|© UNICEF/HQ04-0604/Giacomo Pirozzi| While virtually every
country in the world has ratified the Convention on the Rights
of the Child (CRC), children's rights are frequently not
realised. One important aspect of creating an environment within
which children's rights will be realised is the creation of an
appropriate legislative framework which enshrines their rights.
While this is not sufficient to guarantee their rights, and
implementation of the law remains a major challenge around the
world, getting laws and the mechanisms and institutions for
their implementation right is one of the most essential steps to
realising children's rights. UNICEF's Legislative Reform
Initiative (LRI) supports efforts for the realisation of the
rights enshrined in the CRC and in the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW). It recognises that legislative reform must go beyond
the letter of law to address polices and programming in order to
make the laws effective and enforceable. The L