Advocacy for child-friendly policies and legislation framework

Lifetree Kids works with local authorities to ensure that all aspects of the legal and policy frameworks, which are under their control, protect and promote children’s rights.

The ability to influence the legal and policy frameworks normally depends on the degree of autonomy the local government has in a given policy area. For example, a local government may have autonomy in the area of education but not in health, or may have autonomy over pre-schools but not secondary schools.

In areas where local governments have no direct control over laws and policies, they may still have some flexibility in the way they interpret and implement these. In instances where it has no control over implementation, Lifetree Kids still assesses the impact of laws and policies on child rights locally and use the evidence to advocate on behalf of children at the regional and national level.

Laws and policies need to be assessed before, during and after implementation for their impact on children to ensure that they take the best interests of the child into consideration as required by the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child. This involves the engagement of government, as well as independent experts and children and youth themselves.