THIRD COMMITTEE DISCUSSES WAYS TO PROTECT CHILDREN

Press Release
GA/SHC/3537

THIRD COMMITTEE DISCUSSES WAYS TO PROTECT CHILDREN

The international instruments which protected the rights of children in armed conflict developed in the last 50 years were not being effectively implemented on the ground, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children in armed conflict told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) this morning, as it began its consideration of issues related to the promotion and protection of the rights of children.

Warning that there was a danger in perceiving the involvement of children in armed conflict as something normal, he said the international community had a very important role in dealing with all the dimensions of their suffering and victimization.

The Convention of the International Labour Organization (ILO) on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, which had universal support, stood for accountability on the part of the nations that freely adopted it with regard to sexual child abuses, the Director-General of the ILO said. There were morally abhorrent situations that no family anywhere in the world wanted for their child. When considering attitudes about the worst forms of child labour, there was global unanimity which needed to be transformed into implementation by conducting a global campaign for universal ratification of the Convention. That included participation in national campaigns, he added.

There was a strong link between abuse at home and commercial sexual exploitation, the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography told the Committee. Most of the available information on domestic violence was on women and very little of it on children who suffered physical, mental and psychological harm where they should feel safest. Those children who left home because of sexual abuse often fell victims of further exploitation in order to survive, she added.

The Executive Director of UNICEF said that in the century just ending, the world had seen breathtaking technological advances and the emergence of a global economy worth nearly $30 trillion. What was “equally staggering and wholly obscene”, she said, was the gulf separating those who enjoyed the fruits of the progress and those who did not. Hundreds of millions of children and women were totally excluded and their fundamental rights were denied.

Third Committee - 1a - Press Release GA/SHC/3537 23rd Meeting (AM) 27 October 1999

The Director of the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights said that with its quasi-universal ratification, the Convention on the Rights of the Child had become the centerpiece for international action to protect and promote the rights of the child. Only two States remained to ratify the Convention, which was unprecedented recognition for an international human rights instrument.

A question and answer session also took place. The representatives of Fiji, Finland, Guinea, the Russian Federation, Portugal, Sudan, Cuba, Libya, the Holy See, Pakistan and Iraq participated in that session.

The Committee will meet again today, 27 October at 3:00 p.m. to continue considering issues related to the promotion and protection of the rights of the child. It is also expected to hear the introduction of draft resolutions on issues related to crime prevention and international drug control; the advancement of women; and the right of peoples to self-determination.

Committee Work Programme

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) met this morning to begin considering issues related to the protection and promotion of the rights of children. It had before it a report of the Secretary-General on the status of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Also, transmitted by notes of the Secretary-General, it had reports of the Secretary-General's Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict and of his Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

Documents

The report of the Secretary-General General on the status of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (document A/54/265) states that, as at 1 August, the Convention had been ratified or acceded to by 191 States. In addition, one State had signed the Convention. The Commission on Human Rights adopted resolution 1999/80 of 28 April, by which it welcomed the role of the Committee on the Rights of the Child in creating awareness of the principles and provisions of the Convention and in providing recommendations to States parties on its implementation.

The report states that the rights of the child have become a major theme on the agenda of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. She considers issues relating to the following of great importance: children in armed conflict, exploitation of child labour, sale and trafficking of children, child prostitution and child pornography, as well as violence and discrimination against the girl child. Also, among activities planned, on 20 November, the commemorative day of the adoption of the Convention, the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) will receive a delegation composed of children from all regions of the world who will stay for a week in Switzerland to engage in several socio-cultural activities.

According to the report, the prevention and early detection of childhood disability are important components of UNICEF’s programme activity. Significant progress has been made since 1990 in addressing Vitamin A and iodine deficiency, which are leading causes of visual disability and mental retardation among children. An important aspect of UNICEF’s rights-based programming approach is its emphasis on policy dialogue with governments on reducing discrimination through deliberate efforts to create greater social inclusion for all.

