Manara is a network of Civil Society Organisations led by Save the Children Sweden (SCS) and implemented with the members of the network. Manara Network is funded through a project by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA).
Civil society organizations (CSOs) are a driving force of society: they are partners and actors of public policy and, are therefore, essential in the development of democratic governance; they can act as independent watchdogs and advocates of human rights and are important service providers, often responding to the needs of communities at the grassroots level. With increasing attention being paid to governance and political reform in the MENA region and the widening acceptance of the importance of rights-based approaches, the role of CSOs in poverty alleviation, aid efficiency and the promotion and protection of human rights has gained increasing attention.
The role of CSOs for the rights of the child is as wide as it is varied. Civil society’s critical and independent views on the respect and implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) are essential. As such, efficient monitoring mechanisms, including alternative reporting processes, can help ensure better respect of the CRC. CSOs can also play a major role in raising public awareness about the CRC’s content and mechanisms and in advocating and lobbying for relevant duty-bearers to take the necessary measures to ensure that the standards of the CRC are respected and promoted in law and practice. Finally, CSOs can be an excellent venue for the participation of children, ensuring that their voices and opinions are heard and reflected in decisions taken about issues that affect them.
The project for the set up of the Manara network is based on the notion that civil society organizations can and should play a key role in the protection and promotion of human rights in general and of child rights in particular. This is explicitly recognized in the 2009-12 Save the Children Sweden (SCS) strategy, which puts civil society at the forefront of its priorities. The project also stems from SCS’s long-standing experience with a wide range of actors in the region, including CSOs and children. SCS’s experience has pointed to the importance of gaining a better understanding of the dynamics of civil society in the region and of developing a more holistic approach to supporting civil society actors, that is, striking a balance between support to service-delivery non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) and strengthening the capacity and role of NGOs and networks explicitly engaged in advocacy. The project also recognizes the importance of developing spaces and opportunities for dialogue between CSOs, including children, and government actors.
SCS’s experience has also demonstrated that programmes and projects which include child participation are not only more effective, but also more respectful of the rights of children themselves. Children have the right to be heard and to have their ideas taken seriously. SCS has therefore focused on the development and integration of methods to ensure meaningful and ethical child participation throughout its programmes.
Finally, this project is based on the demand from local partners for increased support in these areas and on internal analyses which have highlighted recurrent challenges facing CSOs in their work for and with children.
Through the set up of Manara, SCS is supporting and strengthening the capacities of existing civil society networks and NGOs in the MENA region through the following primary focus areas:
(a) Analysis and reporting
(b) Coordination and networking
(c) Advocacy
(d) CRC and Child Rights Programming (CRP) mainstreaming.
Reports:
Growing up in the context of protracted conflict, Palestinian children are particularly vunerable and in need of protection. This report anaylses the child protection systems in place for Palestinians in the oPt and Lebanon and makes a number of recommendations to improve them:
This regional report examines violent practices towards children in schools including physical, sexual and psychological abuse. It covers Lebanon, Morocco and Yemen:
Country Profiles:
These individual country profiles, available below, are reports exploring the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). They highlight commendable practices implemented by governments, civil society and the international community, but also identify further challenges that need to be addressed. These profiles make a series of recommendations for each country to improve the implementation of the CRC.
- Yemen -
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Jordan -
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Morocco -
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Lebanon
Implementation:
Eight civil society organisations participated in a training workshop on Child Rights Programming in Amman through the Manara Network in October 2011. The details of the workshop are available here.