ࡱ> pro9 hbjbj%~cl 8  ,)t: P "r r r r r r (((((((x* ,|(r r r r r (xr r (xxxr &r r (xr (xx&(r . V '((0)'-2F-(xPlay in a Changing World 17th World Conference of the International Play Association; Hongkong 8-11 January 2008 Children and the Right to Play 1. Introduction Around 60 years ago I grew up in a small rural village in the remote eastern part of my country, the Netherlands. I went to kindergarten and primary school. The rest of my time I played and slept. I played with friends (boys and girls) games like hide and seek, a game of marbles and a lot of other explorative games, all outdoors and no lack of space. One of the favourite games was of course soccer and of course exclusively for boys. In the middle of the village next to the building of the fire department there was a space with three rows of each about 10 chestnut trees. That was our soccer field and we played diagonally: the goal of one team was between two trees in row 1 and 2 opposite of each other and the other goal was about 8 trees down between opposite trees in row 2 and 3. Every game started with the choice of two captains who then selected their players from the group of about 10 15 boys. Important in that regard was of course which captain can make the first pick. This was not decided by flipping a coin we did not have money but by a game of steps along a line drawn in the sand. The captains started at each end of the line and took full or half steps and the one who could close the final gap between the two of them gained the right to make the first pick. We played soccer almost every afternoon after school and one of the difficulties next to avoiding the trees was to be back home at precisely 6 p.m. because that was dinner time. I often came too late and was punished. Today that very informal soccer field that did not meet any of the regular standard is not there any more. All chestnut trees are gone and the space is now filled with a supermarket. I very much hope that many among you can tell similar stories, not because we like to romanticize the past, but because our own experiences can remind us of a couple of important aspects of play. 1st play is as normal as education; it is an inherent deeply rooted element of the life of human beings and of animals for that matter. As Johan Huizinga, a Dutch historian who wrote in 1938 the still today famous study Homo Ludens, A Study of the Play-Element of (1) Culture said: Play is older than culture. His study is the most thorough analysis of play as a characteristic of e.g. the practice of doing justice, wisdom, poetry, philosophy and arts. It is tempting to elaborate more on the role of play in all these areas, but that goes well beyond the scope of this presentation. Suffice to say that Play is everywhere. 2nd play was then and still is today a free activity; if the activity is enforced it is not play anymore. Play is also an activity different from the common or real life. It is an activity with its own purpose. It is a game, not the real life and children often do understand this as e.g. a little boy of 4 playing train, sitting on the first chair of a row of chairs. When his father entered the room he hugged his son. But the son said: Dad, you cannot kiss the locomotive because then the other carriages may think that it is not a real train. 3rd play has its limitations in terms of being carried out within a certain location and time. There is a beginning and an end (I had to be home by 6 p.m. for dinner). Every game has its rules which can be general and/or amended to fit with a specific setting or circumstances of the game (soccer with a team of less than 11, played diagonally, with self-created goals). The rules have to be observed by every player and are not open for discussion. A player who violates the rule is a spoil-sport; fair play is an almost sacrosanct principle of every game. 4th play. Sports is one of the forms of play and it is not easy to make a clear cut distinction between play and sport. Even the professional sports do have many of the characteristics of play. It means that play takes many forms, such as sport activities, music, painting etc. and therefore it is very difficult to define play as an activity distinct from other activities in a real clear-cut manner (2). In addition I doubt whether a definition is necessary or really helpful in implementing article 31 CRC. 5th. I played without any kind of awareness of the fact that I was exercising my right. It is my assumption that also today - and despite the fact the right to engage in play has been codified in the CRC ratified by almost every country in the world - millions of children play without being aware of the fact that they are exercising one of their rights. Most children are not even aware of the existence of the CRC. Finally: children growing up in my village today dont have the self-designated playing field I, myself and my friends used to play soccer. Their playgrounds are in fixed locations decided by adults. A lot of play is organized, structured and planned in time. The free, creative and explorative forms of play are disappearing. These and other concerns regarding the negative impact of various trends on the right to play are also expressed in the Declaration of the Childs Right to Play of the International Association (updated version 1989; see  HYPERLINK "http://www.ipaworld.org" www.ipaworld.org ) This brings me to the core question: if play is such an inherent and deeply rooted element of the life of human beings why do we need to codify it as a right? Children play anywhere and everywhere in organized or unorganised settings, pre-schools or at home. Before answering this question first some information about article 31 CRC, the key provision with regard to play. 2. Article 31 CRC and the right to play 2a. Some general remarks/background Before discussing the current text of article 31 some information on its history (3) Principle 7 of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959) stated: The child shall have full opportunity for play and recreation , which should be directed to the same purposes as education; society and the public authorities shall endeavour to promote the enjoyment of this right. In the first proposal for a Convention on the Rights of the Child, submitted by Poland, this text was copied as par. 3 of an article on the right to