The rise of commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) over the past several decades has caught the attention of activists and advocates around the world. Their work has contributed to a host of policies, initiatives, and legal doctrine that continues to shape public discussions of the issue as well policy responses to the problem at the international, national, and local level. According to a number of international monitoring organizations, Mexico stands as the prime destination for trafficked children and the country in the Western Hemisphere with the highest degree of CSEC. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted over the summer of 2010 in Mexico City, I explore the relationship between the work of civil society advocates campaigning against CSEC and the struggles, successes, and issues they face working in the context of Mexico City. My findings reveal important developments in the work of advocates as well as the revelation of critical areas in their work that deserve further investigation and research. At the same time, my research gives some insight into the way advocacy groups carry out their agendas in the face of a weak Mexican state, intensifying violence related to escalated war on drugs, and the inherent difficulties associated with working at the level of civil society. / text

<p>Although the concept of human rights is very much accepted as part of human existence throughout the world today, there is still much controversy surrounding the idea of rights for children. The Constitution, however, not only recognises the fact that like all other members of society, children are capable of being bearers of human rights but emphasises also the special position of children in society by granting them specific rights in the Constitution. Health rights are particularly important for children as the entitlements and obligations created by such rights are necessary for children to realise their full potential. In this thesis the entitlements and obligations attached to children'shealth service rights in the COnstitution are explored.</p>

Zimbabwe made commitments- global, regional and national- towards the fulfilment of the right to social protection for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) by ratifying international conventions and other regional instruments. Whilst such commitments are commendable, Zimbabwe has faced challenges in translating such commitments into actual deliverables. Currently, child protection mechanisms for OVC in Zimbabwe include, amongst others, Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM), through which tuition fees, levy and examination fees assistance is provided to vulnerable children. The other social protection mechanisms are the food aid programme, public works programmes and the National Strategy on Children in Difficult Circumstances. An evaluation of the current social protection mechanisms for OVC in Zimbabwe, among other things, reported inadequate intervention of the current mechanisms so as to adequately provide for OVC. This may call for new innovative social protection mechanisms, like cash transfers, to replace some of the current mechanisms so as to adequately provide for OVC. Social cash transfers are receiving increasing recognition as a means of dealing with the of OVC problem worldwide, and more recently in Africa. There are a number of African countries that have introduced social cash transfers for children within their jurisdictions. Notable examples are South Africa, Zambia and Malawi. Social cash transfers have a positive impact on the education, health and nutrition of OVC. Social cash transfers do not involve large sums of money, thus they may be a desirable option for the social protection of OVC and their households in low income countries like Zimbabwe. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

This thesis presents research into the processes, practices and experiences of transition to secondary education in Northern Ireland from a children's rights perspective. Three aspects of the contemporary landscape of transition are considered: availability of school places and children's school choice aspirations; privately operated unregulated tests used for selection; and school level admissions arrangements which mediate transfer. The overarching aim of the thesis was to understand how inequities in each of these areas are potential barriers to children's enjoyment of their rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (United Nations, 1989). The mixed-methods study was conducted in three strands: a documentary analysis of school admissions policies for 205 academically selective and non-selective secondary schools offering admission in September 2014; a collaboration with children as research advisors to inform the purposes, processes and outcomes of the research which reflects a rights based approach; and a questionnaire of a broad sample of transition age children (10-12 years, n=1327) which extensively investigated their views and experiences of the policy and practice of transfer. The rights based, mixed methods approach was intentional, so as to place the voices of those directly affected by the transfer arrangements at the heart of the research. The findings illustrate serious inequities which represent a system-level failure to safeguard the child's right to education (article 28) under the CRC and according to Tomaševski's 4-As conceptual framework; that education should be available, accessible, acceptable and adaptable (2001). Aspects of transition procedures, such as the differential availability of school places and inconsistencies in school admissions requirements, limit school choice and contribute to inequitable access to secondary education. The assessment arrangements are shown to create additional complexities in admissions practices, resulting in differential experiences of access to academically selective schools. This thesis, by offering insight into children's experiences of admissions decisions across the full range of school types, demonstrates that the power of choice lies with schools. An analytical tool, developed as an outcome of this research, is proposed as a means to assess the extent to which transition arrangements are underpinned by respect for children's rights.

