Recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child
Contribution to the Day of General Discussion on Children's Rights and the Environment
New practical guide to the CRC’s General Comment on business and children’s rights
Breastfeeding at the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
GENDER AND BRESTFEEDING
New General Comment on Rural Women
Launch of the book ‘Gender, Nutrition and the Right to Adequate Food’
TV i24news interviews IBFAN-GIFA on the importance of breastfeeding protection
GLOBAL HEALTH GOVERNANCE
World Health Assembly 2016
Launch of the WHO/UNICEF/IBFAN joint report on the implementation of the International Code
Guideline updates on HIV and Infant Feeding
NEWS FROM SWITZERLAND
IBFAN at Nestlé's AGM 2016
Nestlé's violation of the Code in Switzerland: IBFAN-ICDC spot record
World Breastfeeding Week 2016
SAVE THE DATES
12-16 September : Celebration of World Breastfeeding Week 2016 in Switzerland
24 September: IBFAN-GIFA @ Alternatiba 2016 - come and visit us!
11-14 December: IBFAN World Breastfeeding Conference in Pretoria, South Africa
WORKING ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child
From 11 to 29 January 2016, the CRC Committee held its 71st session and reviewed the implementation of the Convention in Benin, Brunei Darussalam, France, Haiti, Iran, Ireland, Kenya, Latvia, Maldives, Oman, Peru, Senegal, Zambia and Zimbabwe. IBFAN submitted alternative reports on the situation of infant and young child feeding in Benin and France.
IBFAN-GIFA also organized a joint briefing on Breastfeeding and the Child’s Right to Adequate Food and Nutrition in collaboration with FIAN and UNICEF. The briefing has been very well attended and it has allowed us to engage in a very constructive discussion with several CRC members. On this occasion, IBFAN-GIFA and UNICEF jointly released a set of suggested recommendations on infant and young child feeding for the CRC Committee to include in its future Concluding Observations.
As a direct outcome of our advocacy, 8 countries (Benin, France, Ireland, Kenya, Oman, Peru, Senegal and Zambia) received direct recommendations on breastfeeding.
The 72nd Session of the CRC Committee took place in Geneva from 17 May to 3 June 2016. The Committee reviewed the progress of the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Bulgaria, Gabon, Nepal, Pakistan, Samoa, Slovakia and the UK. IBFAN submitted alternative reports on the situation of infant and young child feeding in 4 of the reviewed countries (Gabon, Nepal, Pakistan and UK). As a result of IBFAN advocacy, the CRC Committee referred specifically to breastfeeding for 5 of the 7 countries under review (Bulgaria, Gabon, Samoa, Slovakia and UK).
Contribution to the Day of General Discussion on Children's Rights and the Environment
Infants and young children are the first victims of pollution and climate change. The negative impacts of pollution and climate change affect all people, but especially the world’s most vulnerable population: newborns, infants and young children, whose immune and reproductive systems are still immature. Even the healthy development of the foetus during intrauterine life can be compromised by the impact of pollution and climate change. Every child’s right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of the health constitutes an inclusive right that extends to its underlying determinants, including the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
New practical guide to the CRC’s General Comment on business and children’s rights
IBFAN contributed to the development of a practical guide developed by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the Child Rights International Network (CRIN) on how to use the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s General Comment No 16 which focuses on State obligations regarding the impact of the business sector on children’s rights.
The guide also provides examples of how NGOs have intervened on behalf of children, as well as advice on litigation, monitoring, advocacy and activism on behalf of children.
Read the ICJ/CRIN guide on State obligations regarding the impact of the business sector on children’s rights
Breastfeeding at the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
As the result of IBFAN's advocacy on the situation of breastfeeding in the UK, the CESCR Committee expressed its concerns about the lack of adequate measures adopted to increase the rates of breastfeeding in the United Kingdom and thus urged UK to develop a comprehensive national strategy for the protection and promotion of the right to adequate food which includes policies in support of breastfeeding in accordance with the resolutions of the World Health Assembly, including through breastfeeding breaks or breastfeeding facilities in educational institutions and workplaces. The Committee also recommended that the State party introduce higher taxes on junk foods and sugary drinks and consider adopting strict regulations on the marketing of such products, while ensuring improved access to healthy diets. The Committee finally refered UK to the International Code for Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes.
Following IBFAN-GIFA’s joint advocacy with other public interest NGOs and social movements, the Committee on the Elimination of all Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee) has released its new General Recommendation No 34 on Rural Women which, among other recommendations, urges countries to take specific measures to protect, promote and support breastfeeding.
In addition, it is the first time ever that the CEDAW recognizes the right to food and nutrition. A whole section of the document is dedicated to this right, calling States to “pay particular attention to the nutritional needs of rural women, particularly pregnant and lactating women, putting in place effective policies ensuring rural women have access to adequate food and nutrition”.
