COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS BEGINS DISCUSSION OF RIGHTS OF CHILD

Special Rapporteur on Sale of Children,

Child Prostitution and Child Pornography Speaks

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 11 April (UN Information Service) -- The Commission on Human Rights began review this afternoon of national and international efforts to improve the situation of children and to overcome such difficulties affecting them as armed conflicts, poverty, sexual exploitation, child labour and HIV/AIDS.

The Commission's Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, Juan Miguel Petit, said international instruments must be renewed and updated and must take into account new challenges and threats to children.

Children who were victims of sexual violence, trafficking or other forms of exploitation must not be criminalized, stigmatized or marginalized, Mr. Petit said.  Regrettably, victims were sometimes considered the cause of the problem and were placed in institutions and subjected to judicial processes which only worsened their situations.  The Special Rapporteur also said countries should set up adoption systems that were legally defined and efficient to prevent children from falling into abusive situations.

Two countries, South Africa and France, spoke in reaction to visits to their territories by the Special Rapporteur.

      A series of national delegations then spoke, describing efforts to promote child rights.  Participating in the debate were representatives of Pakistan, Bahrain, Argentina, Costa Rica (on behalf of the Group of Latin American and Caribbean Countries), Greece (on behalf of the European Union), Syria, Cuba, Mexico, China, Australia (on behalf of New Zealand and Canada), Sudan, Libya,
Sri Lanka, Algeria, Uganda, Russian Federation, Chile, South Africa, Ukraine, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Croatia, Paraguay, India, Republic of Korea, and Viet Nam.

A Representative of Armenia spoke in right of reply under the Commission's agenda item on civil and political rights.

The Commission will reconvene at 10 a.m. Monday, 14 April, to continue its discussion of the rights of the child.

Rights of Child

Under this agenda item, the Commission has before it a series of documents.

      There is a report of the Secretary-General on the status of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (E/CN.4/2003/76).  It states that as of
20 November 2002, the Convention had received 140 signatures that were followed by ratification.  As of 20 November 2002, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on children in armed conflict had been signed by 111 States and ratified by
42 States.  As of the same date, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography had been signed by
105 States and ratified by 42 States. 

      There is the annual report of the Special Representative of the
Secretary-General for children and armed conflict, Olara A.Otunnu (E/CN.4/2003/77).  The report highlights progress on several fronts.
One important development has been the development of a list of parties to conflicts involving the recruiting or use children, a list currently on the Security Council’s agenda.  This constitutes a significant advance in monitoring and efforts to apply international norms and standards for the protection of children affected by armed conflict.  Two landmark international instruments for the protection of children in armed conflict entered into force –- the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.  In order to assess the situation of children affected by armed conflict, and to advocate for their protection, the Special Representative undertook field missions to Northern Ireland, Guatemala, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Angola, the Russian Federation, including the Northern Caucasus, and Afghanistan.  The Special Representative urges United Nations human rights mechanisms, including Commission Special Rapporteurs, to integrate international norms and standards on children affected by armed conflict into their work and into their recommendations with regard to country situations, as well as in their exercise of thematic mandates.  The Special Representative urges the Commission to hear direct testimonies of
war-affected children.  Finally, to effectively establish an era of application of child-protection standards, the Special Representative urges all commissions, committees, agencies and institutions of the United Nations to integrate the protection, rights and well being of children into their work in a cross-cutting manner. 

There is a note by the Secretary-General on the Programme of Action for the Elimination of the Exploitation of Children (E/CN.4/2003/78), which draws the attention of the Commission to the report submitted by the Secretary-General to the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights on the state of implementation of the Programme of Action.

There is a report of Juan Miguel Petit, Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (E/CN.4/2003/79).  The report focuses on the legal consequences of the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, and particularly on the criminalization of child victims and recent national policy and legislative developments intended to address these concerns.  In July 2001, the Special Rapporteur wrote to all Governments, relevant international organizations and non-governmental organizations to solicit information for the report, and received 97 responses.  Short summaries of the responses containing relevant details received by 15 November 2001 have been included.  The report briefly focuses on two issues.  The first is information received by the Special Rapporteur that indicate that illegal or coercive adoptive practices, which have the effect of selling a child, are alarmingly prevalent, both internationally and within domestic jurisdictions.  The second issue is HIV/AIDS, which the Special Rapporteur will continue to address in his methods of work.  There are two addenda, this first a summary of a mission to South Africa and the second a preliminary note on a mission to France.

