an ncylc e-bulletin

Issue #5: May - July 2005

POLICY WORK

Convention on the Rights of the Child Committee Meeting in Geneva
The Non-Government Report on the Implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child was successfully presented to the United Nations in Geneva in June by our delegation which consisted of: Dr Judy Cashmore, Jason De Santolo, Megan Davis, Thao Nguyen and Louise Pounder.

The NCYLC website has been used to upload information in relation to the Non-Government Report on the Implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in Australia. Visit http://www.ncylc.org.au/croc/consultpaper.html to check out the CROC website.

Work is underway on providing a follow-up response to the UN Committee by mid August that provides more detail in response to the Committee's questions and complements the List of Issues.

It appears likely that UNICEF and Oxfam will provide funding to send Dr Judy Cashmore and Megan Davis back to Geneva as observers to the Australian Government's attendance before the Committee on 13 September 2005.

Lawmail
Lawmails have continued to flood in to the Centre. Lawmail has been recognised as a very important service as users may remain anonymous and people in need of information can access the Centres resources and volunteers from anywhere in the country or overseas subject to Internet access. Once again we would like to extend our appreciation to all volunteers who have contributed. The reliability and rapid responses that are received by users has made the service extremely valuable.

Lawstuff
The information provided on the Lawstuff website continues to be a useful resource and we currently have volunteers updating the information and checking its currency.

NCYLC website
Apart from uploading information on the NCYLC website for the Non-Government Report on the Implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in Australia, policy documents which have been prepared in response to current affairs issues for children have also been uploaded onto the website.

General Advice
The Centre has continued to assist numerous clients by providing phone information and advice. Some areas of information and advice have included:
. School issues - suspensions and expulsions;
. Complaints against children's legal representatives;
. ASIO's powers of investigation;
. Providing information about child support and the responsibilities and legal issues surrounding a 15 year old father to be;
. Duties of confidentiality vs mandatory reporting of child abuse for youth workers;
. Workplace harassment resolution.