CHILDREN CAN BE AFFECTED DIFFERENTLY FROM ADULTS BY THE SAME VIOLATIONS -Children benefit from almost all of the

same human rights that are accorded to adults. Interruptions to childrens development have the potential to affect them far more seriously than adults. -An adult who lives through a situation of armed conflict, who is displaced from his home, who is unable to gain steady employment and who suffers from malnutrition and ill-treatment over a period of 4 years, may be expected to continue his life in a normal manner at the end of the displacement and its causes. A child living through the same situation: may suffer permanently from stunted growth and development as a result of malnutrition and ill-treatment and without access to a school during the displacement may never again be able to recover the lost opportunity for education and thus be deprives for many opportunities in the future. THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN AS INDIVIDUALS ARE CLOSELY LINKED TO THE RIGHTS OF OTHER PERSONS (especially their care providers) -one should note that childrens rights are closely linked to the rights of other persons of significance to them. -The effective protection and promotion of a childs rights can often be closely linked to the effective protection and promotion of the rights of those adults upon whom a child is dependent. For example: When an adult refugee who has responsibility over three children is arbitrarily detained , the rights of the three children may well be violated as a direct consequence of the violation of the adults rights. PROTECTION OF CHILDREN UNDER INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMANITARIAN LAW Children benefit from a wide range of human rights instruments and provisions. Many of these are the same as the human rights protection available to adults. Others, however are specific to children. The Convention on the Rights of the Child provides the single, most comprehensive human rights protection

instruments for children. Other international legal instruments provide complementary protection, some of which are specific to issues such as: -juvenile justice -adoption -and exploitation Or to situations -use of children in armed conflicts. International instruments are sometimes supported by regional instruments which are sometimes set higher standards than international treaties. THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD The convention is the most widely ratified human rights instrument in history. -The convention is the first legally binding international instrument to incorporate such a broad range of human rights- civil and political rights as well as economic, social and cultural rights. -The convention is the only human rights treaty to incorporate aspects of international humanitarian law. The range of rights covered by the Convention is the 3 Ps. Provision, Protection and Particiation THE CONVENTION ALSO INTRODUCES TWO SIGNIFICANT CONCEPTUAL ELEMENTS 1. The best interest of the child (article 3) becomes the compulsory criterion for all actions concerning children

2. The principle that parents (or others responsible for the child) should provide guidance to their child in exercising his or her rights, in accordance with the childs evolving capacities (article 5)

OTHER HUMAN RIGHTS INSTRUMENTS SPECIFIC TO CHILDREN A. Juvenile justice instruments -generally these instruments are not legally binding because they only provide guidelines in the application of juvenile justice. However, significant number of their provisions can be argued to be legally binding in the context of other legal instruments.

B. ILO Convention 182 concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour C. African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the child (1998) D. Security Council resolutions E. Stature of the International Criminal Court (ICC) F. The Guiding Principles of International Displacement The Philippines has signed and ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, however, many government policies and practices still do not include or recognize children.

Filipino children and education:

For every 100 Filipino children who enter Grade 1, only 67 will graduate from elementary school. Only 49 will complete high school. Participation rates in public elementary schools have decreased to 90% since 2000. 4 out of 10 children (12-15 years old) are not in school. The net enrollment ratio in public secondary education in 2002 was only 57%.

The average class size across Philippine regions ranges from 33 to 50 students per class Only 3 out of every 10 Filipino children has early childhood education, formal or non-formal

Filipino children and health:

22% of children under the age of five are underweight There is a lack of knowledge about HIV with only 21% of the population having an understanding of what HIV is and how it can be prevented. Only 70% of children are fully immunized

Filipino children and poverty:

26.5% of the Philippines population lives below the poverty line. The number of poor Filipino families has gone up from 4.36 million in 1985 to 5.14 million in 2000.

Filipino children and abuse & exploitation:

Between 1999 and 2008 12% of Filipino children took part in child labor Children in the Philippines are engaged in the worst forms of child labor, particularly in agriculture, domestic work, home based industries, prostitution, trafficking and pornography Throughout urban settings in the Philippines children live and work on the streets, scavenging, begging and engaging in other income generating activities Corporal punishment is illegal but still widely practiced in Filipino schools, homes and other settings Physical and sexual abuse of children in the Philippines is widespread and of concern

Completing school is as important as going to school. 2 MILLION CHILDREN ARE NOT IN SCHOOL

Close to 13 million children are aged 6-11 years old. Participation rates in public elementary schools have decreased since 2000. Out of 10 grade 1 students, only 7 will most likely reach grade 5.

