Plan International, UNICEF, and World Vision as well as other SCI COs that have expressly indicated their interest in supporting CRG programmes and are already working in some countries implementing similar programmes with SC partners. In Togo, Plan International is already funding a four-year child rights monitoring programme with FODDET that builds on SC institutional and organizational support. It has also recently conducted its institutional and organizational capacity assessment so as to have a clear overview of the best way to further build its capacity. In Ghana, the representative of Plan International has clearly indicated in his questionnaire that Plan International will continue to support and work closely with GNCRC to advocate for children s rights. This support will include supporting the GNCRC with resources to collect views from children and young people for use in drafting and submitting the alterna- Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 71

72 tive reports to the UNCRC and the ACERWC. It also intends to provide support in building the capacity of the GNCRC to be able to fulfil its mandate effectively. Finally, Plan International will work with GNCRC in the strategic area of writing major grants and will draw on the expertise of the GNCRC in the implementation of such grants as necessary. As mentioned above, in Niger the SCI CO has also clearly indicated its interest in starting a CRG national programme. Plan International Niger is also in the process of developing a long-term partnership with CONIDE. Discussions can thus be initiated with SCI Niger CO to collaborate on CRG interventions in Niger in order to see how the CRG regional programme can support the SCI Niger CO to develop its capacity and to develop a comprehensive CRG country programme. This would show how the CRG national programme and CRG regional programme could complement each other for greater impact. It is important to note that even if SC hands over GNCRC and FODDET to Plan International and hands over CONIDE to SCI Niger CO, the CRG regional programme will still include GNCRC and FODDET in the exchange and learning process at the regional level. However, for this to happen, a proper exit strategy should be developed and implemented to ensure an effective handover. The regional approach could also mean intervening in a few strategic countries to develop good practices that could then be shared through other international institutions and UWAC. As the CRG regional programme has evolved over the years, it is important for SC to continue to be flexible in order to ensure the greatest impact of its programmes. However, as mentioned above, it is important to also bear in mind that the CRG regional programme cannot be a standalone programme. It needs to build on the CP regional programmes and other programmes. Ideally, the countries that benefit from the direct support under the CRG regional programme should also be countries where SC has a strong CP regional programme. The issue now is to ensure a greater link between the two programmes. In Togo, for example, where the two programmes cohabit, FODDET has not been able to build on the knowledge and experiences acquired by WAO Afrique (a partner of CP regional programme in Togo) in terms of child protection. Although WAO Afrique is one of the founding members of FODDET, it withdrew its participation from FODDET few years ago, and the two programmes have been functioning in isolation for some time. SCS can take advantage of the above reflections to develop a clear strategy for its regional approach based on lessons learned that will provide clear guidance to implementing offices, whether at the regional or national level. SC also needs to improve the documentation of results and the lessons learned, and it needs to assist child rights coalitions to do the same. 72 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

73 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 73

74 IV. Overall conclusion and recommendations In conclusion, the impact highlighted above shows that the objectives and expected results outlined in the planning documents of and have been to a large extent achieved. However these achievements need to be sustained, and the following issues have been observed as factors that are undermining the sustainability of the CRG regional programme. The issues undermining the sustainability of the CRG regional programme have been analysed at the child rights coalition level and at the SC level. At the coalition level Despite all of the capacity building activities to strengthen collaboration and synergy among national coalition members so that they can speak with one voice, some members of some coalitions are still lacking a clear understanding of the advocacy role of the national and regional coalitions. This can be explained by the fact that in some countries the coalitions secretariats seem to be swaying more towards being an implementer rather than a coordinating agency for the member organisations. The work of the secretariats of the national and regional coalitions often seem to be embedded in one or two persons, usually the national coordinator or the president, and they seem distant and independent of the individual member organizations. The secretariats need to understand their responsibility to put in place strategies to ensure that each member in the coalition plays its role and understands how its work fits into the larger advocacy work at the national level. They need to work harder to represent the voice of all of the organisations defending children s rights in the country, and they need to be more proactive in putting in place mechanisms to keep the members connected and focused on the vision and mission of the coalition beyond just the drafting of the complementary reports to the UN Committee and the ACEWRC. Although all of the national coalitions agree on the added value of UWAC, the regional institution seems to be a giant with feet of clay because its constituency base is weak and is unable to provide the human and financial resources required for effective and joint advocacy at the national and regional levels. At the moment, the national coalitions feel that they are not consulted on the advocacy activities being conducted in the name of UWAC. Thus there is a need to conduct an institutional assessment to identify the best strategy to put in place. SC needs to lobby the other international organisations such as Plan International to provide joint funding so that the UWAC secretariat can hire skilled staff. Despite all of the activities aimed at building the technical capacity of child rights coalitions, these coalitions still do not have the technical capacity to effectively implement their advocacy 74 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

