COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD TAKES UP REPORT OF HOLY SEE
Press Release
HR/4225
COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD TAKES UP REPORT OF HOLY SEE
19951116 Geneva, 14 November (UN Information Service) -- The Committee on the Rights of the Child this morning began its examination of the initial report of the Holy See on the application of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.The delegation of the Holy See was headed by the Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Representative of the Holy See to the United Nations Office at Geneva, Monsignor Paul Tabet. He was accompanied by Father Raymond Roch, who participated in the preparation of the Convention relative to the rights of the child, as well as by Professor Vincenzo Buonomo and Monsignor Andrés Carrascosa Coso.
Report of Holy See
Presenting the report of the Holy See, Monsignor Tabet underlined the specificity of action, and the singular nature of that State party within the international community. As the supreme governmental organ of the Roman Catholic Church, the Holy See had always been recognized as a sovereign subject of the international law, he said. Territorial sovereignty was the foundation of its autonomy, with the "only aim being to guarantee the free exercise of its universally specific mission". It was within the context of such a mission that the Holy See assured the promotion of a "culture" of the rights of the child, throughout the world and through the Church's structures. In view of the Holy See's specificity, the report could not be totally in conformity with the structure required by the Committee.
In its teachings, he said, the Holy See stressed that the child could not be dissociated from the family context. The "Charter of the Rights of the Family", presented by the Holy See in 1993, made explicit the sense of the right to life in all dimensions, being the protection and absolute respect of the life of a child from its conception, excluding abortion, as well as the manipulation of the human embryo, and all violations of the child's physical integrity. That right also encompassed the child's social protection after birth, in view of the full development of his being.
Concerning the education of the child, he said, the "Charter" valued the inalienable right of parents to educate their children, underlining "the interrelation of children-parents-educator" and the responsibility of the
media "to assure their support to the fundamental values of the family". On the right to religious freedom, the "Charter", in conformity with the second Vatican Council, attached a central place to the parents, who decide on the religious education to be given to their children.
Monsignor Tabet also drew attention to the immense network of institutions particularly dedicated to the cause of children and their rights. On measures of protection, he said the Holy See, bishops, and world Catholic organizations had mobilized in response to particularly serious situations affecting children, such as those who were forced to work or were sexually exploited, street children, drug-addicted children, child victims of armed conflicts, child soldiers, orphans, and handicapped children.
The body directly responsible for implementing the Convention, he said, was the Pontifical Council for the Family, which had convened five international meetings since 1991, devoted to the rights of the child, and to which international specialized institutions, non-governmental organizations, and experts had participated. Those meetings had focused on "the sexual exploitation of children by prostitution and pornography", "the family and children's work", "drug abuse in relation to children", and the "natural control of fertility".
Answering requests from Committee members for additional information, the Holy See delegation indicated that citizenship was based upon Jus offici - - that it was granted to the persons working for the Vatican. There were no children on Vatican territory. Concerning its action on the international stage, the Holy See had undertaken the education of conscience, according to its particular mission. On international development activities, the Holy See intervened through a "council for development".
Responding to questions from the Committee on the training of officials in charge of health, education, and services to children, Monsignor Carrascosa Coso said the Holy See's moral action transmitted values at the same time as the States exercising jurisdiction over children. The Church brought a complement of values. It was in charge of awakening health teachers and professionals to the values of the Church. The Church's responsibilities with regard to the Convention were limited to its spiritual mission.
Monsignor Carrascosa Coso also drew attention to the efforts of indigenous clergy and missionaries to make the Convention known. Concerning reservations put forward by the Holy See on the right of the child within the family, he said that the Holy See relied on the right of the parents based on article 5 of the Convention, which recognized the responsibility, the right and the duty of parents to provide orientation and advice appropriate to the child's exercise of its rights.
Some members of the Committee said that article 5 on the rights of parents should be compatible with the right of the child to have its opinions taken into account.
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