Introduction
1 Making the Global Refugee Compact work for children
From the 13th to 15th December 2023, the second Global Refugee Forum (GRF) will bring together governments, people with lived experience - including children and youth and adults who are working with refugee children - international organisations, civil society, and the private sector to share experiences, identify best practices, and strengthen the international response to refugee situations, delivering on the commitments of the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR).
The GRF is held every 4 years and is organised by UNHCR. The GRF provides an opportunity for participants to assess and demonstrate progress made in fulfilling previously made pledges since the last GRF and make new joint pledges to support refugees. (See Appendix B for information about the GRF in child-friendly language.)
The Initiative for Child Rights in the Global Compacts (The Initiative)’s vision is that children are at the centre of the entire GRF process and the implementation of the GCR. The Initiative is a group of organisations working for and with children, including Save the Children, Terre des Hommes, UNICEF, Plan International, World Vision,
International Rescue Committee, the Office of the UN Special Representative on Violence Against Children,
UNHCR, and many others. The Initiative is working hard to ensure that children and child rights are a central part of the GRF.
To achieve this, we want to secure child-focused joint pledges from governments and other stakeholders which prioritise the inclusion of children in national and local systems and services with a focus on:
● Child protection;
● Inclusive, quality and protective education and learning;
● Child-sensitive durable solutions (equitable access to key services such as social protection; healthcare,
MHPSS); and
● Children’s meaningful and inclusive participation.
The Initiative has developed a framework for joint pledging for and with children and we are working with other alliances to coordinate joint pledging.
In addition, the Initiative is encouraging members to collect input from children and caregivers through a series of in-country, child participatory consultations designed to provide them with the opportunity to express their views to influence decisions taken at the GRF in matters that concern them.
2 A Global Refugee Forum that prioritises children – what does this look like?
Our aims
Children meaningfully participate in the design, implementation and review of displacement responses that impact them, through sustainable and well-resourced mechanisms for their meaningful participation. More specifically:
● Children's rights are seen holistically and central to the GRF process and given proportionate space and consideration throughout the event and in the discussions.
● Organisers, co-hosts, co-convenors and participants recognise children’s inclusive and meaningful participation as a core and essential way of working and a shared human rights obligation.
● Children and young people are empowered and supported to safely and meaningfully participate in the lead up to and during the GRF, their views and recommendations are listened to, valued and there is accountability towards them.
● Mechanisms are put in place to facilitate the participation of children and young people on an ongoing basis.
● There is accountability for the commitments made with and for children.
Our activities
The Initiative is committed to supporting the meaningful participation of children as part of the implementation, follow-up and review of the GCR and in the lead-up and during the GRF to ensure their voices are heard and their perspectives are taken into account. The Initiative together with the Office of the Special Representative on Violence Against Children is:
● Facilitating the meaningful and inclusive participation of children and/or caregivers at national level in a number of countries ahead of the GRF, including through consultations and in the development of childrights pledge.
● Advocating to Member States for support to and engagement of children at the national level.
● Supporting children to participate both in-person and online during the GRF.
● Supporting the development of child-friendly materials and briefings for children.
● Advising on mechanisms to support meaningful and inclusive child participation in the GRF, including for example safeguarding procedures, briefings and guidance for adults working with children, e.g. moderators/panellists.
3 About this Toolkit
This toolkit provides information to support Initiative members and partners with the facilitation of child and youth participation in consultations leading up to the Global Refugee Forum. It builds and expands on existing resources, including the guidance provided in 2022 to all UN agencies and programmes on consulting with children and preparation and issuance of child friendly materials by OSRSG VAC.
The toolkit includes detailed information to support the planning, implementation and documentation of consultations. The toolkit is intended to be relevant for diverse country contexts, displacement programming situations, ages and sectors, and is therefore not prescriptive. The toolkit can help make informed decisions about how to plan and facilitate a consultation. The information in the subsequent sections is intended to support the inclusive and meaningful participation of children, including managing expectations and providing a safe and enabling environment for their participation.