The book ‘Gender, Nutrition and the Right to Adequate Food; Toward an inclusive framework’, in which Lida Lhotska from IBFAN-GIFA contributed, was published in January 2016. It introduces the human right to adequate food and nutrition as an evolving concept and identifies two structural “disconnects” fueling food insecurity for a billion people, and disproportionally affecting women, children, and rural food producers: 1) the separation of women’s rights from their right to adequate food and nutrition, and 2) the fragmented attention to food as a commodity and the medicalization of nutritional health.
The chapter 4 focuses on maternal, infant, and young child feeding, the intertwined subjectivities of mother and child, and the lack of corporate accountability. It highlights the various challenges encountered by women and their children during pregnancy and breastfeeding, in particular the lack of protection against misleading marketing practices of baby food companies.
TV i24 news interviews IBFAN-GIFA on the importance of breastfeeding protection
On 14 June 2016, the international news channel i24news interviewed IBFAN-GIFA on Code violations and the negative impacts of unethical marketing of breastmilk substitutes on babies' health. We took this opportunity to reiterate our concerns about France's lack of implementation of the Code which impact on the very low rates of breastfeeding in the country.
See the IBFAN/PHM/TWN press release entitled "World Health Organization's independence and integrity are non-negociable"
Read the article "Whose health? The crucial negotiations for the World Health Organization’s future" by Lida Lhotska (IBFAN-GIFA) and Arun Gupta (BPNI / IBFAN Asia)
On 9 May 2016, WHO, UNICEF and IBFAN orgnaized a joint panel discussion on national implementation of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and subsequent relevant WHA resolutions at Geneva Press Club.
On this occasion, they presented their first joint global report on the status of the Code in 194 countries. The report presents the legal status of the Code, including to what extent Code provisions have been incorporated in national legal measures, and provides information on the efforts made by countries to monitor and enforce the Code through the establishment of formal mechanisms. The event was followed by a showing of the movie “Tigers”, sponsored by IBFAN.
We draw your attention to the recently released WHO/UNICEF "Guideline updates on HIV and infant feeding about the duration of breeastfeeding and the support from health services to improve the feeding practices among mothers living with the HIV", to which IBFAN-GIFA contributed as expert reviewer.
IBFAN-GIFA also contributed substantially to the recent IBFAN/BPNI report on "HIV and infant feeding: Global status of policy and programmes based on the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative assessment findings from 57 countries".
On 7 April 2016, on the occasion of Nestlé's Annual General Meeting 2016 and 150th anniversary, IBFAN-GIFA denounced the company's lack of ethical values and ongoing Code violations. We highlighted that in Switzerland, as in many other countries, parents are still being misled by Nestlé’s marketing practices. Furthermore, despite the mention of the WHO recommendation to exclusively breastfeed for the first 6 months, the WHO recommendation to continue breastfeeding until 2 years or more is systematically passed under silence by Nestlé. Therefore, we urged the company to "walk its talk" and to honor its engagements by putting child health and rights before marketing and profits
Nestlé's violation of the Code in Switzerland: IBFAN-ICDC spot record
A Nestlé Beba Pro 2 video clip found by IBFAN-GIFA on a Swiss internet broadcast site aimed at Frenchspeaking consumers promotes the product as containing “Protect-plus” formulation to reinforce babies immune system.
The ad begins with several babies crying and a voice-over explaining that when babies do that, it is a sign telling us they are unwell and an indication that they need protection. A Nestlé Beba Pro 2 packshot then appears with a ‘Protect-plus’ logo showing its main ingredients with the message that the product, modelled on breastmilk, protects them from little disagreements before ending with images of happy babies.
12-16 September : Celebration of World Breastfeeding Week 2016 in Switzerland
The international theme of World Breastfeeding Week 2016 is "Breastfeeding : a key to sustainable development".
Click here for more information and documents, in English/French.
To celebrate the World Breastfeeding Week, as every year IBFAN-GIFA will be present with a stand in the hall of the maternity of the University Hospital Geneva (HUG) on Monday 12 September from 12h to 16h.
IBFAN-GIFA will also participate in the seminar organized by the HUG on Thursday 15 September from 13h to 17h. The seminar is open to health professionals and will focus on the role of breastfeeding and the prevention of allergies & breasteeding initiation and the Brazelton method.
For more information, please contact Antonina Chilin (HUG) at +41795532302
24 September: IBFAN-GIFA @ Alternatiba 2016 - come and visit us!
Once again, IBFAN-GIFA will take part in Alternatiba 2016, the Cross-border Festival of Local Initiatives for the Climate and ‘Harmonious Living Together'. We thank the association naîtrEnsemble with which we will share a stand in the thematic space "Santé et bien-être, transition intérieure" and we look forward to seeing you there!
11-14 December: IBFAN World Breastfeeding Conference in Pretoria, South Africa
The conference will call for committed action and provide a platform for breastfeeding advocates, governments, scientists, civil society organisations, UN agencies, international organizations, research institutions, public interest groups, and other stakeholders to discuss and share experiences. The conference will also address breastfeeding in a human rights framework, emphasizing women’s rights, children’s rights, the right to food and nutrition, and maternity protection.