75 plans. This is mainly due to the fact that child rights coalitions, like many other NGOs in Africa, do not have the financial capacity to recruit qualified and skilled staff to accomplish various tasks. It is institutional support from SC that often enables child rights coalitions to remain operational. However SC only supports the salary of one or at most two qualified employees. Although child rights coalitions are attracting other donors, these donors support does not include overhead costs. Therefore, SC needs to assist child rights coalitions in lobbying for institutional support to ensure their sustainability. The reporting process is viewed by the members of the national coalitions as an ad hoc exercise that is separate from the services they deliver to children and ongoing advocacy activities of the coalitions and their members. Although the impacts highlighted above show that child rights coalitions have conducted activities that have contributed to the implementation of the concluding observations, there is still a lot to be done for the follow up processes to become more systematic both in terms of coverage of recommendations and in terms of continuity, regularity, and frequency between periodic reports. The coalitions seem to focus their activities on trainings with limited links to the overall advocacy activities for long-term change. For greater impact, follow up activities need to be embedded in the overall strategic and action plans. The impact of the CRG regional programme is also limited by external factors beyond the child rights coalitions control. Although showing great commitment to the adoption of new laws and policies, governments still have to make adequate budgetary allocations, develop sufficient human resource capacity, and improve coordination to underpin the implementation of the existing laws and policies. The constant reshuffling of government officials hampers the continuity of the advocacy work. Moreover, in some countries like The Gambia, child rights coalitions operate in a climate of fear, suspicion, and mistrust that prevents them from confronting their governments about their failure to respect their commitments. In countries like Mali, Guinea-Bissau, and Guinea, emergency contexts such as Ebola have affected the implementation of the CRG regional programme, and this calls for the inclusion of emergency response protocols when planning CRG regional programme s activities. At the Save the Children level Although SCS and SCI staff agree on the complementarity of CRG regional programme and CP regional programme, no concrete steps have been taken to take advantage of the synergy between the two programmes. A greater linkage between the CRG regional programme and the CP regional programme is key to ensuring the sustainability of both programmes. Interviews highlighted the lack of a formal coordination mechanism between SCI and other international institutions at the national level. Institutions such as Plan International and Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 75

76 UNICEF have been supporting child rights coalitions, but there is no formal coordination mechanism to avoid duplication of efforts. There is a need for SCI to open up its collaboration to other international institutions so as to maximize its impact. According to the child rights coalitions, there have been fewer monitoring visits since the transition to SCI. Between 2009 and 2014, Togo received only two monitoring visits and Niger only one. Monitoring visits are critical elements of OCD and sustainability. Beyond training activities, SC needs to invest more in coaching and mentoring activities and it needs to enhance its monitoring support. The link between the SCI CO managing the CRG regional programme and the SCI RO managing West and Central Africa needs to be strengthened to maximize output. There is a need to reflect on the added value of all the core countries that are currently receiving direct funding from SCS, and this should be restructured if necessary. There have been many promising practices that have resulted from the CRG regional programme that are worth sharing with interested stakeholders to enhance learning and experience sharing. SC needs to consider improving the documentation of those practices and should work with its partners to do the same. SC should consider handing over some coalitions to other international institutions that are interested in supporting such coalitions to ensure the sustainability of their efforts. Recommendations At the SC level Document and share good practices SCS needs to analyse and document the results achieved through its regional approach in Africa and beyond, which will allow it to better promote and market the regional approach within SCI. SCS and SCI should agree on documentation modalities that harvest and record all processes and results for future planning, monitoring, and learning. Promotion of CRG within the SCI RO SCS need to better communicate to the SCI RO the outcomes of the CRG regional programme and its subsequent impact on child protection and other aspects of child rights. SCS can further advocate for SCI members to open their funding base in order to allow scaling up of CRG and child protection through regional programmes. The CRG strategy should be used as an advocacy tool. Develop a clear strategy for the regional approach SCS should develop a clear strategy for its regional approach based on lessons learned that will provide clear guidance to implementing offices, whether regional or national. It can also explore ways of working regionally either by putting in place a working group CO staff or by working in a campaigning mode. 76 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