The report also includes information on the prevention and eradication of the sale of children and of their sexual exploitation, including through child prostitution and child pornography. It states that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has been actively involved in the issue of trafficking in women and children. The Office’s action in that area currently takes place on two fronts. First, it continues to enhance the quality of its support to the relevant mechanisms dealing with trafficking issues. Second, it has developed a specific anti-trafficking programme, the core of which is legal and policy reform.

The Commission on Human Rights decided to invite the chairperson of the working group on the draft optional protocol on involvement of children in armed conflict to conduct broad informal consultations and, if possible, to produce a report by the end of 1999; it requested the working group to meet early in 2000 with the aim of finalizing its work.

On the elimination of the exploitation of child labour, the report states that on 17 June the International Labour Conference adopted a new convention on the worst forms of child labour, the Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour (1999 No. 182). The latter calls for immediate and effective measures to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour as a matter of urgency. It complements the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Convention No. 138, which calls for the effective abolition of child labour as a whole.

A note transmitted by the Secretary-General to the General Assembly (document A/54/430) on the protection of children affected by armed conflict contains the report prepared by the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict. It is the second report since the mandate was established in 1996. The present report covers activities undertaken by the Special Representative since 12 October 1998.

According to the current report, the Special Representative believes that the time has come for the international community to redirect its attention from the juridical task of developing norms to the political project of ensuring their application on the ground. Towards that end, he recommends the launching of an “era of application”. In addition, the Special Representative recommends the mobilization of all resources and social networks to provide for the protection of children within our societies. He also recommends many other measures, such as: the reinforcement of the commitments made by parties to a conflict in regard to the protection of children affected by armed conflict; the deepening of the engagement of the Security Council; and making the protection of children a prominent feature of governments’ domestic and international policy agenda. He also appeals to the international business community to assume its social and corporate responsibility and to develop voluntary codes of conduct within their own industries to address the systematic brutalization of children and women.

Other recommendations include provision for the protection and relief for internally displaced communities; signature and ratification of new international instruments which provide for the protection of children in armed conflict; and protection of children from the impact of sanctions.

A note by the Secretary-General transmits the interim report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (document A/54/411). The report states that the Special Rapporteur had noted that a vast number of cases in which a child had been exploited, the roots of the exploitation could be traced back to the family situation. With an eye towards concentration on that aspect of her mandate, a circular was sent to governments, United Nations bodies, and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations soliciting information on child sexual abuse. A report of those findings was to be presented to the next session of the Commission on Human Rights.

The report outlines activities of the Special Rapporteur. That included attendance at an expert meeting organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on sexual abuse of children involving the Internet. She also carried out two country missions. The first was a two-country visit to Belgium and the Netherlands, in part to investigate the concerns of her mandate as they were faced by developed countries. The other country trip was to Guatemala to study the sale, trafficking and commercial exploitation of children. She is expected to visit Fiji in November at the invitation of the Government.

In the report, the Special Rapporteur outlines international developments related to her mandate. Included is a report of a seminar on sexual violence and exploitation of children in Latin America and the Caribbean, which concluded that many thousands of children in those countries were victims of diverse forms of sexual exploitation and that common elements among the countries justified treatment of the subject at the regional level. Also detailed was a non- governmental organization (NGO) consultation on the need for a human rights framework regarding trafficking and the global sex industry, and the ILO’s recent adoption of a new convention to prohibit and take immediate action on the worst forms of child labour. During the year's session of the Working Group regarding the sexual exploitation of domestic child workers, a shockingly alarming incidence of abuse of girls in domestic service in embassies was reported. The Working Group also addressed the issue of traffic in human organs and tissues, referring to Latin American countries and the Russian Federation.

