Children

Relevant sources: ICCPR Arts. 2(1), 6(5), 10(2)(b), (3), 14(1), (4), 18(4), 24, 26; ICESCR Arts. 2(2), 10(1), (3), 11, 12(2)(a), 13; CEDAW Arts. 5(b), 9(2), 10(h), 11(2)(c), 12(1), 13(a), 16(1)(d), (f), (2); ICPPED Arts. 7(2)(b), 24(6), 25; CRC; CRPD Arts. 3, 4(3), 6(1), 7, 8(1)(b), (2)(b), 13(1), 16, 18(2), 22(1), 23-25, 26(1), 28(2)(b), 30(5)(d); ICRMW Arts. 4, 7, 12(4), 17(2), (4), (6), 18(4), 25(1)(b), 29-30, 44(2), 45(2)-(4); UDHR Arts. 2, 7, 25(2), 26

Core elements of the guarantee during the COVID-19 pandemic include:

• To “effectively prevent and combat the sale and sexual exploitation of children, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and its resulting socioeconomic crisis” put into place “comprehensive and child rights-centred protection systems” (UN Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material)
• Guarantee “child-centred, integrated, individualized trauma-informed support for suspected and identified child victims” (UN Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material)
• Direct resources towards “supporting family-based and community-based programmes and services in order to reduce family separation for children, including those whose parents are unable to care for them as a result of the economic impact of the pandemic, or who find themselves orphaned as a result of the death of a parent from the disease” (UN Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material)
• Guarantee “that private companies put in place effective online child protection mechanisms” including for “early detection of cases and the effective blocking and removal of child sexual exploitation material online” (UN Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material)
• Take into consideration the range of impacts (“health, social, educational, economic and recreational”) that the pandemic has on the rights of the child (UN Committee on the Rights of the Child)
• Ensure children’s “rights to rest, leisure, recreation and cultural and artistic activities” through “alternative and creative solutions” (UN Committee on the Rights of the Child)
• Guarantee “that online learning does not exacerbate existing inequalities or replace student-teacher interaction” in education (UN Committee on the Rights of the Child)
• Ensure that “basic services for children including healthcare, water, sanitation and birth registration” are maintained and that measures are put in place “to ensure that children are fed nutritious food” (UN Committee on the Rights of the Child)
• Designate “core child protection services as essential and ensure that they remain functioning and available” (UN Committee on the Rights of the Child)
• Ensure the right to non-discrimination and “[p]rotect children whose vulnerability is further increased by the exceptional circumstances caused by the pandemic,” including, among others, those with disabilities, migrants, refugees, and the internally displaced, “minority and indigenous children,” and “children with underlying health conditions including HIV/AIDS” (UN Committee on the Rights of the Child)
• Release detained children “whenever possible” and for those “who cannot be released” put into place measures through which they can “maintain regular contact with their families” and “[p]revent the arrest or detention of children for violating State guidance and directives relating to COVID-19” (UN Committee on the Rights of the Child)
• Ensure that COVID-19 related information is disseminated in ways “that are child-friendly and accessible to all children”(UN Committee on the Rights of the Child)
• Put in place mechanisms through which the perspectives of children are “heard and taken into account in decision-making processes on the pandemic” (UN Committee on the Rights of the Child)
• Provide or expand “social assistance to families” including “through the use of universal child grants” (UN)
• Adapt interventions such as “testing, physical distancing, contact tracing, public hygiene, movement restrictions” that “reflect the characteristics, capacities and resources of each environment” particularly to address “the negative impacts of the pandemic on children” in environments such as “urban areas, refugee settlements and places affected by active conflicts” (UN)
• Ensure “equity of access” in “child-centred services” such as, among others, “schooling, nutrition programmes, maternal and newborn care, immunization services, sexual and reproductive health services, HIV treatment, mental health and psychosocial services, [and] birth registration” (UN)
• Ensure “access to COVID-19 testing, treatment and vaccines as and when they become available” (UN)

Further guidance can be found here:

UNICEF: COVID-19 and Children Deprived of their Liberty, Ceasefire during COVID-19 pandemic essential; UN IANYD; UN Inter-Agency Working Group on Violence Against Children; ACERWC; ASEAN; COE; IACHR; OAS; OSCE

Showing 14 matching measures.

Measure	Country
Providing School Meals During the Coronavirus Pandemic	United Kingdom
Updated guidance contains provisions for providing meals during the pandemic, including among other categories: “providing meals for pupils attending school,” “support for pupils who have to stay at home,” “providing…
National Policy on Radical Inclusion in Schools	Sierra Leone
The National Policy on Radical Inclusion in Schools, under the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education “provide[s] a roadmap for the day-to-day operations of schools and the Ministry of…
Governor Hogan Announces $60 Million Pandemic Relief Grant Program for Child Care Providers	United States
The Governor of Maryland “announced that licensed child care centers and registered family child care providers are eligible to apply for Child Care Pandemic Relief Fund grants to help meet…
Hundreds of Thousands More Laptops to Support Disadvantaged Pupils Learn at Home	United Kingdom
As “[p]art of the Get Help with Technology Programme,” an additional 300,000 laptops and tablets, in addition to the already “700,000 laptops and tablets . . . delivered to schools…
Human Services Ministry Launches Childcare Subsidy for Essential Workers	Guyana
Under this program, “[f]rontline workers who are providing an essential service or key public services during the COVID-19 pandemic can apply for the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security…
QC Opens Shelter for Abused Women, Children and LGBTs	Philippines
The government of Quezon City “opened one of the first local government unit (LGU)-run shelters for abused women, children and LGBTs.” The shelter “will serve as a temporary shelter for…
Amendment to the Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance Act	Korea, Rep.
This amendment to existing legislation extends, among other provisions, the “maximum period of family care leave” to “90 days per year, and employees may use this leave in several instances,”…
Measure to Address Increased Vulnerability Due to the Coronavirus	Sweden
The government “intend[ed] to adopt an ordinance on government grants to allocate SEK 100 million to non-profit organisation activities addressing increased vulnerability resulting from the outbreak of COVID-19” which would…
Protecting Children is Everyone’s Responsibility (Proteger Crianças Compete a Tod@s)	Portugal
The National Commission for the Promotion of the Rights and Protection of Children and Youth developed a national campaign “Protecting Children is Everyone’s Responsibility.” As part of the campaign, the…
Executive Order N-45-20	United States
The Governor of the State of California issued an Executive Order with provisions to: “facilitate the continued provision of child care during the COVID-19 outbreak,” “ensure that essential critical infrastructure…
Law No. 13.987 (Lei No. 13.987)	Brazil
This law amends Law No. 11,947 of June 16, 2009 with the addition of the following provision: “During the period of suspension of classes in public schools of basic education…
Free School Meals Payment Scheme	United Kingdom
The Communities Minister and Education Minister announced a scheme to address free meals during school closures that “will see the introduction of direct payments to families whose children would usually…
General Protocol for the Distribution of Food in Public Education Centers with the Suspension of Lessons, as a Result of the COVID-19 National Emergency (Protocolo General para la Distribución de Alimentos en Centros Educativos Públicos con Suspensión de Lecciones, a Raíz de la Emergencia Nacional por COVID-19)	Costa Rica
The Ministry of Public Education put into place a protocol which authorizes the delivery of food packages during the suspension of classes to guarantee the continuation of food service that…
Revised Guidance for Schools in Wales: Supporting Children Eligible For Free School Meals	United Kingdom
“This guidance sets out what schools should do to help ensure that pupils who receive free school meals continue to be provided with access to food whilst their statutory education…