1. End all forms of discrimination against the girl-child.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES:

Every child has the right to enjoy their human rights and to special protective measures without discrimination, including protection from discrimination because of what her/his parents do or believe. ICCPR 24:1; CRC 2

ACTIONS:

• Ratify and implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
  
  
• Ensure that a child is registered immediately after birth, has the right from birth to a name, to acquire a nationality, and to know and be cared for by his or her parents.
  
  
• Pass and strictly enforce laws to prevent early non-consensual marriage and raise the minimum age for marriage where necessary.
  
  
• Pass and enforce laws that ensure the equal right to inherit regardless of sex.
  

2. End negative cultural attitudes and practices against girls.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES:

Countries should take appropriate and effective measures to end the practice of female circumcision. CEDAW GR 14

Countries should take all appropriate measures to change social and cultural patterns of conduct that are based on the idea of the inferiority or superiority of either of the sexes and on stereotyped roles for women and men. DEVAW 4j

Countries should not invoke any custom, tradition or religious consideration to avoid their obligation to eliminate violence against women in all its forms. DEVAW 4

ACTIONS:

• Encourage and support NGOs and community-based organizations in their efforts to change negative attitudes and practices towards girls and promote equality.
  

3. Promote and protect the rights of the girl-child and increase awareness of her needs and potential.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES:

Children have many civil and political rights, including the right to life, to a name and nationality, to an identity, to express their views in all matters affecting the child, to freedom of expression and thought, to freedom of association, to privacy and to information. CRC 6,7,8,12,13,14,15,16,17; ICCPR 24

Children have many economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to the highest attainable standard of health, to social security, to an adequate standard of living, to education, and to enjoy his or her culture, and to rest and leisure. CRC 24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31; ICESCR 11,12,13,14

Children with disabilities have rights to special care, education, training, employment and recreation opportunities to help them enjoy a full and decent life. CRC 23; DRDP 6,7

In any situation concerning the girl-child, the best interests of the child shall be the primary consideration. At the same time, parents' rights and responsibilities must also be taken into account. CRC 3

Children who are accused of, or recognised as breaking the law have a right to treatment that promotes their dignity. Children have a right to basic procedural guarantees as well as to legal assistance for their defence. CRC 40

Children are entitled to special protections when they do not have parents or are separated from their family, and if they are refugees. CRC 20, 22

4. Eliminate discrimination against girls in education, skills development and training.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES:

Girls have the same rights to all forms of education as boys. UDHR 26:1; ICESCR 13,14; CEDAW 10; ICERD 5d:v; CDE 1a

Countries must ensure that children have access to information from a variety of sources and that the mass media distributes information that is socially and culturally beneficial. CRC 17

ACTIONS:

• Ensure equal access to primary education and participation in cultural and sports activities.
  
  
• Promote education on human rights, social, economic and political issues.
  
  
• Provide skills training to increase employment opportunities.
  
  
• Ensure appropriate education and skills training for disabled girls.
  
  

5. Eliminate discrimination against girls in health and nutrition.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES:

Countries must combat disease and malnutrition suffered by children without discrimination, and ensure education and guidance for parents about child health and nutrition and family planning. CRC 24c,e,f

ACTIONS:

• Reorient health education and services to include reproductive health and sexually transmitted diseases.
  
  
• Help end discriminatory practices against girls in food allocation, nutrition and access to health services by providing public information.
  
  
• Abolish harmful traditional practices.
  

6. Eliminate the economic exploitation of child labour and protect young girls at work.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES:

Children have the right to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing work that is likely to be harmful to them in any way. CRC 32; ICESCR 10:3; WFCLC 3,6,7

Countries must prevent the sale of or traffic in children for any purpose and protect children against all other forms of exploitation. CRC 35,36;
WFCLC 7

In eliminating the worst forms of child labour, account must be taken of the special situation of girls. WFCLC 7e

ACTIONS:

• Protect the girl child from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or interfere with her education or be harmful to her health or development.
  

7. Stop violence against the girl-child.

Children have the right to be protected from sexual exploitation and abuse, including unlawful sexual activity, prostitution and the use of children in pornography. CRC 34

Girl children should be protected from violence occurring within the family, including sexual abuse, dowry-related violence, female genital mutilation, and other traditional practices harmful to women. DEVAW 2a; CEDAW GR 19

Children have the right to be free from torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. CRC 37

Countries must protect children in armed conflicts and ensure their rights according to international humanitarian law. CRC 38, DPWCEAC

Child victims of armed conflict, torture or maltreatment have the right to treatment that promotes physical and psychological recovery and social integration. CRC 39; CAT 12

ACTIONS:

• Protect the girl child from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or interfere with her education or be harmful to her health or development.
  

8. Promote the girl-child’s awareness of and participation in social, economic and political life.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES:

Any stereotyped concept of the roles of women and men must be eliminated through education. CEDAW 10c

9. Strengthen the role of the family in improving the status of the girl child.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES:

Women and men have equal rights in deciding to marry, during their marriage and at its dissolution. The family is entitled to protection by the state. UDHR 16; ICCPR 23; ICESCR 10:1; CEDAW 16;1a,b,c; ICERD 5d;iv; CEDAW GR21

Women have the same rights and responsibilities as their spouse in all matters relating to their children. CEDAW 16:1d,e,f; CRC 18

Countries must respect the rights, responsibilities and duties of parents to provide, in a manner consistent with the evolving capacities of the child, appropriate guidance in the child’s exercise of their rights. CRC 5

ACTIONS:

• Educate and encourage parents and caregivers to treat girls and boys equally and to ensure shared responsibilities between girls and boys in the family.
  

THE GIRL-CHILD: ACHIEVEMENTS

• Some progress in primary and, to a lesser extent in secondary and tertiary education for girls owing to the creation of a more gender-sensitive school environment, improved educational infrastructure and increased enrolment and retention.
  
  
• The provision of support mechanisms for pregnant adolescents and adolescent mothers.
  
  
• Increased non-formal education opportunities and attendance at science and technology classes.
  
  
• Increased attention to the health of the girl child, including the sexual and reproductive health of adolescents.
  
  
• An number of countries introduced laws banning female genital mutilation (FGM) and imposed heavier penalties for sexual abuse, trafficking and other exploitation of girls.
  
  
• The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted on Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict and on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.
  

THE GIRL-CHILD: OBSTACLES

• Continuing discrimination and negative cultural attitudes and practices against girls as well as negative stereotyping that limit girls potential.
  
  
• Inadequate awareness of the specific situation of the girl child, child labour, and the heavy burden of domestic responsibilities on girls.
  
  
• Inadequate nutrition and access to health services.
  
  
• Lack of finance which prevent girls from pursuing and completing their education and training.
  
  
• Lack of opportunities and possibilities for girls to become confident and self-reliant, and independent adults.
  
  
• Poverty, lack of parental support and guidance, lack of information and education, abuse and all forms of exploitation of, and violence against the girl child, in many cases resulting in unwanted pregnancies and transmission of HIV.
  
  
• Few national mechanisms to implement programmes and policies for the girl child, and programmes hindered by lack of or insufficient allocation of financial and human resources.
  
  
• Insufficient provision of information and services to meet girls’ health needs, including education and services related to their sexual and reproductive health that would enable them to deal in a positive and responsible way with their sexuality.
  
  
• Increased sexual abuse and sexual exploitation.