Country-specific and regional developments are detailed in the report. In Africa, for example, the Government of Egypt had launched an investigation into reports that 25 children were suspected to have died for the purpose of trafficking their organs. It was also reported that Nigeria had become a transit country for trafficking children to Gabon. In Asia, allegations continued of abuses committed by Australian men in other countries of the region. In Sri Lanka, an increase in child prostitution centred on young boys; 15,000 boy prostitutes were present in one particular beach, which was more than double the 1991 estimate. A chatroom had been set up in the Commonwealth of Independent States to study the problem of trafficking there. In Latin America, Costa Rica had seen a rapid growth of child sex tourism, and Brazil had taken steps to combat the Internet child pornography reported to be originating there. The European Union had funded a programme of education about the dangers of sex tourism.

Introductory Statements

OLARA OTUNNU, the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, said many governments had made the following commitments: not to target civilian populations in times of conflict; not to block access for the civilian population and for their supplies; not to interfere with ceasefires or bomb schools; and not to involve children in armed conflicts.

Once the consolidation of peace was achieved, the most important issue remained the well-being of young people, on whom the prosperity of any country was in great part dependent. He had proposed that the protection of young people should become a priority in all United Nations peace operations. Among the specific measures proposed was to train peacekeeping personnel appropriately on issues concerning the rights of children and women. The peacekeeping operation in Sierra Leone had successfully incorporated such measures. The international community needed to work effectively in order to abolish the recruitment of children in armed conflict. Raising the age of children to be recruited as soldiers, from 15 to 18 years, had been proposed. Also, the economic factors that helped in the recruitment of children in armed conflicts needed to be changed.

“I appeal to the donor community to do much more and support the building of local capacities in regard to helping children in armed conflict”, he said. He had made it a priority to advocate the issue of children in armed conflict in the Security Council. Continuing, he said international instruments that had to do with protecting children in armed conflict, developed in the last 50 years, were not being effectively implemented on the ground. The international community had a very important role in working together to protect children. Every aspect of the suffering and victimization of children should be attended to. There was a danger that the involvement of children in armed conflict could be regarded as normal because of its frequency. “We must not let this happen”, he emphasized.

OFELIA CALCETAS-SANTOS, Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, said reports coming from different countries demonstrated that children were traded for adoption, labour, criminal activities and marriages, as well as for sports and for the sale of organs. Guatemala, for example, was rife with loopholes in the law which allowed the almost free trade of children for adoption purposes.

Domestic violence was not being extensively researched, most especially with respect to children, she said. Much of the available information referred to domestic abuse of women, but not of children. Violence against children at home not only caused physical, mental or psychological harm to the child, but it deprived that child of the one haven in the world where he should feel safest. There was a strong link between abuse at home and commercial sexual exploitation. Sexual and other kinds of abuses were usually the main reasons children ran way, and those who left home often fell victim to further exploitation in order to survive.

Fiji and some other Pacific islands were becoming popular destinations for child sex-tourists, she said. Reports from both governmental and non- governmental organizations had confirmed that there were children victimized by locals, as well as tourists, in those islands. She called attention to the “Mutch” case about an Australian resident who had been found to possess thousands of child pornographic pictures in his laptop, including Fijian children, three of whom were even living with him. The Government of Fiji had not shown any willingness to recognize that the country could no longer afford to ignore such an issue.

JUAN SOMAVIA, Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO) said he had a special feeling for the Third Committee because it had guts and feelings in seeking consensus on vital social issues. He had been working closely with the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva. Based on his work with other bodies of the United Nations system, he said it was most important to recognize the differences in world situations, even while speaking out loudly on issues.

The ILO Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour had universal support, he said. It stood for accountability on the part of the nations that freely adopted it with regard to sexual child abuses. The message was simple. There were morally abhorrent situations that no family anywhere in the world wanted for their child. Those situations arose when parents didn’t work and children didn’t go to school. Sustainable development, therefore, was part of the cure. When considering attitudes about the worst forms of child labour, there was global unanimity.

To transform that unanimity into implementation, he said the ILO was conducting a global campaign for universal ratification of the Convention. That included participation in national campaigns. The Seychelles had already ratified the Convention. The Organization of African Unity (OAU) had made a commitment to its ratification, as had the Ministers of Labour of Latin America, all aimed at ratification before the next ILO Conference in the middle of next year. “I ask you all to make that a priority”, he said.