Introduction of Report on Sale

Of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography

JUAN MIGUEL PETIT, Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, introducing his report to the Commission, said it was important to stress that the international system for the protection of human rights, peace, and peaceful relations was on the decline.  Massacres, genocides and attacks were a daily occurrence.  It was therefore imperative to call for the observance of the instruments drafted to protect the rights of all human beings, their lives, futures and freedoms.  The international community must not content itself with the current scenario of international instruments for the protection of human rights, including Special Rapporteurs and special procedures.  These instruments must be renewed and updated, and must take into account new challenges.

Mr. Petit said the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography had been ratified by 50 countries and many others had announced they were in the process of ratifying it.  Children who were victims of sexual violence, trafficking or other forms of exploitation must not be criminalized, stigmatized or marginalized.  Regrettably, victims were sometimes considered the cause of the problem and were placed in institutions and subjected to judicial processes which only worsened their situations.  Clandestine forms of adoption resulted in conflicts and in action by the mafia.  It was therefore important that countries set up adoption systems which were legally defined and efficient.

Mr. Petit said that as part of his mandate he had undertaken a visit to South Africa.  He highlighted the efforts made by the South African Government to reverse decades of lack of freedom, of oppression and social segregation, and to give impetus to the social development of its most needy populations.
Of particular concern was the high level of social and family violence in
South Africa, which was expressed in cases of sexual violence and abuse.  Many victims were young, including babies.  In some sectors of society there was a belief that sex with minors and virgins would prevent AIDS.  This belief must be eradicated through an information and education campaign.  Increased numbers of HIV/AIDS victims constituted a major challenge for the South African Government.  The authorities had taken efforts to stem the increase in the pandemic through information and education campaigns.  However, preventive drugs were not distributed to prevent transmission of the disease from mother to child.  Nor were drugs distributed to those already infected with HIV.

The Special Rapporteur said he also had visited France, and the French Government was aware of the growing problem of trafficking and child prostitution in the country due to the alarming international scenario of population movements within and into Europe due to poverty and instability, and due to new mafias that considered people as lucrative merchandise, not to mention movements cause by ethnic and cultural clashes. 

Statements by Countries Concerned in Report

YOWSWA SIBEKO (South Africa), speaking as a concerned country, registered South Africa’s appreciation of the report of the Special Rapporteur.  Since his visit had been of an exploratory nature, South Africa looked forward to further visits in the future.  It was regrettable that the Special Rapporteur, due to unforeseen circumstances, had not been able to meet with high-level officials as initially planned.  The Special Rapporteur was assured that this would not happen again and that his next visit would be successful in all respects.  The decision to place the coordination of children’s issues with the Office of the President demonstrated South Africa’s commitment to the rights of the child.  Children were treasures, not only to their parents but also to society at large, as they were the backbone of any nation.  Childcare and child welfare programmes therefore had a particular significance for South Africa’s national policy formulation and implementation. 

      South Africa’s return to the international fold and the consequent opening up of its borders had brought with it many positive developments.  Paradoxically, this opening up had also brought with it social evils, which, in terms of capacity, the Government was not geared to handle.  There were xenophobia and other forms of intolerance, and the infiltration in certain areas of the country by unscrupulous syndicates dealing in child trafficking, sex tourism, sexual exploitation and the exposure of children to pornographic material.  In its own modest way and within its resources, the Government was dedicated to addressing the particular situations of vulnerability to which children were exposed.  Fortunately, the problems falling within the mandate of the Special Rapporteur were not endemic to the whole country but confined to specific areas, thereby allowing the Government scope to channel remedial programmes appropriately.
South Africa was a huge country with diverse cultures, religious beliefs and practices.  The majority of its people were conservative in their cultural practices and would resist the erosion of their cultures by the despicable practices of prostitution, sale of children and pornography.  For many in
South Africa, these practices were mind-boggling and simply just taboo.  Rather than what was recounted by the Special Rapporteur, South Africa would have preferred a balanced view of the situation, which admittedly was not perfect, but also was certainly not beyond redemption. 

PATRICK HENAULT (France) said the French delegation had studied the annual report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, as well as his preliminary note related to his mission to France.  It was with great satisfaction that France had hosted the Special Rapporteur last November and had extended its collaboration.  As the Rapporteur himself had mentioned, he was able to visit places and meet with a number of people and representatives of organizations during his one-week stay.  He had expressed the opinion that his visit had provided him with a picture of the whole situation of the country.

