Governance fit for Children To what extent have the general measures of implementation of the UNCRC been realised in five European Countries?

In 2010, Save the Children has received financial support from the European Union’s Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Programme to carry out a research project to assess how far the ‘general measures of implementation’ of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) have been realised at European, national and community level.

This report brings together evidence from the national studies carried out in each of these states by Save the Children organisations for the ‘Governance Fit for Children’ project. By identifying trends and patterns between and within states, it helps to shed light on the various ways in which the CRC is being understood and implemented at all levels. Highlighting good practice examples from other countries will also facilitate an invaluable sharing of experiences between EU Member States.

The report provides clear recommendations for the five European participant countries:
- National governments should incorporate the CRC into national law, all governments should undertake regular reviews of legislation

- All governments should ensure that National Strategies for Children’s Rights, covering all the rights of the CRC, are in place, accompanied by concrete Action Plans for implementation

- Structures should be established at the heart of government, to ensure effective co-ordination of CRC implementation at national, regional and local level

- Governments should ensure that a unified and coherent system and supporting structure is in place to monitor the implementation of children’s rights

- Working with key stakeholders all governments should develop a clear set of child rights indicators including all rights set out in the CRC

- All governments should strive to assess spending on children with an accompanying analysis at national, regional and local government levels with a view to ascertaining how effectively children’s rights are being implemented