He said more policies, standards and understanding of the problem were not needed; action was. As the Special Rapporteur on children and armed conflict had said, the era of application had arrived. “You don’t erase social ills by projects but by consciousness, by thinking: What kind of society allows 250,000 million children to labour because they’re hungry?” The problem of child prostitution, trafficking and tourism was not only a problem of the developing world, because demand for it came from the developed countries. The cycle existed because the benefits of development were not benefiting everyone.

It needed to be remembered that a principal element interfering in the rights of children was parental unemployment, he concluded. If parents didn’t have sustainable livelihoods, children didn’t have rights. By concentrating on eliminating the worst forms of child labour, such as their prostitution and trafficking, the world would be taking real steps forward in bettering the world.

BACRE WALY N DIAYE, Director of the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, said that with its quasi-universal ratification, the Convention on the Rights of the Child had become the centerpiece for international action to protect and promote the rights of the child. Only two States remained to ratify the Convention, Somalia and the United States, and the latter had already signed it. That was unprecedented recognition for an international human rights instrument. Hopefully, the movement in favour of children’s rights would inspire the international community to move towards universal ratification of other major international human rights instruments.

He outlined measures taken by the Office to improve coordination and cooperation between United Nations bodies and other competent bodies active in the field of human rights, as well as activities of the Office in protecting children. He said the Working Group on a draft optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, concerned with sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, had held its fifth session during the year. The working group had agreed on criminalizing child prostitution, while protecting the child prostitutes themselves. The Commission on Human Rights was urging adoption of the protocol by the year 2000. Similarly, the Working Group on a draft protocol to the Convention, concerned with children in armed conflict, had held its fifth session during the year. It was still negotiating contentious issues, such as the minimum age limit for recruitment and participation in hostilities, but it was committed to completing its work in the year 2000.

CAROL BELLAMY, Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), said the adoption and implementation of the Convention had inspired and strengthened international standards. New agreements ensured legal safeguards in inter-country adoption in prevention of the worst forms of child labour, in fighting impunity for war crimes against children and in protecting them from landmines. The drafting of two important optional protocols was an important addition to strengthening that Convention. Where political will existed, measures were implemented and contributed to creating an enabling environment where all rights of all children were achieved and sustained; where children became visible in all aspects of public life; and where their wellbeing was recognized as a principal indicator of human progress.

She said the Convention called for international solidarity and technical assistance to promote child rights, and yet in the decade since adoption of that widely-accepted instrument, assistance to the world’s poorest countries had declined sharply. The trends in that decline were of even more concern, for the decline had been in assistance to countries where under-five mortality was highest, where there was the least access to safe water, where women bore on average more than five children and where more than one in five children did not attend primary school. Those trends had to turn. The burden of poverty was often combined with another great obstacle to fulfilment of children’s rights, which was war, whose primary targets were women and children.

In the century just ending, she said, the world had seen breathtaking technological advances and the emergence of a global economy worth nearly $30 trillion. What was “equally staggering and wholly obscene”, she said, was the gulf separating those who enjoyed the fruits of the progress and those who did not. Hundreds of millions of children and women were totally excluded and their fundamental rights were denied.

To bridge that divide, which was the only route to a just and peaceful world, she said UNICEF was calling on the global community to invest in today’s children and in the generations of children to come, by ensuring three outcomes. First, that infants begin life healthy and that young children be nurtured in a caring environment. Second, that all children, including the poorest and most disadvantaged, have access to basic education. And finally, that all adolescents develop fully and participate in shaping their societies. In view of the virtually universal ratification of the Convention, a global consensus on those bedrock objectives was within reach. It could be a moment in history when the world was ready to alter the course of human development by decisively shifting national investments to favour the best interests of children, she added.