The French authorities had studied with interest the Rapporteur’s remarks and recommendations on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography in the preliminary note relating to France.  The Government would take the Rapporteur's recommendations into full consideration.  It had taken note of the fact that the note would not prejudice the final report of the Rapporteur, which would be developed and submitted during the next session.  The delegation reiterated France’s attachment to the untiring struggle against the exploitation of children and violence against children. 

Interactive Dialogue on Sale

Of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography

A Representative of Cuba said Cuba was concerned over the constant use of web pages on child pornography.  Did the Special Rapporteur have any plan to carry out a study to allow the development of a code of conduct to prevent the continuation of the publication of such web pages on the Internet?

A Representative of Canada said Canada tried to take a multiple approach to protecting child victims of sexual exploitation.  However, in recognition that law enforcement alone could not prevent violations, Canada was trying to mobilize the community.  Could the Special Rapporteur cite other examples of States that had taken non-legislative measures?

The Special Rapporteur said he had noted the suggestions and comments made by South Africa.  It should be recalled that most of the sources used for the report were Governmental sources.  The Special Rapporteur said that he did not believe that any of the information contained in his report was false.  The problem of child pornography was growing throughout the world.  There was a need for preventive action and in many countries public opinion had been mobilized and sensitized.  In some Latin American countries, campaigns, for example, were being carried out by children themselves.

General Debate on Rights of Child

MOHAMMAD FAISAL (Pakistan) said crimes against children resulting in death, disability, kidnapping, sexual abuse, torture, and forced labour were punishable in Pakistan, with the maximum penalty, including life imprisonment.  Laws proscribing child labour were being brought into conformity with International Labour Office (ILO) Conventions.  The engagement of children in any factory or mine or any other such hazardous employment was also strictly prohibited under the Constitution.  The Constitution also laid down that no law could be enacted to permit or facilitate the introduction of slavery in any form, or forced labour or traffic in human beings.  The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act of 1992 abolished debt bondage and forced labour of all forms regardless of age, sex, race, colour and religion. 

The National Policy and Plan of Action to combat child labour was in the implementation stage.  The document had been circulated to all concerned departments in August 2000.  A national survey on child labour to assess the impact of measures taken so far was under consideration and modalities were to be finalized between the ILO and the Federal Bureau of Statistics.  The preparatory part of the ILO’s time-bound programme for elimination of the worst forms of child labour had been launched in August 2002, and six regional workshops and one national workshop had been organized during which 29 hazardous occupations had been identified for the purposes of the ILO Convention.  Pakistan had taken other initiatives as well to protect the rights of the child.

Shaikh KHALID AL-KHALIFA (Bahrain) said Bahrain gave great importance to the economic, social and cultural rights of children.  The Constitution and other legal provisions protected the rights of children and guaranteed their development.  The Kingdom had also been participating in child development programmes in the region and had been among donor countries for child development activities.  Since the country's ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Government had undertaken a series of measures, including projects designed to promote and protect the rights of children in the country.  It had also implemented a number of projects to give effect to the provisions of the treaty.

A National Commission for Children had been set up to monitor the implementation of the treaty and to coordinate the activities of child rights in the country.  Bahrain had enacted a number of pieces of legislation on the protection and promotion of the rights of the child.  In the health field, the Government had taken satisfactory measures to protect the health of children and had been able to reduce the rate of infant mortality.  Bahrain’s achievements in the field of health had been recognized by United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

NORMA NASCIMBENE DE DUMONT (Argentina) said Argentina was striving to implement a policy in favour of children and adolescents.  The policy was intended to reaffirm the inviolability and the sanctity of human life from conception until death and it indicated that Argentina could not accept any measure that could be interpreted as an acceptance or justification of abortion.

Likewise, Argentina expressed its opposition to the inclusion of abortion or other methods of so-called emergency contraception in reproductive health programmes.  Argentina was of the opinion that none of the recommendations contained in the Commission’s resolutions should be interpreted as derogating from parental responsibility for the education of children.

CARMEN CLARAMUNT (Costa Rica), speaking on behalf of the Group of Latin American and Caribbean Countries (GRULAC), said the very highest priority was given to the rights of the child by the regional group.  In fact, Latin America had a particular interest in ensuring the rights of the child, since all countries in the region had huge child populations.  It should be stressed that the responsibility of States to guarantee the right to life of children entailed more that ensuring their right to be born.  In actuality, it meant ensuring their right to live their lives in dignity.  In this connection, GRULAC countries called for the immediate end to capital punishment of persons under the age of 18 years when they committing their crimes.  Many factors affected children’s rights, but armed conflicts certainly had especially devastating effects on children.

