COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD TO MEET IN GENEVA, 22 SEPTEMBER - 10 OCTOBER
Press Release
HR/4336
COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD TO MEET IN GENEVA, 22 SEPTEMBER - 10 OCTOBER
19970919 Background Release To Examine Reports of Lao People's Democratic Republic, Australia, Uganda, Czech Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Togo(Reissued as received.)
GENEVA, 18 September (UN Information Service) -- The Committee on the Rights of the Child will discuss the promotion and protection of children's rights in the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Australia, Uganda, Czech Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, and Togo at its sixteenth session to be held in Geneva from 22 September to 10 October.
The Committee was formed in 1991 to monitor the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the most complete statement of children's rights ever made and the first to give these rights the force of international law. The countries scheduled to come before the Committee at this session are among the 191 to have ratified or acceded to the Convention, with the Cook Islands being the latest to join after the Committee met last spring. The Convention is the most widely accepted human rights instrument ever, protecting the rights of approximately 2 billion children in the world.
The Committee's meeting on 6 October will be its annual general discussion and will be devoted to the plight of the world's estimated 100 million children with disabilities. United Nations bodies, specialized agencies, non-governmental organizations and individual experts have been invited to join in the discussion on this important issue.
The final report of the fifteenth session of the Committee, held in Geneva in June, noted that, despite the scale of the problem, the plight of children with disabilities remained invisible and rarely figured on national or international agendas. It said there was grim evidence of the dramatically restricted life opportunities of children with disabilities in many parts of the world.
The general discussion will focus on the human rights of children with disabilities in all aspects of society, including their rights to life, development, and to participate fully in education.
During the three-week session, the Committee will also discuss cooperation with other United Nations bodies, specialized agencies and other competent bodies.
The Committee is composed of 10 independent human rights experts. States parties in 1995 adopted an amendment to the Convention that would increase the membership to 18 in order to enable the Committee to face a rapidly growing workload. The amendment will enter into force upon its acceptance by a two-thirds majority of States parties.
Timetable for Consideration of Reports
The following is a tentative timetable for the consideration of reports during this session:
-- Lao People's Democratic Republic (document CRC/C/8/Add.32), on Tuesday and Wednesday, 23-24 September;
-- Australia (document CRC/C/8/Add.31), on Thursday, 25 September;
-- Uganda (document CRC/C/3/Add.40), on Monday, 29 September;
-- Czech Republic (document CRC/C/11/Add.11), on Tuesday and Wednesday, 30 September and 1 October;
-- Trinidad and Tobago (document CRC/C/11/Add.10), on Thursday and Friday, 2-3 October;
-- Togo (document CRC/C/3/Add.42), on Tuesday and Wednesday, 7-8 October.
Convention on Rights of Child
The General Assembly adopted the Convention unanimously on 20 November 1989, 30 years after the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of the Child. The Convention makes States which accept it legally accountable for their actions towards children. Work on its drafting began in 1979 -- the International Year of the Child -- at the Commission on Human Rights.
The Convention was opened for signature on 26 January 1990. That day, 61 countries signed it, a record first-day response. It entered into force just seven months later, on 2 September 1990.
Ratifying the Convention entails reviewing national legislation to make sure it is in line with the provisions of the treaty. The Convention stipulates, among other things, that every child has the right to life, and States shall ensure to the maximum child survival and development; that every
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child has the right to a name and nationality from birth; and that, when courts, welfare institutions or administrative authorities deal with children, the child's best interests shall be a primary consideration. The Convention recognizes the right of children to be heard.
Furthermore, States shall ensure that each child enjoys full rights without discrimination or distinctions of any kind; that children should not be separated from their parents, unless by competent authorities, for their well-being; that States should facilitate reunification of families by permitting travel into, or out of, their territories; and that States shall protect children from physical or mental harm and neglect, including sexual abuse or exploitation.
Also according to the Convention, disabled children shall have the right to special treatment, education and care; primary education shall be free and compulsory and discipline in school should respect the child's dignity; capital punishment or life imprisonment shall not be imposed for crimes committed before the age of 18; no child under 15 should take part in hostilities and children exposed to armed conflict shall receive special protection; and children of minority and indigenous populations shall freely enjoy their own culture, religion and language.
A conference of States parties in 1995 endorsed efforts to amend the Convention in order to increase the membership of the Committee, while the General Assembly has expressed support for the Working Group of the Commission on Human Rights in a draft optional protocol to the treaty related to the involvement of children in armed conflict.
States Parties
With the addition of Cook Islands, the number of States parties which have ratified or acceded to the Convention has reached 191. The countries are as follows: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Germany, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Holy See, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Latvia and Lebanon.
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Also: Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niue, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau Islands, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tomè and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zaire, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Committee Membership
The Convention requires that the members of the Committee have a high moral standing and recognized competence in the field of children's rights. The following experts, nominated by the States parties to serve in their personal capacity, have been elected to the Committee: Francesco Paolo Fulci (Italy), Judith Karp (Israel), Youri Kolosov (Russian Federation), Sandra P. Mason (Barbados), Nafsiah Mboi (Indonesia), Esther Margaret Queen Mokhuane (South Africa), Awa N'deye Ouedraogo (Burkina Faso), Lisbet Palme (Sweden), Ghassan Salim Rabah (Lebanon), and Marilia Sardenberg Zelner Gonçalves (Brazil).
At the end of the spring session, the Committee elected Ms. Mason as Chairperson; Mrs. Karp, Mr. Kolosov and Mr. Rabah as deputies; and Ms. Mboi as Rapporteur for a two-year period.
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