COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS CONCLUDES GENERAL DEBATE ON RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS CONCLUDES GENERAL DEBATE

ON RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

Hears Address by President of Bundestag

Commission on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid

(Reissued as received.)

      GENEVA, 14 April (UN Information Service) -- The Commission on Human Rights this morning concluded its general debate on the rights of the child, hearing from a large number of national delegations, international organizations and
non-governmental organizations who stressed the importance of promoting and protecting children's rights.

The Commission also heard an address by Christa Nickels, President of the Bundestag Commission on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid, who said that the war in Iraq was a challenge in terms of human rights and humanitarianism for the international community.  She called on all parties to the current conflict to abide by international humanitarian law and to allow humanitarian aid, which was most urgently needed by large parts of the Iraqi civilian population, to be distributed quickly, impartially, independently and according to strict criteria to the most vulnerable victims of the war, including women, old people and children. 

In the general debate on the rights of the child, country delegations highlighted national measures taken to implement the rights of the child, and raised specific issues including the importance of education to ensure the implementation of children's rights; the necessity to protect child rights in institutions; the importance of protecting Palestinian and Iraqi children; the need for all countries to ratify the optional protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; and the need to eliminate trafficking in persons, especially in children.

Speakers noted that in many parts of the world, children continued to be the most vulnerable victims of poverty, armed conflicts, displacement, disability, sexual exploitation and HIV/AIDS.  They said there was a need to stop the abduction and recruitment of children by armed combatants, as well as to halt child labour.  Countries agreed that protecting the rights of children ensured

protecting the future, but also underscored how the lack of resources affected children.

      Among the statistics mentioned by speakers, the World Health Organization said that its World Report on Violence and Health showed that while the numbers of children who had suffered sexual abuse was unknown, it suggested that about
20 per cent of women and 5 to 10 per cent of men had suffered sexual abuse as children.   The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said that 14 million children had already lost their parents to AIDS and millions more were vulnerable to the disease.  And the United Nations Children's Fund said that young people accounted for more than 50 per cent of HIV infections worldwide, and more than two thirds of all newly infected 15- to 19-year-olds in sub-Saharan African were girls. 

Non-governmental organizations also raised a number of points, including the need for the Commission to continue its work to ensure that States stopped executing persons who were below the age of 18 when they committed their crimes; the necessity to protect children in all conflict situations; and the need to investigate all cases of children who had been victims of enforced disappearances.

Representatives of the following national delegations and international organizations took the floor this morning: Cameroon, Venezuela, Iceland, Egypt, Switzerland, Slovenia, Bangladesh, Oman, International Committee of the Red Cross, Ghana, Benin, Indonesia, Romania, International Labour Organization, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, Norway, Iran, Lebanon, Cyprus, Nepal, Slovakia, Serbia and Montenegro, Qatar, Mongolia, Jordan, and Botswana.

The following non-governmental organizations also provided statements:  Dominicans for Justice and Peace (in a joint statement with several NGOs*); International Save the Children Alliance (in a joint statement with several NGOs**); International Service for Human Rights (in a joint statement with International Movement for Fraternal Union Among Races and Peoples); International Catholic Child Bureau (in a joint statement  with World Vision International); International Alliance of Women (in joint statement with Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom; Inter-African Committee; and Socialist International Women); Human Rights Advocates (in joint statement with International Possibilities Unlimited; and World Young Women’s Christian Association); International Young Catholic Students (in joint statement with several NGOs***); Friends World Committee for Consultation; World Organization Against Torture (OMCT); International Federation "Terre des Hommes"; Franciscans International; Liberation; Latin American Federation of Associations of Relatives of Disappeared Detainees (FEDEFAM); Defence for Children International; General Conference of the Seventh-Day Adventists; Women's International Zionist Organization; Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation; Comité international pour le respect et l'application de la charte africaine des droits de l'homme et des peuples; Covenant House Latin America; International Association for the Defence of Religious Liberty; Worldview International Foundation; Anti-Slavery International; International Indian Treaty Council; and Islamic African Relief Agency.

Uganda, Israel, Turkey, Cyprus and Viet Nam exercised their right of reply.

When the Commission reconvenes at 3 p.m., it will start to consider and act on draft proposals under its agenda items on the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and follow-up to the World Conference on Human Rights; the right of peoples to self-determination and its application to peoples under colonial or alien domination or foreign occupation; and racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and all forms of discrimination. 

The Commission will also open the general debate on all its remaining agenda items on specific groups and individuals, report of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, promotion and protection of human rights, effective functioning of human rights mechanisms, advisory services and technical cooperation in the field of human rights, and rationalization of the work of the Commission.

Statement by President of Bundestag

Commission on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid

      CHRISTA NICKELS, President of the German Bundestag Commission on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid, reiterated her country’s support for an absolute ban on torture.  The ban on torture, which applied without exception, was the fruit of the sorrowful experience of totalitarianism systems of rule in the twentieth century.  Those experiences had brought about a realization that people and States should set limits on their own actions in order to avoid totalitarianism.
One should safeguard and reinforce those limits anew, particularly now, in light of current challenges.  Human rights were today threatened in ways which were not considered possible even a few years ago, and Germany, too, was not immune.  Since the fatal outcome of a terrible kidnapping case a few weeks ago, the German public had been conducting a debate on the ban on torture.  The effect of that should be to strengthen their determination to continue the struggle for a global ban on torture with more commitment than ever.

The war in Iraq was a challenge in terms of human rights and humanitarianism for the international community.  She called on all parties to the current conflict to abide by international humanitarian law and to allow humanitarian aid, which was most urgently needed by large parts of the Iraqi civilian population, to be distributed quickly, impartially, independently and according to strict criteria to the most vulnerable victims of the war, including women, old people and children. 