Only through active cooperation could the rights of the child be achieved, and GRULAC countries aimed to continue its work along cooperative lines.
The Commission was informed that as in previous years, GRULAC and the European Union would be introducing a draft resolution on the rights of the child.  It was an omnibus resolution on the topic, which had at its core the provisions of the Convention of the Rights of the Child.  Operative parts focused on specific areas where implementation could be improved.  In this connection, it was stressed that more States must sign and ratify the two Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. 

TASSOS KRIEKOUKIS (Greece), speaking on behalf of the European Union and its acceding and associated countries, said the Union supported the work of the Committee on the Rights of the Child and called on all States parties to cooperate fully with it, including by honouring their reporting obligations.  Enhancing promotion and protection of the rights of the child required not only actions specifically targeted at children, but also the mainstreaming child rights into other activities, both at the national and international levels.  The Union considered it particularly important that all relevant organs of the United Nations system, and in particular the special procedures of the Commission, mainstream child rights into all activities in the fulfilment of their mandates.  The Union would also like to emphasize the need to ensure, at the national and international levels, adequate and systematic training in the rights of the child for all professions involving activities concerning children.

It was important to bear in mind that the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which had been almost universally ratified, flatly prohibited the imposition of he death penalty on persons below 18 years of age at the time of the commission of their offenses.  The Union appealed to all States that still retained the death penalty not to impose it on juvenile offenders.  Children continued to be victims of many forms of sexual exploitation, such as trafficking, prostitution, pornography, acts of paedophilia, sexual abuse and harassment.  Children were also exposed to a high risk of sexual exploitation in situations of armed conflict.  Measures should be taken at the international, regional and national levels to combat such crimes, starting with action to address the problem of demand.  All States should work to ensure that perpetrators were brought to justice, while safeguarding the rights and interests of the child victims at all stages of the proceedings.

SOUHEILA ABBAS (Syria) said childhood meant humanity and children were the hope for the future.  Syria attached great importance to education of children and to their health.  Syria was cooperating with UNICEF and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).  Education was free up to age 16, and children benefited from high quality education.  Disabled children were integrated into normal schools to allow them to adapt to society.  Legislation provided for all the rights of children.  Syria had also acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and ratification of the Optional Protocols was currently being discussed in Parliament.

Syria's report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child showed that Syria respected her obligations in this field.  In Iraq, children were dying and were refugees as a result of war.  In the Golan rights, children also suffered immensely.  And in the occupied Arab territories, children were shot at by Israeli soldiers.

MARIA DEL CARMEN HERRERA (Cuba) said the reality facing millions of girls and boys in the world was a nightmare.  The international community was witnessing a virtual war against children and their rights.  Poverty, famine, HIV/AIDS, illiteracy, armed conflicts, discrimination, exploitation and violence were evils affecting every day the vast majority of children in the so-called Third World, whose children accounted for 85 per cent of the earth’s total population of children.  According to several reports, two in every five children from the
Third World suffered from retardation, and one in every three suffered from low weight.  In underdeveloped countries, around 250 million children under 15 years of age were forced to work in order to survive.  Millions of girls and boys lived on the streets, being sexually exploited, kidnapped or killed, or were victims of traffickers in human organs. 

Poor countries could not be blamed for so much tragedy, since they were not the ones who had conquered and plundered entire continents for centuries, nor had they establish colonization, slavery, or devastating imperialism.  Poor countries, on the contrary, had been victims.  For over 40 years, the Cuban people had endured the cruel policy of economic, commercial and financial blockade implemented and strengthened by 10 successive United States administrations.  However, such genocidal practices had not been able to erode the steadfastness of the Cuban people and the proven political will of the Government.  Cuba had reached an infant mortality rate of 6.2 per one thousand live births; an average life expectancy of 76 years; it had accomplished the eradication of diphtheria, poliomyelitis, neo-natal and infant tetanus, meningitis and tuberculosis; it had a 100 per cent schooling rate in basic education; and the highest number of teachers per inhabitants.  The Cuban people continued and would continue denouncing, at every tribune, in every international forum, the unfair and illegal policy of the United States blockade against Cuba, and would continue to fight until the blockade was completely lifted. 

