GlobalChild is an online platform that uses an indicators framework to operationalize the substantive rights of children under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The platform consists of 42 sets of indicators: one set for each right. The platform is designed to be used by all governments that are States Parties to the CRC to assist them in preparing their periodic reports to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (the Committee). This reporting process is key to ensuring that States are making progress in fulfilling their obligations and improving their accountability to children of their jurisdictions.
The GlobalChild Platform
The GlobalChild platform, through standardization and streamlining of monitoring and reporting systems, will increase the depth and adequacy of States Parties’ periodical reports, and in doing so, will improve the efficiency of the Committee’s review process.
Each indicator set of GlobalChild follows the SPO model recommended by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights:
- Structure-related indicators, which ask about the government’s structural commitments to that right, such as legislation or budgetary allocations;
- Process-related indicators, which collect data on the processes (e.g., programs) put in place to support that right; and
- Outcome-related indicators, which compile data on the status of different aspects of children’s lives (e.g., under-five mortality rate) or the environment of different rights (e.g. high school enrolment).
Effective CRC Reporting
Responding to each set of indicators will highlight where States Parties are performing well and upholding children’s rights, and will reveal specific gaps that need to be addressed. The reports produced using the GlobalChild platform are intended to streamline the reporting process.
Heat Map
One of the unique features of this platform is a heat map. A heat map is a graphic representation of data that helps users to understand the data visually. The GlobalChild heat map will consist of a grid of boxes, with each box representing a different indicator question. The colour of each box will vary depending on the response given for each indicator question. For example, if a country responds “yes” to a question, its box will be green; if a country responds “partially yes” to another question, its box will be yellow, and so on. At a glance, the heat map will show how many indicators are fulfilled, how many are partially fulfilled, and how many still need a lot of progress. Overall this will give a good picture of how well each country is fulfilling its international obligations to children’s rights under the CRC. This feature is currently under development.
A Roadmap for Effective and Evidence-Based Policy Development and Program Planning
One of the features of the GlobalChild platform are examples of best practices. When a “no” response is chosen for an indicator question, a box will appear that contains suggestions of best practices from around the world. Many of these best practices come from low income countries that have taken effective steps towards fulfilling that indicator, and can possibly serve as a blueprint for other countries. This information, together with data from the heat map, will be important tools for your country to plan policies and programs, based on international benchmarks, to better fulfill the right in question. This feature is currently under development.
Compiling Data and Enabling Research
Over time, as more States Parties adopt the GlobalChild platform and use it for successive reports, the platform will become a rich data repository of policies and initiatives that support different children’s rights, both for individual countries as well as for the global community of the 196 UN States Parties to the CRC. The large amount of accumulated data will enable research into population-level issues, such as whether children’s health improved over time after introducing a given policy or implementing a new program. This data will support evidence-based and data-driven decision making and planning for politicians, policy makers and other stakeholders.
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