General Debate on Rights of the Child

JEAN SIMPLICE NDJEMBA ENDEZOUMOU (Cameroon) said that Cameroon welcomed the efforts undertaken by the international community to promote the rights of the child.  It also welcomed the cooperation between the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), other United Nations bodies and civil society in advancing the rights of the child and the programme of action on the elimination of child labour adopted by the Commission.  Furthermore, Cameroon welcomed the interest shown by the Security Council in the involvement of children in armed conflict.  Education played an important role in ensuring the basic rights of the child.  Primary education was free in Cameroon and the authorities strove to ensure equal opportunities for boys and girls.  Cameroon had also signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1993 and had ratified ILO Convention 138 on the minimum age for child labour, as well as ILO Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labour.  Cameron had achieved considerable progress in implementing the commitments undertaken at the World Summit on children in 1990.

MARIA CRISTINA PEREZ PLANCHART (Venezuela) reiterated its support for initiatives and projects which had been carried out internationally for the promotion and protection of children.  Venezuela had undertaken national measures in order to comply with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the only means of ensuring the social, educational and legal development of children’s human rights.  Education was of particular importance, she said, even for children in situations of armed conflicts.  In cooperation with UNICEF, the Government of Venezuela had undertaken human rights training, intended to smooth out limitations that had arisen concerning human rights education.  Plans, measures and policies for the improvement of distribution of available resources to implement the rights of the child were underway. 

There was a need to clarify and extend the concept of the rights of the child, including the protection of all minors under 18 years of age.  In this context, the delegation of Venezuela thanked the Special Rapporteur and highlighted the need to protect children from sexual exploitation, pornography and prostitution, as well as to protect children from trafficking in human beings.  All delegations were asked to support the draft resolution that would be put before the Commission by States belonging to the Group of Latin American and Caribbean Countries (GRULAC) and the European Union on the rights of the child.  

STEFAN HAUKUR JOHANNESSON (Iceland) said that there was evidence suggesting that there had been a substantial increase in the number of children placed in institutions in many parts of the world.  This was a cause for great concern.
The rights of children in residential institutions, as well as issues concerning standards of care in such institutions, had not received appropriate attention.  There was evidence that children’s rights in institutions in many parts of the world were violated.  Recent research demonstrated that children in institutions were often subjected to abuse and ill treatment.  In addition, in many cases conditions of children in residential institutions were appalling, especially in large institutions.

There had been an increase in the number of unaccompanied children in some parts of the world.  These children were often deported to their country of origin without an appropriate assessment of their needs.  Unfortunately, no arrangements were made to ensure that these children would be taken care of in their country of origin.  This practice was in conflict with the basic principle of the best interest of the child, embodied in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

MOHAMED MOUNIR LOUTFY (Egypt) said his country had always defended the human rights of people, and the rights of the child.  Egypt had participated actively in the General Assembly’s Special Session on children.  It was important to note and take action against the daily suffering of children, particularly Palestinian children.  Palestinian children were suffering daily from the Israeli occupation.  This human rights violation, consistently suffered by the Palestinian people, must be condemned.  Egypt had submitted a resolution to the Third Committee in New York on the need to help Palestinian children.  In the year 2000, the second decade for the rights of the Egyptian child had begun.  The Government had paid particular attention to areas of education and health, including the implementation of an action plan.

JEAN-DANIEL VIGNY (Switzerland) called for the ratification of the optional protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.  This optional protocol should be interpreted and implemented in light of the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, particularly by the United States and Somalia, which were the only countries which had not ratified the Convention yet.  International cooperation and the strengthening of legislation and domestic measures were essential in order to better protect children against sexual exploitation for commercial purposes and trafficking.  Switzerland also called on all countries that had not signed the optional protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict to do so promptly.  The high number of child soldiers in conflict situations such as in Myanmar and Nepal was a serious source of concern.

ALJAZ GOSNAR (Slovenia) said the rights of the child had become a significant part of Slovenia’s foreign policy in the field of human rights.  Arising from the importance of children’s well-being for future progress and prosperity of societies, Slovenia strongly supported all endeavors undertaken by the United Nations, UNICEF and other international organizations.  To achieve this goal, Slovenia had realized several initiatives last year.  As an immediate follow-up measure of the Special Session, the Council for Children had been established.  A working group on the rights of the child had also been established last spring, and a special representative for children had been appointed at the beginning of this year, and they both operated within the Ombudsman’s Office.  The main aim was to promote and implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child.  

RABAB FATIMA (Bangladesh) said that it had given the highest allocation in its national budget to education.  Primary education had been made compulsory and free.  Bangladesh had also made remarkable progress in reducing child mortality and malnutrition through the extended immunization programme and the oral rehydration therapy programme.  Special programmes had been undertaken for children with disabilities, and children in difficult circumstances, such as abandoned and street children.  Elimination of trafficking in persons, especially in children, had been accorded particular priority. In many parts of the world children continued to be the most vulnerable victims of poverty, armed conflicts, displacement, disability, sexual exploitation and HIV/AIDS.

MARIE SCHWARZ, of the International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies, said that ensuring the rights of the child was a central advocacy point for its representatives in any discussion about children and their rights.  It was a matter of similar concern to their member National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies throughout the world, and would remain so.  Children’s rights were not abstract principles; they were matched by obligations on governments, civil society and communities, and the need for true commitment to real action.  It was important to ensure that the rights of all children were respected but there was a need for special attention to be paid to the rights of orphans and other children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS.  Fourteen million children had already lost their parents to AIDS and millions more were vulnerable to the disease. 