      DAVID SIMON FIGUERAS (Mexico) said the country was giving high priority to the international consideration of the issue of children.  It actively participated and contributed to regional and universal initiatives for the strengthening of the rights of the child.  Mexico had been one of the countries that had promoted the World Summit on the rights of children in 1990 and it was among the first counties to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The infant population of Mexico was high, which necessitated action in the fields of health and education, and efforts to combat the violence to which children were subjected.  Despite progress made in the areas of education and health, children continued to be affected by the lack of material development in the social and economic areas.  That situation particularly had affected children of indigenous people, workers and those living in rural areas.  Such children also were vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation and ill-teatment.

In December 2002, a Programme of Action 2002-2010 had been presented by the Government of Mexico for children and adolescents within the framework of the National Plan of Development 2001-2006, the World Summit for Children, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Special Session of the General Assembly on Children.

GUO YANG (China) said China had always attached great importance to the protection of the rights of the child and had formulated a series of regulations to give effect to its concerns.  China had ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child as early as 1991.  In 2002, China had ratified the Convention concerning the prohibition and immediate action for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour and the Optional Protocol of the Convention on the rights of the child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.
The ratification of the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict was currently under active consideration.

The collective efforts of the international community had contributed to considerable success globally in the protection of the rights of the child.  However, it must also be admitted that there were still grave problems such as sexual abuse and exploitation of children, child labour, the impact of armed conflicts, the harmful effects of drugs, and the effects of HIV/AIDS on children.

MIKE SMITH (Australia), speaking on behalf of Canada and New Zealand, said these Governments were all parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and had supported both Optional Protocols to the Convention, demonstrating their recognition of the need for enhanced promotion and protection of children’s rights in these areas.  The United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children had provided the blueprint for collective international action to improve the situation of children in areas such as promoting healthy lives, providing quality education, protecting children against abuse, exploitation and violence, and combating preventable diseases, including HIV/AIDS.  At the Summit, Australia, Canada and New Zealand had emphasized the particular needs of indigenous children, especially in relation to health.  They had also focused on the need to ensure that appropriate reproductive health services and information were available to young people, allowing them to make informed and responsible choices.  Such information and services were an important means of combating HIV/AIDS.

Millions of children around the world continued to live in poverty-stricken conditions, and experienced daily a lack of adequate food, shelter and access to health and education facilities.  The continued subjection of children to the worst forms of child labour, sexual exploitation, and their use and abuse in armed conflicts showed how far the international community still had to go.  Development cooperation benefited children through poverty reduction and thus helped to improve access to the basic health, nutrition and educational services that every child needed to survive and thrive.  The Commission was informed of the initiatives taken by Australia, Canada, and New Zealand in this regard. 

CHRISTOPHER JADA LEONARDO (Sudan) said the Sudan was a large African country of more than 500 tribes which had different languages and dialects and ethnic backgrounds.  Over the years, these tribes had co-existed peacefully and had established local mechanisms for dispute settlement.  Despite the fact that the country had suffered a brutal civil war in its southern part for years, relations between these tribes had remained harmonious.  Practices of reciprocal abductions between the tribes living in the transitional zones south and west of Sudan continued to be addressed within a framework of local reconciliation mechanisms in the form of tribal conferences led by civil society leaders.  Unfortunately, with the exacerbation of armed strife in the areas of these tribes, this modus operandi for tribal conflict settlement had broken down, and practices of reciprocal abductions had become an imminent threat to the safety of the Sudanese people and to national security. 

To uproot this abhorrent practice, the Government had taken decisive action to investigate reports of the abduction of women and children during tribal conflicts over grazing lands and water resources in the transitional zones and the causes thereof, and to facilitate as a matter of priority their safe return to their families.  The practice of abduction was a socio-economic problem in the first place, directly associated with the development situation in the affected areas.  The Government believed that a lasting solution to the problem lay with setting up development programmes targeting the needs of the people concerned.

HANAN KHALED ZEGBIA (Libya) said that in Libya, children were under the care of the family and the State.  Employment of children under age 15 was a crime punishable by law.  Discrimination against children was also prohibited by law.  Education and health were guaranteed for all children.  Libya attached great importance to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and had integrated its provisions into its national legislation.