Question and Answer Session

The representative of Fiji said the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography had mentioned the case of “Mr. Mutch”. He was an Australian who had been caught in Fiji. However, that case did not indicate that Fiji was being used for child sex-tourism. Also, Mr. Mutch was presumed to be innocent until found guilty and deserved a fair trial. In addition, there were others involved with Mr. Mutch. His Government was aware of its obligations and of the needs of those abused. With regard to offenders, there had been a legal meeting during the recent South Pacific Forum. During that meeting, discussions had also focused on the abuse of children.

The representative of Finland, also speaking on behalf of the European Union, wondered how the Special Representative for children and armed conflict had conducted the process of field visits and what type of cooperation was in place with different organizations in the field? Also, how was the monitoring and follow-up of such visits being conducted? In addition, he wondered what was the legacy of his mandate? He asked the Executive Director of UNICEF about the difficulties encountered in changing the mindset of partners at the country level and about her expectations for the special session of the General Assembly for the year 2001. Furthermore, how did UNICEF’s database ”making children count” work?, he asked. He also wondered how the work of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography was being supported by the United Nations. Furthermore, he inquired as to what was the best achievement on the rights of the child of the past few years.

The representative of Guinea asked for information on the pilot project in Sierra Leone from the Special Representative for children and armed conflict.

The representative of the Russian Federation asked about the current situation of children in Iraq. Also, he wondered about the Special Representative’s as well as UNICEF Executive Director's opinions on sanctions.

The representative of Portugal asked about the cooperation of the Special Representative for children and armed conflict with other United Nations offices and non-governmental agencies (NGOs). In addition, she asked for his comments on the plight of children in East Timor. Furthermore, she wondered about UNICEF’s advocacy and operational work in regard to the protection of the rights of children.

The Special Representative for children and armed conflict explained that his office prepared for country visits with the help of United Nations country teams. Messages were also sent to NGOs. It was a very intensive project. In regard to cooperation between his office and NGOs, he had explained that matter in his report. Much time had been spent to meet with NGO representatives, both at Headquarters and in the field. However, that collaboration was not easy. On follow-up activities, those had the same intensity as the preparation work. Informal advisory groups, governments concerned and other parties were also contacted.

His report covered the questions of what practices should remain and which actors should continue with their efforts towards helping children in armed conflict. His mandate should not become a permanent fixture, but be of limited duration. It was important to achieve “a mass of activities” and awareness at all levels and with all actors that could remain beyond his mandate. Working with the European Union had been among his priorities in the past year. His role was about advocacy and giving visibility to the protection of children. It was a cheerleading job and one that facilitated and gave an enabling environment to key players. Also, it was a convening role which gathered all actors for a more effective approach on the ground.

In regard to the achievements in the last 10 years, the Special Representative said there was no reason for “self-congratulation”. The situation of children was appalling. The ratification and accession to the Convention on the Rights of the Child had been the best achievement. For that reason, achieving an “era of application” should be emphasized. Sierra Leone suffered terribly. That country, together with Kosovo, should remain central in the matter discussed. On the issue of sanctions, he said they are “a system of punishment which is cruel by which the most vulnerable are the ones who suffer the most”. Sanctions should provide for the protection of children. On commitments made by parties in conflicts, governments had a very important role to play. They needed to use their influence. Those in Sierra Leone had kept their promise not to recruit children younger than 18, but the whole thing had fallen apart recently. In regard to East Timor, he said a new team that would deal with the protection of children was being created.

MS. BELLAMY, Executive Director of UNICEF, described a series of actions UNICEF had taken to integrate United Nations and UNICEF activities. Those included cooperation in incorporating a child-centred component into United Nations programmes and integrating human rights elements into UNICEF country programmes. The UNICEF had also developed indicators and tools to measure progress and had assisted in applying them at the country level. There were other arrangements, for example, the Special Representative on children and armed conflict contributing to the work being implemented in UNICEF country programmes. The good news with regard to UNICEF and United Nations cooperation was that there was plenty of work to go around.

She said UNICEF had implemented a programme in Iraq and had found deterioration in the mortality rate in the north, which had not been found to be the result of any one element. The UNICEF had recommended the monitoring of the effect of sanctions. It was clear, however, that both the Government and the international community had to do more. There had been improvement in the nutritional situation.