IDRIS AL KHANJARI (Oman) said that Oman believed that children were the means to achieve development and had therefore attached special importance to children in order to enable them to play their role in the future of society.  Oman had acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and had implemented an approach focused on the protection of children.  Oman had also acceded to the ILO Convention on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour.  Children were vulnerable in the twenty-first century.  They were victims of child labour, abuse and the worst forms of violations.  Oman had stepped up efforts to protect the rights of children.  These efforts had been commended by UNICEF.  Concern was expressed about the violations of the rights of children in Palestine and Iraq.

OLIVIER COUTAU, of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said it welcomed the major steps undertaken to provide better protection for children affected by armed conflict, especially child soldiers.  The ICRC was continually reminding all parties to conflicts of the need to ratify and comply with laws on the rights of the child.  One of the aims of its work in the field was to provide the protection that international humanitarian law guaranteed to children.
In 2002, the ICRC registered almost 4,000 children who were unaccompanied or separated from their families, and had reunited 1,000 with their families.
The ICRC called on all States to respect and ensure respect for international humanitarian law, to heed the pain of children suffering from armed conflict and to work to alleviate their suffering. 

FRITZ POKU (Ghana) said that the current situation of children was a far cry from the realization of the lofty ideas to which States had committed themselves when they acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.  Ghana would like to see greater international cooperation to eradicate child abuse, in particular, the abduction and recruitment of children by armed combatants, exploitation and sexual defilement.  Ghana also urged all countries that had not yet done so to adhere to all relevant Conventions that sought to banish child abuse and its worst forms.  Ghana was deeply concerned by the worsening health situation of children in developing countries.  The rights of the child to life and health could not be sustained without the realization of children's right to food.  It was indeed morally untenable that some parts of the world lived with mountains of food surpluses, while others died of starvation.  Ghana would like the Special Rapporteur to focus on other areas of grievous violations of the rights of the child such as the use of children in the illicit drug trade, the criminalization of the victims of child trafficking and prostitution. 

SAMUEL AMEHOU (Benin) said the rights of the child within the family and within the broader society were open to human rights violations.  This was why the Convention on the Rights of the Child was particularly important for children
-– it protected their rights and ensured their full development, including their right to education, health and food.  Individually and collectively, efforts were made by Governments to ensure genuine follow-up and implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.  Focus needed to be paid to the right to education, health and food.  Governments, civil societies and United Nations agencies needed to continue their cooperation to achieve the rights of the child.  The efforts undertaken also needed to be appraised on a regular basis.  In Benin, action had also been taken for implementation of the Convention and particular attention had been paid to the protection of children from trafficking in human beings. 

ADE PETRANTO (Indonesia) said in many parts of the world, children who escaped the evils of war were more than likely to fall victims to rampant poverty.  Indonesia had become one of the early signatories of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and had ratified relevant ILO Conventions, as well as undertaking a systematic overhaul of legislation over the years to reflect the standards of these international instruments and to protect children from improper employment and from child slavery, forced labour, prostitution and pornography.

The Government had concentrated on prioritising action plans to combat the sexual commercial exploitation of children and had set up in 1998 a National Commission for Child Protection. In September 2002, a vast child-protection bill had been approved by Parliament, covering such issues as adoption, guardianship and custody, and stipulating that the Government, as well as natural and adoptive parents and all State institutions, were obliged to provide protection for children, especially in crisis situations.  It also prescribed tough punishment for offenses against children.

ANDA CRISTINA FILIP (Romania) said that the Romanian Government’s strategy in the area of child protection was based on the following principles:  looking after the best interest of the child, non-discrimination and equality of chances, ensuring a family environment for children, continuing the process of decentralization, solidarity, inter-disciplinary approach and partnership.  Some important results achieved over the past two years included the shutting down of about 60 per cent of large residential institutions, which contributed to a significant reduction in the number of institutionalized children, a re-assessment of children going to special schools, leading to the integration of about one third of these children into regular schools and the establishment of a single decision-making authority at county level to deal with children’s issues.

JOOST KOOLJIMANS, of the International Labour Organization, said the ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention 182 and supplementing Recommendation had been unanimously adopted in 1999.  This Convention had been renewing the record of rapid ratification.  The ILO welcomed the entry into force of two optional protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, since both subjects -- the sale and trafficking of children, child exploitation in prostitution and pornography, as well as the forcible involvement of children in armed conflicts
-- were explicitly covered by Convention 182, together with hazardous types and conditions of labor by girls and boys under the age of 18.  In addition to the ILO’s on-going programme against child labor, special emphasis would be placed in the coming year on a number of thematic issues, among which were the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on child labor, and the use of children in armed conflict. 

STEPHEN WOODHOUSE, of the United Nations Children’s fund, said UNICEF, along with its partners, was developing a set of indicators that would assist Governments in monitoring international goals for child rights.  There were many pressing issues -- young people accounted for more than 50 per cent of HIV infections worldwide, and more than two-thirds of all newly infected 15-to-19 year olds in sub-Saharan African were girls.  The Commission had a critical role to play in ensuring that member States provided increased resources for the fight against AIDS.  Equally important was the Commission's role in addressing violations of children's rights in situations of armed conflict.

The UNICEF welcomed the appointment of an independent expert to lead a United Nations study on violence against children.  Reforms to the United Nations treaty-body system were welcome, but in the case of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF worried that a single consolidated report for all human rights treaty bodies could result in a loss of focus on children and could hamper the monitoring of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

MIRIAM MALUWA, of the Joint United Nations Programme of Hiv/Aids, said that there were millions of children and adolescents who were infected by HIV and who needed care as well as protection from discrimination.  The primary and principal responsibility of ensuring the right to health to children lay with the State.  Almost all States had signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child, save for the United States and Somalia.  This Convention provided the guiding principles for the protection of all children.  It was essential that programmes on HIV/AIDS should be rights based, child centered, non-discriminatory and should uphold the best interests of the child, ensure respect for the views and participation of the child and ensure the right of the child to survival and development. 

