On May 20th in Regina, the Federal, Provincial, and Territorial (FPT) Senior Officials’ Committee Responsible for Human Rights held a Day of Dialogue between FPT Ministers, Partners and Stakeholders, which included civil society representatives, Indigenous leaders and Human Rights Commissions. The Dialogue took place in the margins of the Forum of Ministers on Human Rights that was held the following day.
The CCRC was invited to contribute to a roundtable with other civil society organisations and our we shared the below concerns and recommendations:
We understand that one of the root cause of the gaps in rights realisation we have heard lies the need for greater accountability and transparency on human rights implementation. We therefore align with the call to action of the Civil Society Forum. This means establishing a clear monitoring process across all levels of government from municipal to federal, with defined roles and responsibilities, measurable indicators for each child right, and adequate resources for data collection and analysis. It also means funding civil society organizations to meaningfully gather and participate in the reporting process, including the preparation of alternative reports.
Many voices before us have made the case clearly: Canada must integrate the CRC into all levels of government, develop a National Plan for Children, create a Commissioner for Children and Youth, ensure equal access to quality child-centred services, and establish systematic child rights impact assessments, with a focus on children’s rights to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment – a major intergenerational threat to this day.
We will also support that education on children’s rights must become a genuine priority — for children themselves, for communities, and for public servants. Awareness is the foundation of accountability.
We want to add two urgent points.
First, the UN financial crisis has presented a major threat to the CRC Committee’s ability to carry out its vital work. Canada must protect funding for UN human rights mechanisms and defend the Committee on the Rights of the Child as non-negotiable. As part of legimitimizing the Committee, Canada needs to prioritize addressing Committee recommendations and ratifying the Optional Protocol 3, so that children have real recourse when domestic remedies fail.
Second, on digital rights: we are concerned by proposed social media bans that are not evidence-based and fall short of a rights-based approach. This welcomed political momentum to protect children from online harm is an excellent demonstration that unless rights are centered, harm can be done. Upcoming measures must be grounded in the CRC framework, including considerations for children rights to participation and information.
The CRC turns 35 this year. Canada helped build this framework. Now is the time to defend it — strengthen its institutions, educate everyone about it, and give children the tools to hold us accountable.