77 Greater linkage between the CRG regional programme and CP regional programme SC needs to reflect more holistically and on a long-term basis about the best way to link the CRG regional programme and CP regional programme so that both programmes will have greater impacts. At the coalition level, those receiving support under the CP regional programme should be encouraged to join the national coalitions and contribute to the advocacy initiatives of the coalitions. SCS can also contribute to the reflection process by looking at a greater interaction between CRG and CP regional technical advisors. Review the M&E system for the CRG regional programme and the reporting format The CRG programme is a long-term programme that cannot be measured in the same way as child protection or any other child rights promotion activities. It is therefore important to ensure that the M&E and reporting format take into consideration the specificities of the CRG programme. SC should look into existing tools developed by SC that can be used to better monitor the CRG regional programmes. There are, for example, the new tool developed in 2014 by the CRG Global Initiative to design and monitor CRG programmes that is entitled Strategic Planning Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Guide (SPEL): Building quality programmes in CRG and an SC tool entitled Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL): Measuring results in Child Rights Governance. Tap into the growing interest in CRG to increase collaboration with other SCI COs and international organizations Given the limited resources available to implement the CRG regional programme, SC could consider enhancing its collaboration with other SCI COs in the region as well as with international institutions, such as Plan International, UNICEF, World Vision, and others to maximize resources and synergize their efforts to develop a stronger CRG programme. Plan International in Togo and Ghana have clearly indicated their interest to support child rights coalitions in those two countries. In Niger, SCI CO staff understand well the necessary linkage between CRG and their child protection work, and there is an opportunity to link CRG and CP programmes. Plan International Niger is also in the process of developing a long-term partnership with CONIDE. SC could initiate discussions with these actors on how to work together to maximise impact and eventually ensure the sustainability of their interventions and impact, even to the extent of handing over some coalitions as necessary. Lobby with international institutions to provide institutional support to child rights coalitions Beyond helping partners to conduct donor mapping and to develop a fundraising and resources mobilization strategy, SC should also help child rights coalitions lobby for the institutional support that most international donor institutions are reluctant to provide. Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 77

78 At the UWAC and the national coalition levels Need for an institutional capacity assessment of UWAC and the establishment of an independent permanent secretariat An institutional capacity assessment of UWAC and, if possible, of all national coalitions (giving priority to those that receive direct support from SC under the CRG regional programme) should be conducted to effectively plan the OCD support that could bring about a lasting change in the sustainability and the capacity of national and regional coalitions. To improve the efficiency of UWAC, there is a need to assist UWAC to establish an independent secretariat with skilled staff. SC can lobby with other international institutions to jointly support the institutional cost of such a secretariat, which ideally should be based in a country with easy access to other national coalitions and international and regional institutions. Effective regional advocacy also entails supporting the salary of a regional advocacy manager who will be part of the UWAC secretariat. She/he will seek and organize the assistance of experts in advocacy and lobbying to provide coaching and mentoring to child rights coalitions. SC also needs to support regular bi-annual regional exchange meetings and to encourage UWAC and child rights coalitions to identify common advocacy issues as well as to produce and share bulletins and annual reports with member organisations. Review the content of the OCD support OCD support is a critical component of the CRG programmes in general. The content of the OCD support should not focus only on compliance with SCI procedures and standards. It is thus important that the CRG regional programme also aims at strengthening partner organizations overall and long-term capacity to give voice and leverage to children s claims for their rights using different methods, including coaching, exchange of experience, technical assistance, and M&E. Continue to support child rights coalitions to enhance children s meaningful participation Child participation work in the CRG programme should be based on a clear approach and concrete methodologies. The coalitions need to take into consideration the following issues for the safe and meaningful participation of children: Child participation and risks related to advocacy work in a context of weak legislation and limited democracy. Development of further tools and innovative approaches to involve different age groups. Development of possible standards regarding child representation in the decision-making bodies of coalitions and their members. Mitigation of possible conflicts between children s school obligations and their activism. 78 Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa

79 In countries where children are well organized, the coalitions can support them to elaborate their own complementary reports. UWAC should also look more deeply at the implications of child participation in programme design and implementation, especially in the area of advocacy work, and should define strategies to address these implications adequately. Evaluation of the CRG regional programme in West Africa 79

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