RASHIDA AL NOSAYRI (Yemen) said Yemen had integrated the rights of the child in all its national legislation.  The Government guaranteed in general all the rights of the child without any restrictions to do with origin, religion or race.  The Government also guaranteed free and compulsory education.  The Government was working on the eradication of all infectious diseases, including the total eradication of polio.  Children in situations of armed conflict, as well as child labour were key priorities for the Government.  The Commission was informed that the Yemeni Government had signed a bilateral treaty with the Office of the High Commissioner to combat juvenile delinquency.  Children were viewed as a key component of society as well as the main component of the future.  The Government was therefore trying to ensure the rights of all children in accordance with Yemen legislation, as well as the Sharia laws. 

ROALD NAESS (Norway) said States that had not ratified the new optional protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child were urged to do so; efficient implementation and monitoring of such obligations was also crucial.  Child labour, sexual exploitation and trafficking were all issues of deep concern, and Norway was appalled at the widespread abuse of children in all parts of the world.

Children could, when given a chance, be advocates of their own rights.  When children were given a chance to participate, they also developed respect and understanding for democratic decisions.  Poverty was a serious enemy of child rights, and poverty reduction strategies must begin with protection and realization of the human rights of children.  Norway had recently submitted a bill to Parliament to incorporate the Convention into Norwegian law.  Once the bill was passed, the Convention would apply as domestic law and would prevail over any other statutory provision in the event of a conflict of laws.  Norway also would do its best to ensure that the commitments of the General Assembly Special Session on Children were properly followed up.

ALI A. MOJTAHED SHABESTARI (Iran) said that too many children were still living below the poverty line and were suffering the consequences of malnutrition or starvation.  The deprivation of children’s rights in many parts of the world still continued.  Smuggling, trade and misuse of child labour, sexual abuse through prostitution and pornography, and even what was known as sexual tourism, armed conflicts, lack of access to proper education and hygiene, the existence of street children and tens of other forms of violations still continued to take place against children’s rights.  The protection of children –- the main victims of horrendous atrocities in times of war or armed conflict and especially children in territories under foreign occupation and in particular the children in occupied Palestine –- was an issue which needed to be given prominence.

TANYA NORTON, of the World Health Organization, said all had an obligation to protect children from all forms of physical, mental and sexual abuse, and also neglect and maltreatment.  Yet everywhere in the world, children were suffering violence.  The WHO's World Report on Violence and Health showed that violence against children took many forms, many of them hidden.  It estimated that about 57,000 children under age 15 were murdered in 2000.  The numbers of children who suffered sexual abuse was unknown, although the report suggested that about
20 per cent of women and 5 to 10 per cent of men had suffered sexual abuse as children.  Violence against children had grave and often long-lasting consequences, including depression, delinquent behaviour, increased risk for substance abuse, and suicide.

The WHO welcomed the upcoming United Nations study on violence against children and would cooperate with it in an effort to ensure that an effective approach was made to the issue of violence against children.

ROLA NOUREDDINNE (Lebanon) said that in all countries, cultural, social and economic factors determined the situation of children in society.  This was also the situation in Lebanon.  In addition, any plan to develop the rights of the child depended on the adults’ view of children.  Children were viewed as the future of the nation in Lebanon, however their development had been affected by the lack of available resources.  It was pointed out that Lebanon had not yet recovered from the war.  Still, there had been positive developments.  The most important development in Lebanon had been the increase of the minimum working age from eight years to 14 years.  The Commission was also informed that Lebanon had signed ILO Convention no. 182.  The Government of Lebanon had also been undertaking national measures to ensure children’s right to health and education.

FRANCES-GALATIA LANITOU WILLIAMS (Cyprus) said that secondary education was not allowed for Greek-Cypriot and Maronite children in the occupied part of Cyprus.  As a result, they were either deprived of secondary education or they were separated from their parents in order to attend secondary school in the free area under the control of the Government of Cyprus.  Younger children were allowed to visit their parents during Christmas or Easter but older children were not, nor were they allowed to return to their homes in the occupied area upon completion of their education in the free area.

GYAN CHANDRA ACHARYA (Nepal) said Nepal had taken major initiatives to promote child rights, including establishment of a Ministry for Women and Children's Welfare, a national plan for children, and efforts to end trafficking.  Important steps had been taken to raise the health status of children, and the results had been impressive.  Education was being supported through various Government programmes, several of them aimed at increasing attendance by girls.

Nepal had been enforcing rules and regulations to address the issues of bonded labour, child marriage, street children, and sale and trafficking of women and children for commercial sexual exploitation.  Nepal supported international efforts on behalf of children and had already submitted national reports describing its own efforts to the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

BARBARA ILLKOVA (Slovakia) said that in the context of the Convention and its two optional protocols, she stressed the need to protect children whose human rights had been violated.  This included assistance not only in terms of health services, but also in terms of rehabilitation and reintegration into society.  Concerning education and prevention, she stressed that these were some of the most important factors in the fulfillment of the rights of the child.  In this context, international cooperation and an active participation of international organizations, as well as non-governmental organizations, was stressed.
The Commission was informed that the Slovakian Government had, last year, adopted a national plan of action for the rights of the child. 