Libya expressed concern about the violations of the rights of children in Palestine and Iraq, where they were shot at and killed.  The violation of child rights as a result of wars, conflicts and unilateral sanctions must be addressed.  Libya therefore proposed that the question of unilateral sanctions and measures and their effects on children be included in the mandate of the Special Rapporteur.

E. EKANAYAKE (Sri Lanka) said the Government, having considered the input of the National Monitoring Committee established under the Children’s Charter of
Sri Lanka, had included in its proposed Constitutional reforms special clauses relating to the rights of the child.  In 1998, action had been taken to amend the Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure Act to strengthen the child rights protection mechanism and in particular to protect children from sexual exploitation.  Far-reaching recommendations had been made to reform the current system of juvenile justice and those recommendations had been receiving due consideration from the Government.  In Sri Lanka, the 20-year-old conflict had displaced thousands of children with or without their family members, while many others had been forced to become child combatants.  One could not pursue the peace process without solving the pressing issues affecting children.

Sri Lanka looked forward to welcoming Olara Otunnu, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict, to undertake a follow-up visit during the course of the year, and it welcomed the continued concern expressed by the United Nations regarding the issue of child combatants.  The ceasefire agreement of February 2002 and subsequent confidence building measures undertaken by both parties had greatly contributed to the continuing normalization of the conflict-ridden areas of the country.  It was the hope of the Government that these developments, complemented by continued assistance and engagement by the international community, would result in improved conditions for those children who had been living under the trauma of conflict and destruction for almost two decades.  The people of Sri Lanka were aware that children were the soul and the future of the nation and were therefore committed to nurturing and protecting them.

MOHAMED EL AMINE BENCHERIF (Algeria) said the international community’s devotion to making the rights of the child a priority had been further amplified by the adoption of the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, followed by the 1990 World Summit on Children.  Those efforts had aimed at promoting and protecting that category of persons, the most vulnerable in society, and had culminated in the Special Session of the General Assembly on Children.  That Session had been concluded by the adoption of a declaration and programme of action which had fixed the objectives of evaluating the progress achieved since the World Summit and undertaking new actions in favour of children, particularly through the Millennium Declaration of 2000.

Currently children around the world were suffering from malnutrition and were dying of hunger and of preventable diseases.  Victims of poverty and exclusion, millions of children, the majority of them girls, had never seen school benches, and if they had enrolled, they had never completed primary education.

ARTHUR GAKWANDI (Uganda) said Uganda was one of the earliest countries to sign and ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child and among the earliest countries to accede to the two Optional Protocols to the Convention.  In 1990, Uganda had signed the Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the ILO conventions against child labour.  There were two main challenges to the protection of children in Uganda.  The first was HIV/AIDS and the second was insurgency in two northern districts of the country, where a terrorist group had been abducting children and forcing them either to become warriors or the concubines of the rebels.

As far as the threat of HIV was concerned, Uganda had adopted a wide range of measures and had succeeded in bringing down the rate of infection considerably.  As far as the insurgency menace was concerned, an agreement had been signed with the Government of Sudan establishing cooperation arrangements to contain the rebel group, rescue children who had been abducted and re-unite them with their families.

E.A. PANFILOVA (Russian Federation) said children were the most vulnerable strata of society -- it was they who were the primary victims of hunger, exploitation, armed conflict and terrorism.  It was therefore necessary to put an end to their suffering by focusing on long standing issues related to the care of children in an ever-changing world.  The Russian Federation believed that the Convention on the Rights of the Child needed to be strengthened.  The Russian Federation was in the process of completing its third periodic report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, and the Optional Protocols would soon be placed in front of the Russian Parliament.  The fact that Olaru Otunnu, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict, had visited the Russian Federation demonstrated the commitment of the Government to the promotion and protection of the rights of the child. 

Unfortunately, in the Russian Federation there were fertile grounds for the exploitation of children and their involvement in prostitution.  The Special Rapporteur was thanked for his report and its general recommendations.  The situation in the Russian Federation was largely related to the great numbers of street children and unsupervised children.  Initiatives were under way to address this issue, and 400,000 children had already been removed from the streets, with most being returned to their families.  The Commission was informed that a draft law had been introduced to change provisions in Russian legislation on the protection and promotion of child rights.  This would speed up the Russian Federation’s signing and ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of children. 

JUAN EDUARDO EGUIGUREN (Chile) said Chile subscribed the statement made by Costa Rica on behalf of the Latin American and Caribbean Group.  Chile’s Parliament was considering ratification of the two Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.  On 23 January 2002, Chile had presented its periodic report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child as part of its obligation to submit periodical reports; and it had been implementing the conclusions and recommendations of the Committee.

