Situation analysis of children and adolescents in the Caribbean Netherlands published by UNICEF
In 2019 UNICEF published the situation analysis of children and adolescents in the Caribbean Netherlands, commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Interior and Kingdom Relations. It is a follow-up to the first round of situation analysis on children’s rights in the Caribbean Netherlands, which was completed by UNICEF in 2013.
Prof. Ton Liefaard provided legal advice in the project. The analysis focuses on children’s and adolescents’ rights to protection, an adequate standard of living, education, participation and health. Apart from assessing progress, the objective of this study has also been to engage with various key stakeholders to identify and build consensus around remaining or new challenges pertaining to the realization of children’s rights and to collectively formulate recommendations for actions that can further accelerate progress towards optimal fulfilment of rights obligations.
The 2019 analysis stated that it is difficult to state with certainty whether the actual situation of children has improved since 2013 due to limited or no data on for example, child abuse, child poverty, the success rate of secondary school graduates, and adolescent sexual and mental health. The following three priority areas were identified by UNICEF Netherlands as key bottlenecks to the advancement of the rights of children in the Caribbean Netherlands (in short);
- the introduction of laws and strengthening of the policy environment, specifically in thearea of child abuse and domestic violence;
- strengthen coordination across the youth chain between ministries and between ministries and;
- improve monitoring the progress of interventions.