Launch of the Handbook for the Implementation of the 'Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children' in New York 

The launch of the handbook Moving Forward: Implementing the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children at UNICEF House in New York on the 11th April 2013 marked a milestone in the affirmation of children's rights. Hosted by the Permanent Mission of Brazil to the United Nations, UNICEF, the Better Care Network and the NGO Committee on UNICEF Working Group on Children without Parental Care, the launch was attended by more than 85 people, including delegations from permanent missions to the United Nations and civil society organizations.

The Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children were unanimously welcomed at the UN General Assembly in 2009 to provide "orientations for policy and practice" to address the situation of children who are deprived of parental care or who are at risk of being unnecessarily separated from their families. The Handbook provides practical guidance on moving forward on the road to alternative care provision for children. It highlights implications for policy-making where national governments should provide leadership as well as contributes examples of what is already being effectively done on the ground. Hundreds of professionals from governments, NGOS, UN agencies, and academia fed into the drafting process, which includes promising practices from over 70 countries.

The event was introduced by Susan Bissell, Associate Director for Child Protection at UNICEF, and speakers were Ms. Regina Maria Cordeiro Dunlop, Deputy Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations, Ms. Jennifer Davidson, CELCIS & co-author of the Handbook, Ms. Cecilia Anicama, on behalf of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on Violence against Children, and Mr. Makmur Sunusi, Senior Advisor to the Minister of Social Welfare in Indonesia.

For a summary of the event and to read the speakers' statements, please click here.