MILORAD SCEPANOVIC (Serbia and Montenegro) said that the rights of the child were fully recognized and stood high on the list of priorities within the overall democratic transformation of Serbia and Montenegro.  Serbia and Montenegro had ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child and both its optional protocols and had exerted maximum efforts to implement these documents in full, primarily through incorporating the highest international standards into domestic legislation.  While much had been done so far, Serbia and Montenegro were aware that serious work in this field still lay ahead.  Complex problems in this area were predominantly legacies of recent wars in the region and protracted sanctions. This inevitably influenced the overall situation of children in the country and had had a considerable negative impact on the exercise of the rights of the child in the past decade.  

MOHAMED AL-MALKI (Qatar) said despite many international steps to improve child rights, children were benefiting little from these standards -- it seemed that some considered such regulations to be a waste of time.  Israel seemed to think it was not necessary to take any steps to protect Palestinian children; in fact, Israel seemed to think children were a threat and if left alive would result in permanent resistance to Israel.  The Government was trying to eradicate Palestinian children, if not through quick, direct killing, then through slow killing, by depriving children of water, food, and a healthy existence.

Qatar had given great importance to child rights and had established a national programme to implement them.  Children had free education and free health care in Qatar.  ILO Convention 182 had been ratified and had been given the force of law in Qatar to complement national work for the benefit of children.

BADARCH SUVD (Mongolia) said nearly half of Mongolia’s population was under the age of 18 years.  Therefore, Mongolia attached particular importance to the issues related to the development and well being of children, and to the promotion and protection of their rights and interests.  Much had been accomplished in Mongolia in promoting the development of children and protecting their rights within the framework of the National Plan of Action adopted to implement the targets set by the World Summit on Children in the 1990s.  Mongolia had a national law on protecting children’s rights.  The national legislative, administrative and other regulations and practices put particular emphasis on the protection of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children.  The country still faced serious difficulties in meeting the challenges of its transitional period.  The Government therefore attached a high priority to its social policy and was making every effort to redress the present situation. 

SAJA MAJALI (Jordan) said that work on juvenile justice continued in Jordan in order to ensure protection and social integration of juveniles.  According to the Early Childhood and Health and Education in Jordan Status Report 2002, Jordan ranked 35 out of 165 countries in the field of early childhood development.  This result proved that although Jordan might still have many challenges ahead in attaining desired and set goals, and although further positive changes were yet to be accomplished in the lives of children, it was on the right path towards achieving them.  An agreement with the International Labour Office and the Ministry of Labour designed to implement the first stage of a nation-wide plan to eliminate child labour had been finalized.  The plan involved programmes to rehabilitate working children to enter the market at a more appropriate time with better qualifications.  Jordan also expressed particular concern over the
13 million Iraqi children, many of whom were already malnourished and most vulnerable, and called on the parties to the conflict to abide by their international humanitarian obligations and make the safety of children a priority.

B. MOLOJWANE (Botswana) said Botswana had adopted a Children's Act which focused on the care and protection of children, an Affiliation Proceedings Act concerned with aiding children born out of wedlock, and an Adoption Act to aid children who needed placement in family environments.  The Penal Code made defilement of girls under the age of 16 a crime punishable by life imprisonment, and prescribed severe sentences for rape.  As a result of HIV/AIDS, there were almost 40,000 orphans in the country, and the Government was providing food, shelter, medical care and psycho-social support.

Botswana was constantly reviewing its legislation to bring it into line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which the country had ratified in 1995.  Workshops and seminars, including children's fora, had been held to raise awareness and encourage all stakeholders to participate in the development of children.

PHILIPPE LE BLANC, of Dominicans for Justice and Peace speaking on behalf of several NGOs*, brought to the attention of the Commission the impact of international sanctions and war on children and women.  The organizations were also extremely concerned about the harmful and long-lasting consequences, especially on women and children, of the use of cluster bombs and depleted uranium.  They raised in particular the specter of the physical, and long–term emotional, psychological and moral impact on children and women of the bombings in Iraq, following 12 years of sanctions.  In addition to the effects of sanctions, there was the effect of environmental pollution in Iraq, in particular of depleted uranium, which was chemically and radiologically toxic. 

The organizations recommended that the international community through the United Nations should seek ways and means to establish peace and bring an end to the sanctions against the people of Iraq.  They also strongly urged the Commission to take seriously its Charter obligation to monitor the implementation and respect for international human rights law and to denounce the ongoing violations of the most fundamental human rights of women and children in conflicts. 

HELEN GEZELIUS, of International Save the Children Alliance speaking on behalf of several NGOs**, said that the Convention on the Rights of the Child affirmed children’s right to express their view freely in all matters that affected them.  The Convention also enhanced children’s participation through the recognition of children’s right to seek and receive appropriate information; freedom of expression; freedom of thought, conscience and religion; and the right to form and join associations.  Save the Children believed that the participation of children brought benefits both to society and to the child’s development.  There appeared to be evidence of a link between children’s participation and improved protection from violence.  It was known from experience that when children had easy and safe access to child protection mechanisms, hidden or ignored instances of violence surfaced.  Children who had access to information about complaints procedures or reporting mechanism were more likely to seek help to protect themselves from abuses.

MARTA O. DE VASQUEZ, of International Service for Human Rights speaking on behalf of International Movement for Fraternal Union Among Races and Peoples, said that the Movement was composed of women whose children and grand children had disappeared during the military dictatorship in Argentina.  They were aware that the enforced disappearances were a result of the abduction of children as part of a systematic and political plan of the Argentinian military dictatorship.  They had been struggling to get back 73 disappeared children.  Many of the children were born in captivity.  The grand mothers had been living during the last 20 years in a state of torture because of the disappearance of their children.  There had been a National Commission on Disappearances to investigate cases of disappearances, but it was slow and ineffective.  The law on amnesty had favoured impunity, inflicting humiliation on those who reclaimed justice.  The situation of impunity had prevented the families of victims to have access to justice and to identify the victims.