Thirteen years after ratifying the Convention, Chile had made progress in the promotion of the rights of the child and had made those rights at the centre of its development programmes.  In 2001, the Government had adopted a National Policy and Plan of Action for children and adolescents for the period of 2001 to 2010.  The life conditions of indigenous children had also been improved with the introduction of social policies in their favour.  In 2002, the Government had promoted a new public programme, “Chile Solidario”, which would help support some 250,000 families within the coming five years.  So far, 800,000 children from families affected by extreme poverty had benefited from the programme of solidarity 

YOWSWA SIBEKO (South Africa) said the Government was committed to the principle of "a better life for all" and within this context had embarked on programmes for the betterment of the situation of children in South Africa.  Significant achievements had been realized in the transformation of the criminal justice system, as well as in the introduction of new and appropriate legislation on child rights.  For example, in the case of children awaiting trial, the emphasis was now on diverting children from the criminal justice system and protecting their rights.  One significant change was that for the first time there were more children in secure-care facilities than in correctional facilities.

Any effective long-term solution to child labour could not be divorced from the broader socio-economic environment.  In this regard, inequalities in income and in access to the basic necessities of life, including for children, remained a constant challenge to many member States, including South Africa.

MYKHAILO SKURATOVASKYI (Ukraine) said the Convention of the Rights of the Child had almost become universal, and the entry into force of the two Optional Protocols to this Convention, as well as the Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court had improved the development of worldwide standards for the protection of children.  Ukraine noted with satisfaction the positive changes in the national legislation of many countries aimed at hampering trafficking in children, child prostitution and child pornography.  There was certainly progress, but much more remained to be done.  United efforts must be undertaken both at the international and national levels to eliminate violations of child rights.  Care for the younger generation was a subject of special attention in Ukraine.  A law on the protection of childhood defined activities in this sphere as a strategic national priority.  A number of comprehensive national programmes aimed at ensuring legal and social protection for children and at creating conditions for their all-round development were being implemented in Ukraine. 

      Despite considerable progress, Ukraine still continued to struggle with a number of difficulties.  The Government was particularly concerned about children’s health in the context of the Chernobyl tragedy.  Almost
2 million children had been identified as victims of that nuclear disaster.  Nowadays, almost 17 years after the catastrophe, the country continued to face the consequences.  Sixty per cent of thyroid cancer cases in the country had been diagnosed among those children who lived in the territories affected by the disaster.  They needed particular attention to assure their adequate treatment and full social and physical development.  Another problem was the spread of HIV/AIDS.  Its prevention was one of the top priorities of the Government.  State programmes on combating HIV/AIDS and on preventing HIV transmission from mother to child were now implemented.  Hundreds of cases of HIV transmission from mother to child had been being prevented.  The activities of UNICEF, including its research centre, and UNAIDS programmes in the country were much appreciated. 

ANTOINE MINDUA KESIA-MBE (Democratic Republic of the Congo) said that since the World Summit devoted to the rights of child and, after having ratified in 1989 the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the DRC had put in place mechanisms to ensure the implementation of that important international instrument.  It was within that context that a National Council had been created, including the establishment of a Directorate of the Protection of the Rights of Children and a National Programme on the reinsertion of street children.

However, the war in the county had prevented full implementation of child rights and the social conditions of children had deteriorated.  The war had separated families had caused economic damage to parents.  On 3 April 2003, while the Commission was debating violations of human rights around the world, rebels in Goma, supported by Rwandan troops and in the presence of Ugandan soldiers, had confronted the Hema ethnic group in the rich district of Ituri.  As a result, a number of persons, including children, had been killed.  Despite numerous legal provisions designed to protect and promote the rights of children in the country, child rights had been violated on daily basis due the war.  Fifty-eight per cent of the DRC's children had no access to education.

GORDAN MARKOTIC (Croatia) said that Croatia supported the final document of the United Nations Special Session on Children:  "A World fit for All".  This new global agenda underlined the necessity for renewed political will, but also for the allocation of additional resources to provide children with healthy lives, equality, education, protection against abuse, exploitation and violence, and protection from armed conflict, child labour, trafficking, sexual exploitation, and HIV/AIDS.