education. During the drafting of the CRC many changes were proposed. Without going into details (see note 3) let me highlight some of the changes in order to explain the current text: - the full opportunity to became a right to underscoring that the CRC is a legal instrument that provides the child with an entitlement that can be exercised, if necessary, via legal procedures; - the provision was expanded with the right to rest and leisure and the right to participate freely in cultural life and the arts. These additions were clearly inspired by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICRSCR). Article 7(d) ICESCR presents rest, leisure and reasonable limitation of working hours as part of the right to favourable conditions of work. Article 15 states inter alia that States Parties recognize the right of everyone to take part in cultural life. This is in line with article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) stating: Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts (..)(4) Some proposals made during the drafting of the Convention contained the following text: Parents and other persons responsible for children, educational institutes and State organs shall supervise the practical implementation of the foregoing provision; that was the provision that States Parties undertake to ensure to all children opportunities for leisure and recreation. The current text of article 31 does not contain any reference to the r ole of parents and educational institutions etc. But this does not mean that they are not important anymore (see hereafter). - it should be noted, particularly in the light of the many publications and projects on child participation, that article 31 is the only article in which the right of the child to participate is explicitly mentioned (5). 2b. The right to play To me it seems rather redundant to elaborate in details on the importance of play for children at a conference organized by the International Play Association. I assume that you are all here because you believe in the importance of play. The fact that the CRC contains the right to engage in play is in and of itself a strong proof of the importance of play. It confirms what can be found in an impressive body of research: play in the many forms it may take at different ages of the child and in different cultures, contributes in a significant way to the childs physical and psychological development and health. Through play with other children supervised or unsupervised the child can gain many social skills such as negotiations, sharing and self-control, the importance of fair play and companionship and other skills important for her/his physical en psychological development. Despite this international consensus on the importance of the right to engage in play and the other rights mentioned in article 31, the attention given to the implementation of these rights in the reports States Parties submitted to the CRC Committee is very limited and often completely lacking. The same often applies for the (complementary) reports submitted by Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and UN agencies. This lack of attention is reflected in the Concluding Observations the CRC Committee issues after the review and discussions of these reports. An analysis of 98 country-based Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee between 2000 and 2004 show that only in 15 of these Observations the Committee addressed the content of Article 31, often in a brief and scattered manner. One explanation of this lack of attention is the fact that the CRC Committee works under a lot of time pressure that may result in the neglect of some aspects of the CRC. Another explanation is most likely that the rights under Article 31 rest play, leisure and culture are often perceived as a luxury in comparison to other rights whose violations bear more cruel, visible and spectacular consequences (7). So the important question is: how can we generate more attention in the reporting on and monitoring of the CRC for the childs right to engage in play. 2c. Actions to improve the implementation of the childs right to engage in play From the previous observations it is clear that we have to undertake targeted actions to ensure that States Parties pay more and specific attention to the rights enshrined in article 31 in the reports they submit to the CRC Committee. This is important because it will require that States Parties present the measures they have taken in accordance with section 2 of article 31, that is: measures to promote the right of the child to participate fully in cultural and artistic life and to provide appropriate and equal opportunities for cultural, artistic, recreational and leisure activity. One may wonder why in section 2 the right to engage in play is missing and what it means. The drafting history does not reveal any specific reason for this omission. I think it is reasonable to assume that the drafters did not feel a need to mention the right to play separately because they consider it as being included in recreational and leisure activity. This means that the actions mentioned in section 2, particularly the provision of appropriate and equal opportunities, must also be taken with regard to the right to engage in play. In addition, the State Party should inform the committee about the remaining challenges or difficulties in implementing article 31 and measures planned in this regard (see art. 44 CRC). This will allow the CRC Committee to make specific recommendations to the State Party for further actions. These recommendations should be followed-up with adequate actions and in that regard national parliaments and NGOs should play an active role. Who can undertake actions for improvement of the reporting on article 31 and how? 1st The CRC Committee can do at least two things a. after having read the report and after a so-called pre-sessional meeting with NGOs, UN agencies and others e.g. children, the Committee sends a request for additional information to the State Party under consideration (the so-called List of Issues). When the report contains no or insufficient information regarding article 31 the Committee should include in the List of Issues requests for information on the measures taken for the implementation of the rights enshrined in article 31 (8). If this (additional) information is provided it will allow the Committee to make specific recommendations for further actions. b. The CRC Committee should consider the adoption of a General Comment on article 31. Such a General Comment will not only draw the attention of States Parties to the importance of the rights in this article, but can also provide the States Parties with specific recommendations on the implementation of these rights. The General Comment can become an important tool for actions at the national level. In that regard not only the government, but also parliament and NGOs should make maximum use of this General Comment. 