The right to participate and express a view is an intrinsic right afforded to all human beings, regardless of age (Lundy, 2007). Explicitly, Articles 12, 13, 14 and 15 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) grant participatory rights to children and young people in decision-making. One of the forms of participation academics and practitioners have studied over the past decades, the engagement of children and young people in participatory processes, is moving away from the understanding of children as passive recipients of research to active participants. However, literature has paid scant attention to research led directly by children and young people (Thomas, 2015). Child-led research is understood, as starting definition from literature, as an approach in which children and young people are involved in all stages - from planning, fieldwork and analysis to dissemination. The aim of this research is to critically explore how the process and outcomes of children and young people's participation in their own child-led research contributes, positively or negatively, to decision-making processes in the context of international development programmes. The research questions are: Question 1: What are children and young people's motivations for, expectations of and experiences with engaging in their own child-led research as a way to influence decision-making? Question 2: What are the processes of child-led research that positively or negatively influence decision-making? Question 3: In what ways does child-led research influence decision-making? (And why and how do they do so?) This research project used a case study approach to examine two cases where children and young people claimed they conducted child-led research. The first, Bekaa and Irbid, investigated the research conducted by a group of children and young people on issues relevant to their situations as refugees in the host countries of Lebanon and Jordan. The second, Dhaka, reviewed child-led research focused on the lack of birth certificates issued for Bangladeshi children and the possible effects of not having this legal registration. A group of children and young people who are members of a Children's Parliament in Dhaka led this project. The research participants for this project are defined as (1) the children and young people, aged 12 to 18 (when I interviewed them), who are associated with World Vision programmes and engaged in the child-led research projects within their constituencies in the Irbid and Bekaa and Dhaka case studies and (2) the adult professionals who acted as facilitators of child-led research projects and those who worked in the design of these projects or dissemination of their findings. These participants were those who were best suited to provide the information needed as they were fully involved in the child-led research projects and had in-depth knowledge to contribute answers to the research questions. This project adopted several methods for data collection, including focus groups, semi-structured interviews, observations and documentary review. The study followed ethical research guidelines to ensure the safety, rights, dignity and well-being of both the children and young people and adult participants (Morrow, 2009). The research took into account the special considerations required to gain informed consent, ensure confidentiality and anonymity, acknowledge the cultures of the research sites, and refrain from presenting information that may potentially harm participants (Marshall and Rossman, 2006). The findings of the study show that the child-led research approach is considered an adequate participatory approach that creates spaces for children and young people to engage in their own research and influence change based on their findings. Thus, this approach enabled participants to gather together and pursue collectively a research project in which they were able to explore issues about their lives using research methodologies that were appropriate to their experiences, abilities and expertise. This conversion, however, highlights a variety of tensions around the understanding and legitimacy of child-led research. Findings from this study supports the view that child-led research generates empirically grounded knowledge, which produced through data collection and personal experiences of the young researches and its analysis as a whole. Findings also reveal that the young researchers' motivations and expectations were to make an impact on their own lives, as well as the lives of their peers and change a situation that they perceived as unfair. Findings show that the adult facilitators played an important role in facilitating the young researchers but not managing them. However, this study evidenced some tensions between participation and protection rights. The study found manifestations of power amongst the children and young people during the child-led research projects, which were based on age, gender, religion, language and ethnicity. This confirms children and young people can replicate power relations within their participatory projects, which are deeply embedded in their traditions and cultures. Findings show that child-led research has different levels of impact; on decision-making and in the individual lives of the young researchers. This is connected to the contexts where children and young people conducted their research, which was conducive in one case study and more challenging in the other case. Overall, the findings of this study contribute to the body of literature that challenges the dominant conceptualisation that children and young people are unable to conduct their own research. Instead, the findings of this research project contribute to the study of children and young people's participation by providing different perspectives on the debate around the children and young people's abilities and motivations to engage in their own child-led research projects. The findings contribute to knowledge about the nature of child-led research as an approach that supports children and young people in their struggle to participate in society. These findings contribute to the substantial gap of understanding about what is knowledge and expertise by exploring the ways in which children and young people conduct their own research and create knowledge with the aim of making a change in society. Specifically, the findings provide empirical evidence of the impact that their work has had on policy and practice and their personal lives.

BACKGROUND: The rights of the child are a subject that never stops to be of immense significance and import. All people are bearers of human rights yet children are, due to their vulnerability, always subordinated adults. It is therefore of great magnitude that we learn to respect and treat the child with dignity. It is our duty as preschool teachers to implement these rights and to raise the children in a democratic spirit, to achieve this we need to act accordingly. This can sometimes be a complex matter. South Africa has a history of violence and discrimination; nonetheless the country has made substantial progress in these areas. I decided to go and see for myself how the work with children’s rights was coming along. PURPOSE: The main purpose of this study is to find out how a few preschool teachers work with children’s rights in the country of South Africa. I decided to focus on children’s participation and on corporal punishment and the teachers own views on these topics METHOD: This study takes a hermeneutic scientific conduct, through ethnographic research I try to analyze and interpret a few preschool teachers’ views and actions concerning children’s rights. In this field study data was collected through interviews and observations. RESULT: Earlier research and concluding observations say that South Africa is having difficulties in realizing children’s rights in numerous areas. Both the child’s participatory rights and the continuous use of corporal punishment are expressed as concerns. In this thesis I find that teachers are unfamiliar with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and that they receive no education or support from the government in these matters. The teachers are however aware of the concept “children’s rights” and they have some understanding of what it is relating to. The teachers states that the work with children’s rights every day and in all activities but no organized situations about this is observed. The child’s possibilities to participate are scares and the teachers are relatively novel towards the involvement of the child. Most teachers consider benefits from corporal punishment and the continuous use is evident.

