DISCUSSION PAPER Demystifying Non-Discrimination for effective Child Rights Programming in South and Central Asia This Discussion Paper has been developed to generate interest and as background information for the Regional Workshop on Demystifying Non-Discrimination for effective Child Rights Programming in South and Central Asia, held from 24-28 October 2005 in Kathmandu, Nepal. Save the Children fights for children’s rights. We deliver immediate and lasting improvements to children’s lives worldwide. Save the Children works for: z a world which respects and values each child z a world which listens to children and learns z a world where all children have hope and opportunity ISBN 99946-2-150-5 ©2006 Save the Children Sweden – South and Central Asia Region This publication is protected by copyright. It may be reproduced by any method without fee or prior permission for teaching purposes, but not for resale. For use in any other circumstances, prior written permission must be obtained from the publisher. Project Manager: Ravi Karkara Written by: Bandana Shrestha with Ravi Karkara and Lena Karlsson Production Management: Neha Bhandari, Savita Malla and Prajwol Malekoo Copy edit: Kalpita Sarkar and Sandhya Rao Images: Save the Children Canada, Asia Regional Office; Save the Children in Sri Lanka; Save the Children Sweden, Regional Office for South and Central Asia; Save the Children Sweden-Denmark, Bangladesh; Save the Children Sweden, Pakistan; Save the Children Sweden-Norway, Afghanistan; Save the Children TRP, India; Save the Children UK, India Designed and processed by: WordScape Published by: Save the Children Sweden Regional Office for South and Central Asia Sanepa Road, Kupundole, Lalitpur GPO 5850, Kathmandu, Nepal Tel: +977-1-5531928/9 Fax: +977-1- 5527266 [email protected] www.rb.se ii Table of Contents FOREWORD ................................................................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................................................................ vii ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS .................................................................................................... viii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................ix 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 1 2 DEFINING DISCRIMINATION ........................................................................................................... 5 Immediate and Root Causes of Discrimination ............................................................................. 7 Reproduction of Discrimination ........................................................................................................ 8 Discrimination against Girls and Boys ............................................................................................. 9 Cycle of Oppression and Exclusion ................................................................................................ 10 3 PROBLEM ANALYSIS/CONTEXT .................................................................................................... 11 Legislation .............................................................................................................................................. 12 Data ......................................................................................................................................................... 12 Reporting Mechanism ......................................................................................................................... 13 Organisations ........................................................................................................................................ 14 4 NON-DISCRIMINATION AS A HUMAN RIGHTS PRINCIPLE ................................................ 15 International Treaties, Conventions and Declarations ............................................................. 16 Reservations .......................................................................................................................................... 21 5CONSTITUTIONAL INSIGHTS OF SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA ...................................... 23 Equality Guaranteed under the Constitutions ............................................................................. 24 Recognition of International Treaties and Human Rights ......................................................... 25 Positive Discrimination of Discriminated Groups ...................................................................... 26 Legislations and Actions to Promote Conventions .................................................................... 28 6 PREVALENCE OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST VULNERABLE GROUPS ....................... 33 7 BREAKING THE CYCLE OF OPPRESSION AND EXCLUSION ............................................. 57 Applying a Rights Based Approach to Programming ................................................................... 59 Strategies for Combating Discrimination ...................................................................................... 64 8 RECOMMENDATIONS ...................................................................................................................... 69 General Recommendations ............................................................................................................... 70 Thematic Recommendations ............................................................................................................. 73 9 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................................... 79 ANNEXURES .................................................................................................................................................. 83 Annex 1: International Human Rights Treaties ...................................................................................84 Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) .... 84 Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) ................................................................................................................................88 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) .......................... 95 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) ................................... 99 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) ....... 101 Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR) ..................................................... 103 Indigenous Childrens Rights (excerpts) ...................................................................... 105 Annex 2: Bibliography .............................................................................................................................. 110 iii Foreword “State Parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in the present Convention to each child within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child’s or his or her parent’s or legal guardian’s race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status.” - Article 2, United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child Discrimination exists in every society - whether the society is rich, poor, developed or developing. Discrimination needs to be understood in relation to power-dynamics in societies because it is ultimately ‘power relations’ that determine the status of individuals or groups within any social spectrum. Just like adults, children too face discrimination. However, the type of discrimination and how they experience it differs according to the existing social and cultural system in different societies. Children in virtually all societies have less power than adults and are therefore more vulnerable to discrimination. Many children face multiple forms of discrimination because they happen to be girls, disabled, exposed to trafficking, infected or affected by HIV and AIDS or belong to an ethnic or religious minority or even because of their social status, to name a few. Social exclusion and the lack of access to services and resources are common effects of discrimination. At present, there is growing interest in the rights based approach and Child Rights Programming (CRP) among various organisations in South and Central Asia. The overall vision is to achieve greater benefits for girls and boys by operating a coherent programme based on Child Rights Programming. In both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), equity and non-discrimination is fundamental for respecting, fulfilling and protecting the rights of children. But in reality the in-built power dynamics or structures in society often constrain or restrain access of discriminated groups in attaining their rights. As a result, discrimination is the biggest constraint in the promotion of a ‘rights based approach’ to development. Many programmes in the region are diversity-blind and do not actively address root causes of child rights violations such as patriarchal structures and unequal power relations.