Plan International - Girls' Rights Platform - Girls' rights are human rights: Positioning girls at the heart of the international agenda

(c) Enable migrants to communicate with their families without delay to inform them that they are alive by facilitating access to means of communication along routes and at their destination, including in places of detention, as well as access to consular missions, local authorities and organizations that can provide assistance with family contacts, especially in cases of unaccompanied or separated migrant children, as well as adolescents;

Recognizing that early childhood is a critical stage for cognitive, emotional and behavioural development and that the parent-child relationship is a significant factor in predicting bullying behaviour in adolescents, as well as the existing evidence of a link between domestic violence and bullying in schools,

12. Urges Governments to respect and protect the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health through the development and enforcement of policies and legal frameworks and the strengthening of health systems, including health information systems, that make universally accessible and available quality, gender-responsive, adolescent-friendly health services, sexual and reproductive health-care services, information and commodities, HIV and AIDS prevention, treatment and care, mental health services and nutrition interventions;

3. Expresses its deep concern at the continued plight of unaccompanied refugee minors, and emphasizes once again the urgent need for their early identification and for timely, detailed and accurate information on their number and whereabouts;

68. Commit to develop and implement strategies to improve infant HIV diagnosis, including through access to diagnostics at point of care, significantly increase and improve access to treatment for children and adolescents living with HIV, including access to prophylaxis and treatments for opportunistic infections, as well as increased support to children and adolescents through increased financial, social and moral support for their parents, families and legal guardians, and promote a smooth transition from paediatric to young adult treatment and related support and services;

6. Urges States parties to comply strictly with their obligations under the Convention, including their obligation to submit reports in accordance with article 19 of the Convention, in view of the high number of reports not submitted, and invites States parties to incorporate a gender perspective and information concerning children and juveniles when submitting reports to the Committee;

7. Also expresses its grave concern that, in some countries, the socioeconomic conditions of family members, particularly women and children, are adversely affected by unilateral coercive measures, imposed and maintained contrary to international law and the Charter, that create obstacles to trade relations among States, restrict movement through various means of transport, impede the full realization of social and economic development and hinder the well-being of the population in the affected countries, with particular consequences for women, children, including adolescents, the elderly and persons with disabilities;

Concerned by the increase in the abuse of illicit drugs among children, including adolescents, and young people,

Expressing grave concern further at the reported use of forced labour, including of conscripts and minors in the mining industry,

(a) To ensure that the right to the highest attainable standard of sexual and reproductive health is fully realized by giving full attention to the sexual and reproductive health needs of children and adolescents, consistent with their evolving capacities, through providing information, education and services, in accordance with the Beijing Platform for Action and the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, 3 and the outcomes of their review conferences, on an equitable and universal basis, with their full involvement and the support of the international community, with full respect for their privacy and confidentiality, free of discrimination, and to provide them with youth-friendly and evidence-based comprehensive education, consistent with their evolving capacities, on sexual and reproductive health, human rights and gender equality to enable them to deal in a positive and responsible way with their sexuality;

18. Reiterate with profound concern that Africa, in particular sub -Saharan Africa, remains the worst-affected region and that urgent and exceptional action is required at all levels to curb the devastating effects of this epidemic, particularly on women and adolescent girls, and recognize the renewed commitment of African Governments and regional institutions to scale up their own HIV and AIDS responses;

16. Subsections A and B both provide additional rules for the treatment of juvenile female prisoners. It is important to note, however, that separate strategies and policies in accordance with international standards, in particular the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (the Beijing Rules), 22 the United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (the Riyadh Guidelines), 23 the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of Their Liberty 24 and the Guidelines for Action on Children in the Criminal Justice System, 25 need to be designed for the treatment and rehabilitation of this category of prisoners, while institutionalization shall be avoided to the maximum possible extent.

(o) To provide support to girls, including adolescents, if needed, to voice their views and for their views to be given due weight, and adopt measures to eliminate gender stereotypes that undermine and place severe limitations on girls in the enjoyment of their right to be heard;

18. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to report on the situation of accompanied and unaccompanied migrant children, including adolescents, and to include information on the implementation of the present resolution in his report on the protection of migrants requested for its seventieth session;

(b) The continuing imposition and carrying-out of the death penalty against minors and persons who at the time of their offence were under the age of 18, in violation of the obligations of the Islamic Republic of Iran under the Convention on the Rights of the Child 6 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; 2

7. Expresses grave concern that, in some countries, the situation of children is adversely affected by unilateral measures not in accordance with international law and the Charter that create obstacles to trade relations among States, impede the full realization of social and economic development and hinder the well-being of the population in the affected countries, with particular consequences for women, children, including adolescents, the elderly and persons with disabilities;