TOM GETMAN, of International Catholic Child Bureau speaking on behalf of World Vision International, said nowhere is the world were children immune from sexual exploitation, violence and abuse.  On the streets, at school and most disturbingly in their own homes, children were being sexually violated by the very people who were supposed to protect them.  States must commit greater resources to ensure the effective implementation of long-term, sustainable programmes and policies to combat sexual violence against children and to assist those children recovering from such abuse.  Children themselves, particularly survivors of abuse, must be encouraged to participate in the development and implementation of these strategies and programmes.  States must address the increasing demand of a market which sexually exploited children.  All States must implement strong child protection policies and training for their own public servants, as well as for their military personnel.  The sexual abuse of children was unacceptable in any context.   

HELENE SACKSTEIN, of International Alliance of Women in joint statement with Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom; Inter-African Committee; and Socialist International Women, said that the right to health was one of the rather neglected fundamental rights of all children worldwide.  As the Special Rapporteur on the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard and physical and mental health indicated had noted, the right to health was not as widely recognized as many other fundamental rights.  This was certainly the case concerning children and adolescents.  The plight of vulnerable and marginalized children should not be compounded by a denial of their right to health as was too frequently the case of refugees; children in armed conflict, children living and working in the streets; migrants; the very poor; indigenous children; minorities; children in institutions and HIV/AIDS orphans.

HAE WON PAIK, of Human Rights Advocates speaking on behalf of International Possibilities Unlimited; and World Young Women’s Christian Association, urged the Commission to continue its mission to abolish the death penalty for juvenile offenders.  A recent decision by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights had recognized that the prohibition against executing offenders who were under the age of 18 at the commission of the crime constituted a jus cogens norm.  This reflected the international law and practice on this issue.  Despite near uniform compliance around the world, the United States continued to maintain the practice of executing juvenile offenders.  In 2002, the United States was the only country to execute juvenile offenders, all three of whom were executed in Texas.  There were currently 80 inmates on death row who had committed their crime as juveniles. 

ALEXANDRE OWANA, of International Young Catholic Students speaking on behalf of several NGOs***, said that at the time when the Commission was debating the item on the rights of children, numerous children continued to die in Iraq as a result of the bombings of the belligerents.  The entry into force of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court was an important step in promoting the rights of children affected by armed conflict.  In resolution 1379 of 20 November 2001, the Security Council had called on Member States to bring to justice the perpetrators of crimes against children and to exclude these crimes as much as possible from amnesty measures.  In its Special Session on Children, the General Assembly had reiterated this appeal in its Plan of Action.  All these elements had been elaborated with a view to increasing the protection of children in situations of conflict.  It could be never stressed enough that the civilian population, women and children were the first victims of atrocities committed by belligerents in conflicts.  It was evident, however, that there was a deliberate intention on the part of the parties to the conflict in the Middle East to disregard the international instruments which were elaborated to protect the civilian population.

RACHEL BRETT, of Friends World Committee for Consultation, said that in all situations where child soldiers were involved, the majority of them were boys.  However, girls participated in armed conflicts to a far greater degree than was generally recognized.  The proportions varied but reports indicated that in some situations up to one-third of the child soldiers were girls.  The experiences and needs of girl soldiers had been little considered and understood, often leading to their exclusion from essential policies and programmes.  On the one hand, the common assumption that the main characteristics of girl soldiers’ experiences was sexual exploitation and abuse, could stigmatize those who had not in fact been sexually abused by limiting their future prospects and status in society.

SEVERINE JACOMY, of World Organization Against Torture - OMCT, said torture and other inhumane and degrading treatment were frequently committed against children in police stations and detention centers around the world.  In countries such as the Russian Federation and Central Asian States, children were victims of unfair judicial proceedings since harassment, death threats, torture were commonly used for the purpose of confession.  In detention, they were then denied protection, including from abuse by co-detainees, and they had little opportunities of rehabilitation.  The legislation of some 50 countries provided that children could be subjected to corporal punishment, notably amputation, flogging or stoning, for instance in Iran, Saudi Arabia and Sudan.  These punishments were unlawful.  The United States and Iran still imposed death penalty on children offenders.   Mainstreaming children’s rights within the existing international mechanisms must be strengthened. 

EYLAH KADJAR HAMOUDA, of International Federation "Terre des Hommes", drew the attention of the Commission to trafficking in children between Albania and Greece.  For the past ten years, thousands of Albanian children from the age of four had been rented, bought, sold and transported to Greece, where they were economically and sexually exploited by adults.  In the past three years, Greece and Albania had mobilized to put an end to this phenomenon and had achieved considerable results.  Trans-border trafficking continued to exist, however.  Children who were victims of trafficking usually came from impoverished families and areas located near the country of destination.  There was no ethnic criterion for their recruitment.  The trafficking in children corresponded to the logic of the market with its law of supply and demand.  In Greece, the country of destination, children were not considered as victims but were accused of entering the country illegally.  Concern was expressed at the fact that some children who had been placed in reception centers in Greece simply disappeared.

      KATONGO NKANDU, of Franciscans International, said that in Zambia, the Catholic Church and associated non-governmental organizations assumed much of the burden of caring for and protecting vulnerable children.  This came in response to the Government’s failure to meet the needs of Zambian children.  There were more than 80,000 orphans in the country at present.  Those children struggled in
under-equipped shelters or with extended families to meet basic human necessities including the right to food, shelter, health and education.  Sexual abuse of children was widespread and was becoming more and more prevalent.  Abused children were regularly denied access to fair legal proceedings.  Throughout the country, street children were being treated as criminals rather than as the vulnerable victims they were.

