Policy briefs

Millions of children worldwide struggle as a result of prejudice and discrimination due to race, ethnicity, gender, religion, disability, indigenous background, and age. In many countries, intergroup tension is rising amid growing immigrant populations and increasing ethnic diversity. Legal mandates are the first step in laying the foundation against discrimination and prejudice; the next step involves changes in social interactions. To be effective, intervention programs should be informed by developmental science research and used more widely.

WHO and Liverpool John Moores University launched Violence prevention: the evidence, an eight-part series of briefings on the evidence for interventions to prevent interpersonal and self-directed violence.

Policy Brief from The Society for Research in Child Development: Food insecurity is a public health problem with serious consequences for children, including greater likelihood of depression, anxiety, poor academic performance, birth defects, and behavior problems. 

A Social Policy Report Brief from The Society for Research in Child Development

The joint statement aims to build greater consensus on the importance of child-sensitive social protection. It lays out the particular vulnerabilities that children and families face, the ways that social protection can impact children even when not focused on them, and outlines principles and approaches for undertaking child sensitive social protection. The statement emerged from meetings and discussions between partners to consider and outline the importance of furthering social protection and ensuring it is child-sensitive.

This study compares the policy agendas on children('s rights) and youth of the European Union, the Council of Europe and the United Nations and identifies possible synergies. Focus is placed on those internal policy agendas of the organizations where a policy on children('s rights) or young people is the central objective; EU external policy is excluded from the analysis.

A ground-breaking framework for using evidence to improve outcomes in learning, behavior, and health for vulnerable children, co-authored by the members of the National Forum on Early Childhood Policy and Programs and the National Scientic Council on the Developing Child. 

This guide is intended as a tool for better understanding EU policies, responsibilities, and funding mechanisms related to the education of migrant children and youth within existing EU agendas on human rights, equal treatment, antidiscrimination, integration, social inclusion, and education and training.

Published in September 2010, this paper aims to inform the debate around achievement of the MDG Goals using evidence and analysis from Young Lives. Young Lives first collected data in 2002 and is following two cohorts of children. The youngest cohort of Young Lives children were born just after the new millennium and are growing up with the promise of the MDGs.  

Published in September 2010, the paper sets out the key findings from Young Lives research into the ways that major social protection policies are impacting on children, their families and communities in Ethiopia, India and Peru.

The Refugee Studies Centre’s (RSC) Forced Migration Policy Briefings seek to highlight the very best and latest policy-relevant research findings from the fields of forced migration and humanitarian studies.

This report seeks to set out the specific standards and principles that inform the international framework of protection of the rights of the child in the context of migration. It examines challenges in the practical implementation of this framework, and notes some best practices in terms of legislation, jurisprudence and joint efforts at the bilateral, regional and international levels. The report ends with conclusions and recommendations which aim to strengthen the implementation of the international framework and better protect the rights of the child in the context of migration.

High-quality early childhood care and education (ECCE) is now recognised as a core strategy for poverty reduction. There is evidence of high returns from ECCE investments, which can contribute to global policy priorities such as tackling child malnutrition, increasing children’s successful participation in school, and strengthening economic development. In short, by supporting children and families early in life well-delivered ECCE can help to interrupt the cycle of poverty.

This Policy Review Paper by UNICEF Innocenti Centre reviews the implications of climate change for children and future generations, drawing on relevant experiences in different sectors and countries of promoting child rights and well-being

The theme of the Day of General Discussion of the UN Comittee on the Rights of the Child 2006 is the child's right to be heard. The three Childwatch related research groups  working on issues of participation have submitted recommendations to the General Comment. Download the Childwatch submission