News from the Geneva Office

15 February 2012 – Launch of Save the Children new global report on child malnutrition

New global survey shows that, following year of rocketing food prices, nearly half of surveyed families are forced to cut back on food and children do not have enough food to eat.

From left to right : •Patrick Watt, Campaign Director, Save the Children International • Chaired by Carole Presern, Director, PMNCH • Flavia Bustreo, Assistant Director General, Family, Women's and Children's Health, WHO • Regina Moench-Pfanner, Senior Director, Innovation and Technical Services, GAIN

Through a series of launch events around the world, Save the Children released the new report ‘A Life Free from Hunger: Tackling Child Malnutrition’ that sets out the scale and dimensions of malnutrition globally, its impact on child mortality and development, and the policy solutions that can tackle malnutrition and boost child survival.

In Geneva, a global capital for nutrition policy, the occasion was marked by a roundtable which gathered together institutions and individuals who have a lead role on this issue, drawing attention to the need for committed action around the world. See the event report.

A press release is available in English and French. For further information on our global campaign please visit everyone.org

19 December 2011 – Adoption of a third optional protocol to the UNCRC

The UN General Assembly has taken a remarkable historical step forward for the protection of children’s rights by adopting the Optional Protocol (OP) to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on a complaints mechanism for children’s rights violations.

Girls on in Sanjay Colony, New Delhi, India. Sanjay Colony is a slum in Delhi, which is home to 11,000 people. Save the Children supports a mobile health clinic, staffed by a doctor, nurses and a pharmacist. Rachel Palmer / Image Save the Children

This Protocol will enable children who are victims of abuses and violations of their rights to submit complaints to the Committee on the Rights of the Child. A wide range of cases will be able to be brought to the attention of the international community – from child soldiers in Africa to children from minority groups who are discriminated against in Europe, from children who are forced into sexual exploitation, to those who are denied a fundamental right such as health or education – thus breaking the silence around these violations and forcing States to take responsibility for children.

Save the Children with over 80 international and national NGOs have been campaigning for many years to offer children a level of protection equivalent to that provided to adults by other core human rights treaties. Now that the international legal framework is created, the NGO coalition is dedicated to campaigning for the widespread ratification of the Protocol and making sure it is used to make a real difference in the struggle to protect children around the world.

A joint press release and a joint public statement are available in English. For further information on the OPCRC please contact Michael French hc.nerdlihcehtevasnull@leahcim.