Jamaica moves up impressively on global child rights protection index

Jamaica has moved up 52 places on the global ranking of the protection of the rights of children, to sit prominently ahead of many developed states.

At number 51 in the 2016 KidsRights Index – up from 103 the year before - Jamaica, based on five indicators, was ahead of the likes of Canada, Italy, Greece, Luxembourg and China, and regional states such as Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.

 The applicable indicators are the right to life, right to health, right to education, right to education, and the provision of an enabling environment for child rights.

The index ranks all United Nations member states that have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and for which sufficient data is available.

A report on the index noted Jamaica's efforts to ensure respect for the views of the child in courts, schools, the family and relevant administrative processes, as well as in judicial proceedings.

Additionally, the index “also shows the numerous child participation initiatives undertaken by various (Jamaican) Government agencies, including the Child Development Agency (CDA) and the Office of the Children's Advocate (OCA)," the report noted.

On the global scene within the index, Greece was ranked 53rd, Luxembourg 56th, Canada 72nd, Italy 81st, and China 95th.  Regionally, Guyana was ranked at 70th, and Trinidad and Tobago 79th.

The index noted the variance between economic circumstances and the protection of children's rights in practice, with some wealthy countries failing to adequately invest in children's rights.

Only 25 countries were ranked from Latin America and the Caribbean, and some regional countries, including Barbados, St Lucia and Grenada, were not numbered among them.

Among major industrialised countries, the United States was noticeably missing from the ranking, because it has not ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child.