Inputs from regional director for UNICEF in East and Southern Africa (ESAR) (1998-2003)

Dear Colleagues,

I would like to share a positive experience I made by using the Concluding Observations of the CRC Committee, during my work as regional director for UNICEF in East and Southern Africa (ESAR) (1998-2003). This region consists of 21 countries and part of my duty was to visit these countries regularly and meet with senior officials of the Governement, UNICEF and other UNCT members. Such a visit normally took 4-5 days and included 3-5 high-level speaches/statements and 4-10 national media interviews. As I had never asked anyone to prepare or to help me to prepare my speeches, I realized that I would have to find a new innovative way to continue to prepare my own speeches. If there is no interpretation I never prepare my speeches in a written form, just a limited number of points that I normally manage to memorize at the time of giving the speech. How could I cope with this increased demand for my speeches? I found out the the CRC Concluding Observations provided the answer for me.I established the following routine:

(1) 10 days before my visit I studied the latest Concluding Observations of the CRC Committee and summarized/listed the recommendations (normally 30-50). I selected the 10 most imprtant ones given the time and the political situation in the country. (This usually took about 2-3 hours), and (2) On the flight I reviewed the list and decided for maximally five key recommendations. These formed the bullet points in my speech.

In this way I could actually go from country to counry and contribute to the important political mobilization for increased attention and resources for the realization of children's rights.

Urban jonsson