Protect for the Future Placing children's protection and care at the heart of achieving the MDGs

Many experts are calling for new strategies to achieve the Millennium Development Goals which promote human and child rights, and ensure that those most in need are not ignored in favour of those who are easiest to reach.

This paper argues that, in relation to children, this vital change in approach must go beyond a consideration of survival, health and education rights already specifically referred to in the MDGs, to encompass rights relating to children’s protection and care. These include recognition of the central importance of family-based care for child well-being, and children’s rights to be free from violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect.

The report is divided into five sections. Following on from the introduction, drawing on evidence relating to MDGs one to six, the second section shows how a recognition of children’s rights to care and protection is a vital component of efforts towards achieving the MDGs. The third section highlights the importance of including protection and care concerns in efforts to monitor the MDGs, and provides suggested equity indicators which encompass these concerns. The fourth section looks forward tothe post-MDG framework, arguing that the absence of an explicit reference to child protection and care in the current MDGs needs to be addressed if such a framework is to be effective in improving children’s wellbeing in the future. Finally, the concluding section summarises the arguments made and provides policy recommendations to make the MDGs more effective.

The report is the result of a collaboration between nine UK-based NGOs working on child protection and care with a common commitment to ensuring that these important rights are recognised in the international development agenda.