She said it could be discouraging in the field, but near-ratification of the Convention was a major achievement. There remained, however, the closing up of the huge gap between words and actions. She called on governments, civil society and children to take the convention seriously, as that would contribute to economic and human development in every country.

MS.CALCETAS-SANTOS, the Special Rapporteur on sale of children, said she had not judged Mr. “Mutch” in Fiji. She also had not said he was involved in child sexual tourism because he was an Australian residing in Fiji. She had seen the pictures of child sexual abuse from his computer by way of the Internet. Yet when prosecution had started against him, people said he should not be prosecuted and the parents began withdrawing the charges because he was a wealthy businessman.

With regard to the indicators, she said the government should not use lack of data as an excuse for not applying indicators. Interfamilial abuse was rampant. Every day during her visit, the newspapers had reported rapes. She was not against tourism, but it should be used as a barometer of what was happening with regard to tourism, as the Fijian situation demonstrated. There were two beaches, one local and one for tourists. On the second beach, an eight-year-old virgin child could be found for the asking for any tourist with $500.

“Do you want me to be frank? There remains a lot to be done”, she said with regard to cooperation with other agencies. As the Special Rapporteur had no resources, she added, there should be better support for the office from the United Nations system. She gave examples of situations in which she had used information provided by the United Nations system.

Wrapping up, she said domestic violence was one of the indicators she studied. Governments had reported taking a number of approaches to child pornography on the Internet. The greatest achievement was a universal recognition that children had rights. The greatest challenge was that those rights could not be given to the children without providing resources enabling them to make use of them.

The representative of the Sudan said her Government would lend all the cooperation possible when it came to the rights of children. She asked about ways of strengthening the protection of children without overlooking local customs? She wondered how could customs be made part of an atmosphere of peace from a very young age?

The representative of Cuba said she wished the report of the Special Representative for children and armed conflict had been published earlier to allow for more time for review. She asked which was the main United Nations organ that dealt with the protection of children?

The representative of Libya asked about the work of the Special Representative for children and armed conflict in convincing states to counteract the use of children as soldiers? Also, what had been done to help those former young soldiers to integrate into society?

The representative of the Holy See asked what was the stand of the report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography in regard to family unity as a way of protecting children from abuse?

The representative of Pakistan was unable to understand the Special Rapporteur’s link between the family and abuse. Were there other players apart from the family?, he asked.

The representative of Iraq said his country had been divided into north, central and south. The north was under the control of the United States and the United Kingdom. For those reasons, the situation of children in the north was better than in the rest of the country. Also, he denied rumors that foods and medicines in his country were being stockpiled instead of distributed. He praised the work of UNICEF in his country.

In reply to the question by the Sudanese delegate, the Special Representative for children and armed conflict said there were two pillars of protection for children. The first were universal norms and the second were local ones. It was important to distinguish between bad traditions and good ones. Those pillars should reinforce each other.

In response to the question by the Cuban representative, he explained that the issue of the protection of children belonged to different organs in the United Nations, but mainly the General Assembly. However, the Security Council had a specific responsibility when children suffered in war.

In regard to curbing the raising of children as soldiers, the Special Representative said that matter had different dimensions. Among them were raising the recruitment age from 15 to 18 and changing the social, economic and political factors which played a role in that matter.

MS. BELLAMY, Executive Director of UNICEF, said the situation of advancing children’s rights at this point was not a matter of reports, but of action. Both as members of the Committee and as citizens of their own countries, she urged representatives to promote measures ensuring children’s rights at the international and national levels.

MS. CALCETAS-SANTOS said she had been interested in exploring the link between abusive home situations and sexual abuse of children commercially. She told of a child who had said in an interview that prostitution was a step up for her. With prostitution, she received the treatment she expected from a client, but not from a father. In addition, through prostitution she was paid for what her father imposed on her. In many situations of familial abuse, the State responded by taking the child from the abusive situation, which was double punishment since the child lost home, parents, family and everything familiar.

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