We want an Aotearoa that actively respects and realises the rights of all children.
As an Alliance, we advance, promote and report on children’s rights so that all children and tamariki in Aotearoa actively experience all their rights, in all circumstances.
Together, we work to make a difference for children and tamariki. We:
o Grow understanding about children’s rights - why they are important and how to put them into practice.
o Work to make children’s rights real in Aotearoa, through implementation of the Children’s Convention.
o Report on progress on children’s rights in Aotearoa - what is going well and what needs to change for children and tamariki in Aotearoa.
o Work for all children and tamariki to actively participate in their own lives and in matters that are important to them.
All children. All rights. All circumstances.
Children’s Rights
are set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, or the Children’s Convention
Everyone under 18
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (the Children’s Convention) applies to everyone under 18 years of age.
Note: The Government has reserved the right not to apply the Convention to some children, according to the nature of their authority to be in New Zealand. The Alliance wants this reservation removed.
All Children
The rights under the the Children’s Convention apply to all children without discrimination - babies, pēpi and young children, tamariki, older children, and teenagers, adolescents and rangatahi. Applying children’s rights requires consideration of children as a population group and as different groups of children, as well as the individual child. It requires recognition of and respect for the diversity of childhood experiences in Aotearoa.
All Rights.
The Children’s Convention includes children’s economic, social and cultural rights as well as their civil rights and freedoms. Children’s rights are indivisible and interdependent – the Convention must be applied as a whole; it guides both what needs to happen for children and tamariki and how it should happen.
All Circumstances
The Children’s Convention applies in all circumstances, in daily life and in times of crisis or emergency. Children and tamariki experience their rights across a diverse range of circumstances, which can lead to opportunities and to challenges in making their rights real. For example, realising the rights of children and tamariki in the welfare, care or justice systems to education, play and identity, or the right of children and tamariki living in urban areas to understand the natural environment, or the rights of children and tamariki in rural areas to information.
Our values
Promoting and enhancing the rights of all children in Aotearoa lies at the heart of everything we do. Our values help us to achieve this kaupapa by guiding the work we do and the ways we work together. Every day, we will demonstrate the importance of:
● aroha – being compassionate, empathetic, considerate and caring in our relationships with one another and the way we carry out our mahi.
● te ira tangata – recognising and nurturing, through our mahi, the unique physical and spiritual characteristics and abilities of every child.
● tika – doing what is right, just, and fair for all children and in our work together.
● pono – being honest in our relationships with one another and respecting and upholding the integrity of the lived experiences of all children.
● whanaungatanga – nurturing and supporting every child's own sense of kinship and belonging and strengthening the ways we all work together.
● manaakitanga – taking care of children and each other through our relationships with one another and our mahi.
Working with and reflecting the values of tangata whenua in our mahi.
We acknowledge that tamariki Māori are the descendants of the indigenous people of Aotearoa. We also acknowledge the primary role tangata Māori had in the formation of our nation and continue to have now.
We are committed to speaking truth and giving voice to the experiences of past, present and future generations of tamariki Māori in Aotearoa. How we give effect to this commitment - in our mahi and through our relationships with the individuals and organisations we represent and work alongside - continues to evolve.
We will use all the tools in our kete to give effect to our commitment and to inform and ensure we respect and reflect the values and views of tangata whenua in our mahi.
We will also consider the relationships between each of these tools and the deeper knowledge and understanding they bring us - particularly the teachings from te ao Māori, kaupapa Māori frameworks and approaches, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Children’s Convention (UNCRC), and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
Children’s
participation
We believe children’s participation is:
o About dignity and respect - children’s participation rights anchor children, as people today, in the human family.
o Central to the realisation of children’s rights – children and tamariki are entitled to know about and be part of the process of realising their rights, influencing decision-making and outcomes.
o Central to the integrity of implementing and reporting on children’s rights - children and tamariki are experts on their lived experiences and what is important to them.
o Broader than formal consultation and engagement processes – children’s participation happens all the time in everyday environments and interactions, including in families and whānau, hapū and iwi, and communities.
o About seeing children and tamariki, individually, and as part of a group, as active participants in their own lives and in matters that are important to them, rather than being the passive recipients of services, supports and guidance.
A key aim of the Convention is that every child grows up
… in a family environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding…
(Preamble to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child)