2nd Non-governmental Organizations As stated before: reports submitted by national NGOs to the CRC Committee usually contain very little or no information on the implementation of article 31. Experiences so far have shown that international NGOs can effectively raise with the Committee specific issues (9). I therefore urge the International Play Association to undertake all possible measures to encourage national member NGOs to push for information on art. 31 in the States Report and where appropriate with special attention for the rights to play. In addition they should provide the CRC Committee with supplementary information. For countries without member NGOs IPA should consider to contact existing (coalitions of) NGOs and encourage them to include in their reports information on the (lack of) implementation of article 31. Another possibility is that IPA carefully studies the States Parties reports are as soon as they are available and send an analysis of the part on article 31 to the CRC Committee with suggestions for possible recommendations. Given the internationally acknowledged importance of the rights enshrined in article 31 we must take targeted efforts to improve the reporting on and the monitoring of their implementation by the actions suggested or other appropriate measures. 2d. Action to implement article 31 It is of course impossible to present a set of actions for the implementation of article 31 CRC applicable in all States Parties. But article 4 CRC provides guidance: States Parties shall undertake all appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures for the implementation of the rights recognized in the present Convention. In addition: when it is a social and/or cultural right, like in this case, these measures shall be undertaken to the maximum extent of their available resources, What does all this mean? I suggest at least the following: 1st the obligation to take various measures calls for a comprehensive plan for the implementation of article 31, a plan that must include adequate coordination of the activities of different ministries or directorates; the rights in article 31 may in many States Parties fall under the responsibility of different ministries (e.g. right to rest under labour; cultural and artistic activities under Education, play and recreational activities under Sports and/or Welfare). Such a plan is also important because an integrated approach may take into account the various links between or overlaps of the rights in article 31 and avoid an isolated, stand-alone attention for one of the rights. The phrase to the maximum extent of available resources reflects the reality that the lack of resources (financial or others) can hamper the full implementation of the rights in article 31. But States are obliged to demonstrate that they have taken measures using the available resources to the maximum extent possible. Even where the available resources are demonstrably inadequate, the obligation remains for a State party to strive to ensure the widest possible enjoyment of the relevant rights under the prevailing circumstances and to pay special attention to the most disadvantaged children. In this regard it is important that the implementation of economic, social and cultural right should where needed that is in particular when available resources are inadequate take place in the framework of international cooperation. It goes beyond this presentation to elaborate on the many aspects of this cooperation (10). For now it means that developing countries should make the implementation of article 31 (next to many other specific CRC articles on e.g. health care, education, protection from abuse and exploitation) an integral part of their negotiations with donor countries and international financial institutions. And if they dont the donor countries should remind them that article 31 contains a number of important rights of children. 2nd Involve all relevant actors, in particular children (in line with art. 12 CRC), parents, other caretakers, NGOs and where appropriate schools and local authorities in the drafting and implementation of the comprehensive plan. Make sure that the plan is non-discriminating (art. 2 CRC) or as article 31(2) states that it provides equal opportunities for all children and if necessary in the light of limited resources, priority should be given to the most disadvantaged children such as children with disabilities, children in armed conflict, children in refugee camps, children in institutional care, migrant children, children belonging to ethnic minorities or indigenous peoples etc. etc. There are many disadvantaged children in this world. 3rd Finally: it is necessary to regularly evaluate (e.g. every year) the impact of the plan to see whether the various measures taken are effective in terms of achieving the goals set and to adjust the plan if necessary. This sounds obvious but unfortunately the reality is that too many good plans/programmes are not or very limited evaluated which often negatively affect their sustainability. As said before, there is no fixed set of measures applicable to every country. But we do know what kind of problems exist in many countries. In its Declaration on the Childs Right to Play IPA lists a number of alarming trends States should take into account when drafting a comprehensive plan as suggested. The CRC also did present some of its concerns related to the right to rest, leisure and play in General Comment No 7 on Implementing child rights in early childhood. Although it focuses on young children most of the concerns apply to all other children. After underscoring the importance of the right to rest, leisure and play the Committee observes: Yet realizing the right to rest, leisure