Switzerland “Golden age” of children’s rights could be over
30 May 2011 | child rights
‘Swissinfo’ reports that on his election as chairman of the UN Committee for the Rights of Children, Jean Zermatten said the commitment to children’s rights seemed to be waning, since the focus is more on security policies which are hostile towards young immigrants. Mr. Zermatten leads the International Institute for the Rights of the Child and has been judge in a minors’ court in Switzerland for 25 years.
Source : Swissinfo
M Zermatten is right, however those of us working in the field have known that for well over a decade and it has been well enough known to even the Committee since at least the mid-1990s. One of the major problems has been sectoralisation into fields such as child participation, migration, abuse and sexual exploitation instead of protecting the holistic nature of the CRC as the working base. Countries are not encourage enough to act instead of just receiving back reports, so yes he is right, but perhaps it is being said far too late and far too moderately to make the necessary impression and bring about change.