2. Also takes note with appreciation of the most recent report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the protection of human rights of juveniles deprived of their liberty 15 and the joint report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children on prevention of and responses to violence against children within the juvenile justice system, 16 both submitted to the Human Rights Council;

61 (c). Pledge to eliminate gender inequalities and gender-based abuse and violence, increase the capacity of women and adolescent girls to protect themselves from the risk of HIV infection, principally through the provision of health care and services, including, inter alia, sexual and reproductive health, as well as full access to comprehensive information and education, ensure that women can exercise their right to have control over, and decide freely and responsibly on, matters related to their sexuality, including their sexual and reproductive health, free of coercion, discrimination and violence, in order to increase their ability to protect themselves from HIV infection, and take all necessary measures to create an enabling environment for the empowerment of women and to strengthen their economic independence, and, in this context, reiterate the importance of the role of men and boys in achieving gender equality;

Reaffirming also the fact that all migrant children, including adolescents, are entitled to equal protection by the law and that all persons, regardless of their migration status, are equal before the courts and tribunals and, in the determination of their rights and obligations in a suit at law, are entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law,

Welcoming the outcome of the special session of the General Assembly on children 6 and the firm commitments contained therein to promote and protect the rights of each child — every human being below the age of 18 years, including adolescents,

(b) To support adolescents to be able to deal positively and responsibly with their sexuality in order to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS infection and to implement measures to increase their capacity to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS, through, inter alia, the provision of health care, including for sexual and reproductive health, and through prevention education that promotes gender equality;

Recognizing further that adolescent girls, in particular those who live in poverty or who are marginalized, are at particular risk of maternal death and morbidity, including obstetric fistula, and concerned that the leading cause of death among girls aged 15 to 19 in many low- and middle-income countries is complications from pregnancy and childbirth and that women aged 30 and older are at increased risk of developing complications and of dying during childbirth,

9. Urges States parties to comply strictly with their obligations under the Convention, including, in view of the high number of reports not submitted, their obligation to submit reports in accordance with article 19 of the Convention, and invites States parties to incorporate a gender perspective and information concerning children and juveniles when submitting reports to the Committee against Torture;

Recognizing, with interest, the Secretary-General’s revised Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health (2016–2030), undertaken by a broad coalition of partners, in support of national plans and strategies that aim for the highest attainable standards of health and well-being, physical, mental and social, at every age, ending maternal and newborn mortality, which is preventable, and noting that this can contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals,

13. Calls upon States to scale up scientifically accurate and age-appropriate comprehensive education, relevant to cultural contexts, that provides adolescent girls and boys and young women and men, in and out of school, consistent with their evolving capacities, and with appropriate direction and guidance from parents and legal guardians, with the best interests of the child as their basic concern, with information on sexual and reproductive health and HIV prevention, gender equality and women’s empowerment, human rights, physical, psychological and pubertal development and power in relationships between women and men, to enable them to build self-esteem and foster informed decision-making, communication and risk- reduction skills and to develop respectful relationships, in full partnership with young people, parents, legal guardians, caregivers, educators and health-care providers, in order to, inter alia, enable them protect themselves from HIV infection and other risks;

(d) Ensuring the promotion and protection of the human rights of all women and their sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences, including through the development and enforcement of policies and legal frameworks, and strengthening health systems that make quality comprehensive sexual and reproductive health-care services, commodities, information and education universally accessible and available, including, inter alia, safe and effective methods of modern contraception, emergency contraception, prevention programmes for adolescent pregnancy, maternal health care, such as skilled birth attendance and emergency obstetric care, which will reduce obstetric fistula and other complications of pregnancy and delivery, safe abortion where such services are permitted by national law, and the prevention and treatment of reproductive tract infections, sexually transmitted infections, HIV and reproductive cancers, and recognizing that human rights include the right to have control over and to decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality, including sexual and reproductive health, free from coercion, discrimination and violence;

Emphasizing the relevance of international instruments and United Nations standards and norms in crime prevention and criminal justice related to the treatment of prisoners, in particular women and juveniles,

Reaffirming that the general principles of, inter alia, the best interests of the child, non-discrimination, participation and survival and development provide the framework for all actions concerning children, including adolescents,

59. Also encourages Member States, in cooperation with relevant United Nations humanitarian organizations, to ensure that women and girls have access to basic health-care services, including reliable and safe access to sexual and reproductive health-care services and mental health and psychosocial support, from the onset of emergencies, in this regard recognizes that such assistance protects women, adolescent girls and infants from preventable mortality and morbidity that occur in humanitarian emergencies, and calls upon Member States, the United Nations and other relevant actors to give such programmes due consideration;

(d) To promote an educational setting that eliminates all barriers that impede the schooling of pregnant adolescents and adolescent mothers;