HASSAN MAHMOUD, of Liberation, said the issue of child education in Bangladesh was of great concern.  Bangladesh had a population of 137.5 million, out of which 19.6 million were children of primary school age.  Of those,
1.5 million girls were out of school and the barriers to education were significant.  Girls were often forced to engage in domestic work and were thereby denied access to education.  These children very often became victims of torture and violence by the family members for who they worked and they seldom got protection from the law enforcement agencies.  Children in Colombia made up around half of the 40 million population and quietly carried much of the burden of the social and economic crisis and armed conflict on which their future was being built.  The rights of the child must be upheld at all times and the Commission must continue to encourage States to take all necessary steps for this to happen. 

LOYOLA GUZMAN, of Latin American Federation of Associations of Relatives of Disappeared Detainees (FEDEFAM), said that for the past 22 years, FEDEFAM had been denouncing before the Commission the practice of enforced disappearances, especially of children.  This phenomenon affected Argentina during the military dictatorship between 1976 and 1983.  Unfortunately Argentina was not the only country where disappearances of children had taken place.  This phenomenon occurred also in El Salvador and Chile.  In Latin America, the implementation of neo-liberal policies had plunged the majority of the population into misery.  This had resulted in malnutrition, lack of education and trafficking in children for the sale of organs and for prostitution and the phenomenon of street children

DORA GIUSTI, of Defence for Children International, said that there were about 211 million children aged 5 to 14 who were economically active.  About half of those children were performing hazardous work. Work became hazardous when the conditions were affecting the full enjoyment of rights, such as the right to education, health and to physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development.  Such situations undermined the ILO Convention on the worst form of child labour.  The group was concerned about certain groups of children that due to their condition or status suffered from discrimination and were highly vulnerable to children labour.  The Commission's attention was drawn to the indigenous children, considering that the 2003 theme day of the Committee on the Rights of the Child would be devoted to them.

JONATHAN GALLAGHER, of General Conference of the Seventh-Day Adventists, said the Adventist Church was concerned that despite clear and unequivocal language in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, certain States were not complying with explicit obligations.  Every child had the right to have a happy and stable home environment, and the freedom and support to grow up to be the person God intended.  Children had the right to a loving and stable home where there was safety and freedom from abuse.  They had the right to adequate food, clothing, shelter, and health care.  They had the right to an education that prepared them for a positive role in society by developing their personal potential and giving them earning capacity.  The right to a religious and moral education in the home and church, and the right to freedom from discrimination and exploitation, as well as the right to personhood, respect, and the development of positive self-esteem. 

HILDA MALKA, of Women's International Zionist Organization, said that the cynical use of children in the war against Israel had reached unprecedented proportions.  Palestinian children had become the victims of human rights abuse by the leadership of the Palestinian Authority.  The Political Coordinating Department of the Palestinian Authority took Palestinian children out of school in an organized manner and directed them to points of friction with Israeli soldiers, thereby placing them in the front line.  According to an announcement by the Palestinian Ministry, children were called upon to play an organized role in the Intifada after school hours as well as taking part in activities determined by the Supreme Monitoring Committee.  Manning the second line behind the children were the armed activists of the Tanzim and Fatah, firing on the soldiers.   Every year in July and August, the Palestinian Authority held summer camps for thousands of youth, training them in the use of weapons.

      SHARAD SONI, of Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation, said that
12 February 2002 should be remembered as a milestone in the international efforts to fight one of the major causes of human rights violations of children.  On that day, a new international legal instrument -- the optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict – had entered into force, banning the use of children in hostilities.  Now it had become a pressing priority for the international community to ensure the universal ratification and implementation of that optional protocol. The Foundation attached great importance to the entry into force of the optional protocol, which had become an urgent need in light of several reports of the Secretary-General and his Special Representative Olara Otunnu.

Mr. SENGELE, of Comité international pour le respect et l'application de la charte africaine des droits de l'homme et des peuples, said that in Africa, Iraq and Palestine, children had been subjected to violations of human rights associated with selective, politicized and strict anti-terrorism measures.  In Africa, children were often internally displaced, separated from their parents and prevented from speaking their mother tongue.  In addition, children suffered from poverty, landmines, internal conflicts, the proliferation of small arms, as well as sexual exploitation and trafficking.  It was important to find the underlying causes of the violation of children in the world, and particularly in Africa.  It was important to take action immediately since alone, the spread of the HIV/AIDS pandemic had already resulted in the creation of 11 million orphans. 

MYRIAM ERNST, of Covenant House Latin America, said that between 50 and
70 children under the age of 23 were murdered every month in Honduras, a country of barely 5.5 million people.  Although the State of Honduras had created a special institutional commission and a special investigative unit in September 2002, no concrete results had materialized.  The number of deaths were in constant increase and less than 5 per cent of the more than 1,750 murders of children and youth under the age of 23 committed since 1998 had reached a conviction.  More than 60 per cent of the cases had not been investigated adequately in order to determine who the killers were.  The Commission was urged to arrange for the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, arbitrary and summary executions to return to Honduras and to offer direct support to Honduras for the training of investigative police who will specifically investigate the murders of children and youth.

WILFRED WONG, ofInternational Association for the Defence of Religious Liberty, said that in Brazil,  Honduras and Guatemala, the murder of street children was common.  In Salvador, in the capital Bahis state, from 1991 to 2000, 1,453 children and youth were murdered.  Stronger action was needed by the Brazilian authorities to ensure that those responsible for violence against street children were punished.  Another challenge which many poor Brazilian children faced was that of commercial sexual exploitation.  In Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, there were an estimated 150,000 child prostitutes controlled by a strong and organized mafia. The Government should take stronger measures to punish those responsible for the commercial and sexual exploitation of children.  In Viet Nam, the Degar people of the Central Highlands, faced intense and systematic human rights abuses from the authorities.