Of the approximately 13 million children of elementary school age, almost 11 million were enrolled in 2002. This translates to a net enrolment ratio of 90%. This is a sharp drop from the 2000 estimate of 97%. Public education in the Philippines is free. Yet, the ability of schools to retain students has been poor. Out of 10 grade 1 students who were enrolled five years ago, only seven are now in grade 5. Worse, only 67% will eventually complete basic elementary education. The quality of Philippine education has also been the subject of much debate in the past decades. The average class size across Philippine regions ranges from 33 to 50 students per class. In July 2003, 1.3 million grade 6 students took the High School Readiness Test. Using a passing mark of 50% (proportion of questions answered correctly), only 18% of the incoming high school students who took the diagnostic test passed the competency level for English; 8% passed Math and 10% passed Science. These test results did not bode well with the government. Hence, a Bridge Program for these students was recommended. The Bridge Program is a one-year remedial program for first year high school students (12-13 years old). It focuses on improving three subject areas English, Mathematics and Science and is intended for students who do not meet the cut-off score in the High School Readiness Test.

Issue

In the past decade, significant developments have been made to expand access to preschool and primary education. The necessary laws for the promotion and protection of education are also in place. These include: the Barangay (Village) Day Care Center Law, which calls for the establishment of educational and day care centres in every village; the Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Act, which mandates all villages to have day care centres and early learning institutions for children; and, the Governance of Basic Education Act of 2001, which promotes school-based management and de-concentration of authority and decision making from the national and regional levels of the education bureaucracy to the division and school levels. Despite this, access of 3- to 5-year-old children to ECCD remains low at 34 per cent. For every ten 5-year-old children, only six have access to preschool education. Access has been notably lower among younger children (3-4), especially boys and among rural children. This trend is alarming considering that lack of early education and psychosocial stimulation has been linked to poor school readiness and high likelihood of repetition and dropout in early grades. Many parents and communities have to be convinced of the importance of early childhood education. Many believe that 3-year-old children are too young to attend preschool. While net enrolment in primary school is high at 85 percent as of schoolyear 2007-08 , this rate drastically declines to 62 per cent in high school in the same school year. Drop-out rates are doubled as children reach secondary school. Around11.64 million out-of-school youth and others situated in impoverished urban cities and far-flung communities still need to be reached.

The country fairs well in maintaining gender parity in access in primary education. Boys and girls have almost equal opportunities to attend primary schools. However, boys lag behind the girls in terms of staying in school and level of achievement. A higher percentage of boys than girls drop out of school. The latest Philippine Human Development Report reveals that 53.5 per cent of females are high school graduates compared to 50.6 per cent of boys. Some provinces and areas lag behind others. For instance, Sulu Province in Mindanao has the smallest percentage of children enrolled in public primary schools at just 62 per cent compared to the national average of 81.7 per cent. Consequently, in the same province only 37 per cent of students enrolled in grade 1 public schools are able to reach grade 6. The national average is 63.6 percent. Sulu is one of the most conflict-affected areas in the country, where basic services are limited. The quality of instruction needs much improvement as well. Public education focuses on developing cognitive abilities but lack instruction for life skills and critical thinking that are relevant to the needs of most school-age children. Out-of-school youth cite lack of interest in schooling and the need to work to augment family income are their main reasons for dropping out. Low scores in national achievement tests indicate low quality education. Public secondary schools are unable to accommodate the large number of elementary graduates. For every 40 village primary schools, there are only eight municipal secondary schools. And the population is projected to increase from 81.6 million in 2004 to 96.8 million in 2015. Approximately 1 million new children join the education system each year. These issues are further exacerbated by the occurrence of disasters which damage teaching materials, school supplies and school buildings. Unaffected classrooms are used as evacuation centres. As a result, childrenboth displaced and non-displacedare deprived of the proper tools and environment for learning. Conditions in host schools distract students from their lessons. Displaced students that were not accommodated in the host schools stop schooling. Those in conflict-affected regions of Mindanao continually live in fear and insecurity which detract them from pursuing continuous education.

PHILIPPINES LAWS & ISSUANCES ON CHILDREN

R.A. 6655 (Free Public Secondary Education Act of 1988) R.A. 6972 (Barangay Day Care Law) R.A. 7277 (Magna Carta for Disabled Persons) R.A. 7323 (Summer and/or Christmas Employment for Poor Students) [click to download] R.A. 7610 (Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act) [click to download] R.A. 7624 (An Act Integrating Drug Prevention and Control in School Curricula) R.A. 8044 (The Youth in Nation-Building Act of 1995) R.A. 8504 (AIDS Prevention and Control Act of 1988) R.A. 8353 (The Anti-Rape Law of 1997) [click to download] R.A. 8980 (Early Childhood Care and Development Law) Republic Act 9208 ( Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003) R.A. 9262 (Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004) R.A. 9344 (Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006) [click to download] Executive Order No. 56 (Authorizing the Ministry of Social Services and Development to Take Protective Custody of Child Prostitutes and Sexually Exploited Children and for Other Purposes) Proclamation No. 731 (Declaring the 2nd Week of February of Every Year as "National Awareness Week for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation) Proclamation No. 267 (Declaring October as National Children's Month)