A child’s right to have their opinion in decisions which affect them given due regard forms the basis of Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (1989) which was ratified by the UK government in 1991. The term ‘pupil voice’ has been used by schools as a way of encapsulating this and a survey in 2007 suggested that 92% of primary schools in England and Wales had a school council in place (Whitty & Wisby, 2007a). The aim of the current study was to elicit the views of key stage 2 school councillors and staff members about the role of school councils and pupil participation in decision making. In Phase One staff from three primary schools in the south west of England were interviewed about school councils and pupil participation in school. Data were analysed using thematic analysis and three themes emerged. In Phase Two 16 key stage 2 pupils, who were members of their own school’s school council, took part. Mixed gender paired interviews were conducted to elicit their views about their role and pupil participation in decision making in their school. Interviews were followed by five weekly group sessions involving participatory activities to support and develop their understanding of their role as school councillors. Pupils from each school council had input into the topics explored in this part of the research. Findings from Phase One suggest that staff regard school councils as being positive for the children involved but they differ in opinion in terms of the impact they have on the wider school population. Findings from Phase Two suggest school council members value being responded to by adults when they have been asked to express their views about a specific decision. School council members also perceive trust as being one of the main factors involved in their election by peers. Findings are discussed in relation to recent research about participation in decision making, the effectiveness of school councils and the importance of a participatory ethos within schools. Overall findings lead to the proposal of a model for use in schools to support the participation of pupils in decision making. The model is based on the existing model conceptualising Article 12 of the UNCRC by Lundy (2007) but incorporates a shared participatory ethos and adult response as required factors. Limitations of the current study as well as suggestions for future research and implications for EP practice are discussed.

This thesis explores children's perceptions of their ability to participate in decisions that directly affect them following parental separation. Taking a postmodern approach, the thesis argues that the concepts of 'the child' and 'childhood' are social constructs produced by discourses that have arisen from historical accounts of the position of children in 'adult' society. The knowledge thus produced constructs children as incomplete beings, vulnerable and unable to understand significant issues such as those associated with parental separation. Consequently, children are marginalised, 'othered' and denied the opportunity to participate in decisions that directly affect them. After reviewing the ways in which discourses operate to subjectify children in this way, the thesis explores an alternative construction of children as competent and resilient, able to participate with their adult counterparts in decision-making activities. The potential for the provisions of both the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Australian Family Law Reform Act 1995 to reconstruct children in this way is explored. Reviews of the literature indicated that Australian children had not been included in research and discussions about their involvement in decisions that directly affected them. Consequently, this research undertook in-depth interviews of sixteen children between the ages of 7 and 17 years. Their views about their abilities to participate in decisions that directly affect them are reviewed in relation to the different discourses identified in the literature. The extent to which children?s understandings reflect these discourses is considered. The thesis argues that much is still to be achieved. A review of the findings includes an account of the difficulties experienced in recruiting children for this project and suggests that the social construction of children continues to position them as vulnerable and incompetent. It is argued that the constructs of 'competence', 'age' and 'maturity' are not useful indicators of children's abilities to make decisions; thus, a 'new' construction of children, based on greater adult understanding of their unique experiences and understandings, is suggested. In relation to decisions that affect children following parental separation, the thesis makes a number of suggestions that support an exploration of creative initiatives that reflect the children's views. / PhDSocialScience

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States of America, there has been a shift in the policies of many countries to combat terrorism. Terrorism has had a devastating effect on many citizens of the world. These include „the enjoyment of the right to life, liberty and physical integrity of victims. In addition to these individual costs, terrorism can destabilise Governments, undermine civil society, jeopardise peace and security, and threaten social and economic development.‟1 All of these also had a real impact on the enjoyment of human rights. Therefore the fight to curb further terrorist attacks is paramount. States are charged with the responsibility of curbing terrorism by their citizens. But with responsibility comes obligations to the citizenry.2 States should therefore not engage in policies or actions that further deprive others of their enjoyment of human rights. This is well put by Hoffman when he says „history shows that when societies trade human rights for security, most often they get neither.

Η εργασία πραγματεύεται το θέμα της ένταξης των δικαιωμάτων του παιδιού στην εκπαιδευτική δραστηριότητα του νηπιαγωγείου. Η έρευνα πραγματοποιείται στα νηπιαγωγεία της Πάτρας. Σκοπός της εργασίας είναι να διαπιστωθεί κατά πόσο οι νηπιαγωγοί γνωρίζουν για τα δικαιώματα του παιδιού και τα συμπεριλαμβάνουν στην εκπαιδευτική τους δραστηριότητα. Η έρευνα γίνεται μέσω ερωτηματολογίων που απαντούν εθελοντικά οι νηπιαγωγοί και η ανάλυση γίνεται με την μέθοδο SPSS. / -