THAUNG HTUN, of Worldview International Foundation, said while the whole world was paying attention to the war in Iraq, the plight of children from Burma who were caught in the cross fire of the five decades long armed conflict resulting from the oppression and discriminatory practices of the Burmese military, seemed to be a forgotten issue.  The civil war had brought widespread poverty, poor health care, low educational standards and systematic human rights abuses.  The Government spent 40 per cent of the national budget on the military, while spending under one per cent on education and health care.  Military violence, coupled with displacement, forced relocations and resulting food insecurity were the main causes of malnutrition and other related illnesses.  Only three out of four children entered primary school and of those only two out of five completed the full five years.  Parties to the conflict were called upon to put children on the agenda for dialogue since children were most affected by this protracted armed conflict, and to provide a peace corridor during national child immunization weeks. 

CHRISTIANE DEHOY, of Anti-Slavery International, said that children continued to be denied their most basic rights and freedoms in Myanmar, where they were subjected to the most serious human rights violations.  Children were often requisitioned as forced labour for infrastructure projects, army camp maintenance and plantation work and to carry suppliers for the army.  Children, both girls and boys, had to perform compulsory labour to allow their parents to earn the daily income of the family.  Children as young as 11 were forcibly recruited as soldiers in the army.  A Human Rights Watch report of October 2002 estimated that there were as many as 70,000 children were conscripted into the armed forces.  Displaced families were forced to move to relocation camps or to go into hiding in the forest.  As a result, the education of children had been severely disrupted, malnutrition had become rampant and health care was totally inadequate.  In addition, many girls and women became victims of rape by soldiers.

ROSEAN OLGUIN, of International Indian Treaty Council, called the attention of the Commission to the dismal situation of American Indian children living in the United States and many other countries affected by environmental contamination.  Infant mortality in Indian Country was double the national average.  Persistent Organic Pollutants included industrial chemicals like PCBs, pesticides, and dioxins.  Children were particularly susceptible to the impacts of such pollutants when they were in their mothers’ wombs and as nursing infants.  Mother’s milk, sad to say, had become one of the most contaminated foods on the planet.  The Council encouraged the Committee on the Rights of the Child to consider these issues with regard to article 24 of the Convention recognizing the basic right of all children to the enjoyment of the highest standard of health “through the provision of adequate nutritious foods and clean drinking water, taking into consideration the dangers and risks of environmental pollution”.  Children needed and deserved this protection and oversight.

Mr. ALGADI, of Islamic African Relief Agency, said tackling the problem of children affected by war must be addressed with greater urgency because millions of children were still suffering from the negative impact of war and conflict throughout the world.  The dimensions of this phenomenon could be attributed to the abduction and detention of children, unaccompanied minors, and the military conscription of children.  The loss of lives, looting of livestock and possessions, military conscription and abduction of women and children were, therefore to be expected as the direct negative aspects of war and civil strife.  The children in war and conflict zones were exposed to the worst crimes in modern history.  Children suffered much more from the effects of abduction, military conscription, vagrancy, lack of education and deprivation of their mother’s love.  Dealing with the effect of war on civilian populations, especially displaced persons and children under difficult circumstances and other vulnerable groups deserved the full attention of Governments and Heads of States. 

Right of Reply

A Representative of Uganda, speaking in a right of reply, said that the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) had sought to attribute the condition of children in his country to the presence of Ugandan troops in one region of the DRC.  The Representative of the DRC had recycled the same accusations and information under four agenda items.  The Representative of Uganda noted that Ugandan troops would withdraw from the DRC in 10 days.  Many troops had already withdrawn under the Lusaka Agreement.

A Representative of Israel, speaking in right of reply, said that Palestinian children were not victims of Israel.  They were the victims of their own terrorists who recruited them to be dragged into acts of terror against Israeli civilians and children.  Israeli children were targeted by acts of Palestinian terrorists and not the opposite.

A Representative of Turkey, exercising her right of reply, said she regretted that she had to take the floor on this item, however, the delegation of Cyprus had yet again taken the floor.  Therefore, she felt obliged to clarify that the Turkish presence was not an occupation but was based on international agreements and was totally legitimate.  Furthermore, there was no denial of education to Greek Cypriots in the Turkish Cypriot part.  In fact, it was ironic that the delegate of Cyprus had made these allegations, since it was in the south of Cyprus where teaching in Turkish was prohibited.

A Representative of Cyprus, speaking in right of reply, said that Cyprus attached greatest importance to protection and promotion of the human rights of children, of all children, of all Cypriot children and of all non-Cypriot children

on the island.  The Representative also stressed that the Government covered all school tuition fees of Cypriot children.

A Representative of Viet Nam, speaking in a right of reply, said his delegation rejected the allegations of the International Association for the Defence of Religious Liberty, which said that the human rights of the Degar people of the Central Highlands were abused.  The complaint was a hostile stand against Viet Nam by hostile forces that stood for their own benefits.

* *** *

* Joint statement on behalf of: Dominicans for Justice and Peace; Caritas Internationalis; Commission on Churches on International Affairs of the World Council of Churches; Dominican Leadership Conference; Canadian Council of Churches; Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur; International Presentation Associations Sisters of the Presentation; Congregations of Saint Joseph; Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic Inc.; and World Alliance of Reformed Churches.

** Joint statement on behalf of: International Save the Children Alliance; World Union of Catholic Women; International Council of Women; International Federation of Social Workers; Lutheran World Federation; and World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church Women.

*** Joint statement on behalf of: International Young Catholic Students, New Humanity; International Organization for the Development of Freedom of Education; Women's Board Educational Cooperation Society; Servas International; and Groupe de recherche et d'action pour le bien-être social.