OMEP and the UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM
Since its founding in 1948, World OMEP has kept consultative status at the United Nations (UN). At the moment, OMEP has SPECIAL CONSULTATIVE STATUS granted by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). OMEP was accepted by the UN because the work program it carries out is of direct interest for the goals and purposes of the UN. Among the requirements, OMEP’s trajectory, democratic constitution, representative structure, accountability mechanisms, and democratic and transparent decision-making processes were taken into account, as well as the contribution of resources made by national partners and individual members.
The consultative status is a major place to defend the children of our organization globally given that:
OMEP’s representatives at UNESCO, UNICEF, the United Nations and other international or regional organizations are appointed by the World Executive and their position is approved in the World Assembly.
1- AT UNESCO
OMEP was created, thanks to the support received from UNESCO, in the first World Conference on Early Childhood in Prague (1948), where delegates from 17 countries participated. From that moment on, OMEP was committed to cooperate closely with UNESCO, carrying out joint work in different instances and projects.
1.1 Liaison Committee NGO-UNESCO
OMEP has three permanent representatives to UNESCO and actively participates in the reflections, activities and work of the Committee which represents all the NGO partners of UNESCO.
1.2 Collective Consultation for NGOs (CCNGO)/Education 2030
Since 2015, OMEP has been an elected member of the “Coordination Group” of the CCNGO/Education 2030. For the 2020/2021 period, the elected representative is OMEP’s World President.
1.3 Education for Sustainable Development
OMEP has participated in actions regarding the United Nation’s Decade for ESD (2005-2014) and in the implementation of the Global Action Plan (GAP) for ESD. Today, OMEP continues participating in related initiatives.
1.4 Global Citizenship Education (GCED)
OMEP is working with UNESCO in order to educate children since early childhood to develop a citizenship that allows them to contribute, with a proactive attitude, to building a more peaceful, tolerant, safe and sustainable world.
1.5 Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE)
UNESCO calls OMEP as associated organization and specialist in ECCE to advice, inform, create strategies and write related documents.
1.6 UNESCO Participation Programme
The “Training Project for hydrology technicians in Africa” was established in 2017. This has been a strong contribution from OMEP in response to UNESCO’s main priorities: Africa, water and women. Initially, Congo Democratic Republic, Ivory Coast and Madagascar participated in the project, and in the 2019 edition, Senegal, Togo, Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Burkina Faso also participated.
1.7 Other participations
OMEP participates in the extraordinary sessions for NGOs at UNESCO’s General Assembly.
It is also present at other events in relation to the international days for education, peace, literacy, girls, teachers, mother tongue and other key issues.
1.8 Regional and local work
Given that OMEP is made up of more than 70 National Committees and 5 Regional Vice Presidencies, it has created networks and joint work with UNESCO, with the regional and local offices and with the International Institute for Educational Planning, and has developed different projects and initiatives. OMEP has also participated in regional Education Ministers’ Meetings and in technical meetings at UNESCO.
2- AT THE UNITED NATIONS
2.1 NGOs Committee on Migration
OMEP had the position of Chair of the NGOs Committee on Migration for 4 years until July 2020 and is still a member of the Executive Committee. Its work has been put into practice in several actions, documents, declarations and the daily presence in the UN for the humanitarian cause of protecting migrants’ human rights. https://ngo-migration.org/about/executive-committee/
2.2 NGOs Committee
The NGO Committee on UNICEF is a New York-based coalition of NGOs affiliated with the United Nations. The Committee partners closely with UNICEF to advocate for the promotion and protection of children’s rights worldwide. The NGO Committee on UNICEF is an entity officially mandated by UNICEF to represent civil society and interact with UNICEF’s Executive Board. https://ngocomunicef.org/
3- AT OTHER ORGANIZATIONS IN THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM
OMEP participates in events and exchanges information with other specialized organizations in the UN, such as the World Health Organization (WHO), regarding topics on rights and care and education in early childhood.
Together with the International Labor Organization (ILO), OMEP has drafted the document “Policy Guidelines on the promotion of decent work for early childhood personnel”, available at: https://www.ilo.org/sector/Resources/codes-of-practice-and-guidelines/WCMS_236528/lang–en/index.htm