and play is often hindered by a shortage of opportunities for young children to meet, play and interact in child-centred, secure, supportive, stimulating and stress-free environments. Childrens right-to-play space is especially at risk in many urban environments, where the design and density of housing, commercial centres and transport systems combine with noise, pollution and all manner of dangers to create a hazardous environment for young children. Childrens right to play can also be frustrated by excessive domestic chores (especially affecting girls) or by competitive schooling. Accordingly, the Committee appeals to States Parties, non-governmental organizations and private actors to identify and remove potential obstacles to the enjoyment of these rights by the youngest children, including as part of poverty reduction strategies. Planning for towns, and leisure and play facilities should take account of childrens right to express their views (art. 12), through appropriate consultations. In all these respects, States Parties are encouraged to pay greater attention and allocate resources (human and financial) to the implementation of the right to rest, leisure and play (11) 3. Concluding remarks Let me conclude very briefly: - the right to engage in play and other rights enshrined in article 31 CRC needs significant more attention in both the reporting on and the monitoring of the CRC; - actions in this regard are needed and possible by the CRC Committee and national and international NGOs with involvement of children, parents, schools and other relevant actors; - that the implementation of article 31 CRC is best achieved via a comprehensive plan implemented in a coordinated manner with the involvement in all stages of drafting and implementation of children, parents and NGOs; - acknowledging that measures in this plan may differ from country to country, there are trends and concerns which should be addressed in most countries. Finally: if you want to contribute to the implementation of the right of the child to play and that is why you are here take all these observations into account but above all be playful, be creative, dont hide but seek and put all your marbles on the CRC. Make it your most important toy for all the children in this world and in particular for the most disadvantaged among them. As the say at the start of a very popular game in the USA: Lets play ball !!!! NOTES 1. J. Huizinga, Homo Ludens. Proeve eener bepaling van het spel-element der Cultuur (H.D. Tjeenk Willink en Zoon NV, Haarlem 1938). The book has been translated in English more than once, the most recent version: Johan Huizinga, Homo Ludens. A Study of Play-elements in Culture (Routledge, London 1998). Huizinga did not agree with the translation in culture because the book is not about the place of Play among other culture phenomena, but about the degree to which play is a characteristic of culture. 2. Huizinga produced a definition of play, o.c. p. 29 (Engelse versie opzoeken) But the difficulty is e.g. also shown in a UNICEF publication with the title Sport, Recreation and Play (UNICEF New York August 2004) In this study sports was defined as all forms of physical activity that contribute to physical fitness, mental well being and social interaction. These include play; recreation; casual, organized or competitive sports; and indigenous sports or games 3. See for full information: Legislative history of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Volume II p. 683-692 (United Nations New York and Geneva, 2007) and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. A Guide to the Travaux Prparatoires compiled and edited by Sharon Detrick, p. 414-418 (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Dordrecht/Boston/London, 1992) 4. There are other similar provisions in other international legal instruments such as ILO Conventions. See for more information: P. David, Article 31: The Right to Leisure, Play and Culture in: A.Alen J. VandeLanotte, E. Verhellen, Ang.E. Berghmans and M. Verheyde (Eds) A Commentary on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Leiden 2006) and Sharon Detrick, A Commentary on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, p. 546-557 (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, The Hague/Dordrecht/Cambridge, 1999) 4. There is a global consensus that article 12 CRC on the rights of the child implies the childs right to participation in all these matters. See in this regard e.g. The Recommendations the CRC Committee adopted as the outcome of its Day of General Discussion 2006 on The Right of the Child to be heard, in particular section b) Article 12 (1) Children as active participants. But next to article 31 the only other article with an explicit reference to participation is article 23 not as a right but as one of the goals of the recognition of the right of the disabled child to enjoy a full and decent life which (..), facilitate the childs active participation in the community. 6. See P. David o.c. (note 4), p. 17 7. See P. David o.c. (note 4), p, 17 8. The Committee has issued in 1996 General Guidelines regarding the form and contents of periodic reports to be submitted by States Parties under article 44, paragraph 1(b) of the Convention. Although these Guidelines have been replaced by a new and much shorter set of Guidelines in 2006 one can find in the 1996 Guidelines, in particular paragraphs 117 and 118, more specific information on what should be included in the reports regarding article 31. 9. In this regard I refer to the Concluding Observations of the CRC Committee which rather systematically contain recommendations on national child help lines (due to action of Child Help line International), breast feeding (due to action of IBAF), children with parents in prison (due to action of World Vision), birth registration (due to actions of Plan International and UNICEF) 10. See e.g. General Comment No 5 (CRC/c/GC/5/2003) on General Measures of implementation, in particular paragraphs 6-8 and 60. See also the Recommendations adopted by the CRC Committee as the outcome of its 2007-Day of General Discussion on Resources for the Rights of the Child Responsibility of States. 11. General Comment No 7 (CRC/c/GC/7/2005) on Implementing Child Rights in Early Childhood, par. 34. 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