Croatia had ratified the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.  Looking for a holistic approach to protecting victimized children, Croatia had set up juvenile courts with proceedings adapted to the age and maturity of children.  It also had opened a clinic for abused children and was drafting a precise legislative definition of domestic violence, which included sexual harassment.  As a party to the ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, Croatia advocated the elimination of all forms of labour not adequate for children.  Last year, Croatia had submitted its second report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child.  This report contained information on new laws and amendments adopted to harmonize national legislation with the provisions of the Convention.

FRANCISCO BARRIERO (Paraguay) said Paraguay had a population of 5 million, out of which 41 per cent were under 15 years of age and 75 per cent of which were under 30 years of age.  Since Paraguay was such a young country, the rights of children were of utmost priority for the Government, as well as for civil society.  Programmes aimed at bringing about an all-round improvement of the living conditions of children in Paraguay were under way.  Substantial progress had been made in improving the national conditions of children and the youth in Paraguay, as demonstrated in the third periodic report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

In 2001, the country's Code on the Child and the Adolescent had incorporated several new provisions, including that of putting the interest of the child at the centre of all activities.  Public policies to promote this important sector of society were improving daily.  The Commission was informed that the Government had also ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child to do with children in armed conflicts.  During the current Commission session, the Government of Paraguay would speak to the Special Rapporteur to organize a visit to Paraguay.  One issue of concern to the Government was child labour.  Studies, research and strategies were being developed, but the Government had met considerable resistance to these efforts in the private sector.     

PREETI SARAN (India) said millions of children around the world remained deprived of their basic rights for various reasons, but primarily because of widespread poverty, which robbed them of their childhoods.  The Indian Government had always considered children a most valuable asset.  Indian society through the ages had accorded the greatest importance to the family, which formed the basic unit of society.  India had been one of the first countries in the world to accede to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.  India was proud that its Constitution had been the genesis for the protection of children’s rights.  India also had in place strong legislation, policies and programmes for safeguarding children’s rights, especially the rights of girl children.

The commitment to children was further reflected in the Government’s intention to establish a National Commission for Children, to safeguard and enforce the rights of the child in India.  With a renewed commitment to children, the Government was determined to alleviate poverty, eradicate illiteracy, ensure universal education and access to basic health services for children, break the inter-generational cycle of malnutrition, and ensure the status and rights of the girl child.

SANG-BEOM LIM (Republic of Korea) said children still remained the most vulnerable members of the global community.  More than 100 million children did not have access to basic education, 300,000 children were engaged in armed conflicts around the world; and millions of children faced economic exploitation and malnutrition daily.  However difficult the situation any country faced, the rights of children and humanitarian assistance to them must be the foremost priority.  Beyond having the basic requirements for life satisfied, children must be provided with education that would help them shape a positive outlook and obtain a correct and accurate historical perception.

The issue of historical perception was of particular importance in the relationship between the Republic of Korea and Japan, whose histories had overlapped considerably over the past first half of the last century.  To address this issue, the Korean Japan Joint History Research Committee had been established.  It was hoped that the work of the Committee would make a contribution to education founded on a true understanding of the past through the dissemination of the results of research to relevant authorities.

TRUONG TRIEU DUONG (Viet Nam) said children were the most vulnerable people in society.  Viet Nam was very much concerned about the increasingly alarming issue of sexual exploitation and illegal trafficking of children.  As indicated in United Nations statistics, about 700,000 to 2 million women and children around the world were victims of trafficking per year.  In addition, one must not forget the saddening problem of domestic violence, the victims of whom were children and women.  It was high time for the international community to cooperate and take resolute measures to prevent and put an end to such situations.

Viet Nam therefore totally supported any initiative and further study of these issues.  The Convention on the Rights of the Child was one of the important United Nations treaties on human rights that Viet Nam had ratified, and it also had ratified the two Optional Protocols to the Convention.  The conversion into

national legislation of international treaties to which Viet Nam was a State party was of high priority to the country.  In 2002, Viet Nam had submitted and presented its national report updating the relevant United Nations committee on implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child for the period of 1998 to 2002.  Implementing child rights continued to be of special importance to
Viet Nam.

Right of Reply

            A Representative of Armenia, referring to the statement made this morning by Azerbaijan, said the Azerbaijani Representative had merely displayed a contrary attitude over the Nagorno-Karabakh problem rather than making an effort to resolve it.  The point was not to take the patient from one place to another; it was to cure him with the appropriate medicine.  Negotiations had been carried out to resolve the problem involving Armenia and Azerbaijan.

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