29 September 2006 - Child Rights and the new Human Rights Council - 13
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- Latest: Human Rights Council discusses report on children and armed conflict
- Plenary: Reports presented by Special Rapporteurs
- Informal meeting: Follow-up to the UN Study on Violence against Children
- NGO statement: NGO Joint statement on children's rights at the Council
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Latest: Human Rights Council discusses report on children and armed conflict
The Human Rights Council this morning discussed the report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict (E/CN.4/2006/66), Radhika Coomaraswamy.
Ms Coomaraswamy said the Council should continue to incorporate children in armed conflict when considering country-specific and thematic human rights concerns into its discussions and resolutions. This had been a terrible year for children in armed conflict: in the past, all combatants would create the humanitarian space for the protection of children, but today there was an uphill battle to ensure that these principles remained entrenched. The Council should consider it a primary duty to ensure the protection of civilians during armed conflict, and the vindication of human rights.
The report provides an update of ongoing efforts to highlight grave violations against children in armed conflict in order to bring pressure to bear on parties to conflict who violate the rights of children. The report highlights elements of ongoing cooperation with the key components of the United Nations human rights system, while highlighting issues for further cooperation in light of reform efforts under way.
The report concludes that reform efforts create a strong momentum for the incorporation of the issue of children affected by armed conflict into the policies, strategic plans and programmes of the key United Nations human rights entities. The Special Representative takes the opportunity to call for the renewal of the commitment by the key United Nations entities to ensure, within their respective roles, that the era of application of international norms and standards for the protection of the rights of war-affected children becomes a reality.
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Further information
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Plenary: Reports presented by Special Rapporteurs
The second week of the second session of the Human Rights Council is ending. So far, the following Special Rapporteurs have presented their reports to the Council:
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Wednesday, 20th September: Sigma Huda, Special Rapporteur on
trafficking in persons, especially in women and children:
Report /
More information
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Wednesday, 20th September: Manfred Nowak, Special Rapporteur on
torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment:
Report /
More information
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Friday, 22nd September: Juan Miguel Petit, Special Rapporteur on the
sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography:
Report /
More information
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Monday, 25th September: Vernor Muños Villalobos, Special Rapporteur on the right to
education:
Report /
More information
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Informal meeting: Follow-up to the UN Study on Violence against Children
An informal meeting was organised by the Office of the High-Commisioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Monday, 25th September, from 1-3pm, to discuss possible follow-up to the UN Secretary General's Study on Violence against Children.
The Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children will be presented to the General Assembly in New York on 11 October 2006. Please check the UN Study website for more information.
The aim of the informal meeting was to discuss the Study's recommendations as well as the possible creation of follow-up mechanisms. The panel will be chaired by Jaap Doek, Chairperson of the Committee on the Rights of the Child. Participants included:
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Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Independent Expert leading the Study
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Mehr Khan Williams, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights
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Rima Salah, Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF
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Alexander Butchart, the Coordinator for Prevention of Violence, WHO
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Roberta Cecchetti, Convener of the NGO Group on Violence against Children
Jaap Doek, presenting the view of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, supported the establishment of an office for a Special Representative on Violence against Children. He referred to previous discussions between Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro and the Committee on the weakness of existing mandates mechanisms, which were under-resourced and would not be able to cope with an additional mandate.
Mehr Khan said that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights also supported the idea of creating a new mechanism for children and violence. The representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO), one of the three UN agencies supporting the Study, said WHO was happy to support interagency cooperation and dialogue with the different stakeholders, including NGOs, to enable effective follow-up to the Violence Study. The appointment of a Special Representative on Violence against Children would be the best way to continue this dialogue. UNICEF did not say whether they were in favour or not.
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NGO statement: NGO Joint statement on children's rights at the Council
A joint statement was delivered on Monday, during the plenary, by the following organisations: World Organisation Against Torture, Save the Children Alliance, International Alliance of Women, Plan International, World Movement of Mothers, Defence for Children International, Women's World Summit Federation, International Federation of Social Workers, World Vision International, ECPAT International, World Union of Catholic Women's Organisations:
"We, NGOs dealing with children's rights, look forward to working alongside the Council to strengthen human rights and child rights standards worldwide.
Whilst conscious of the need to mainstream children's rights into the entire human rights system, we feel that children have specific needs and concerns that necessitate the adoption of an explicit children's rights focus by the Council. The World Conference on Human Rights, in its 1993 Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, reiterated the principle of "first call for children" and stated that "the rights of the child should be a priority in the United Nations system-wide action on human rights". Thus the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) should be highlighted in the work of the Council. We very much hope that the Council will assert its commitment to child rights in its future sessions by ensuring that the agenda includes a separate point dealing with child rights.
This statement is our call for action by the Council on four specific child rights issues: 1) violence against children, 2) sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, 3) children affected by armed conflict and displacement and 4) children in conflict with the law.
We trust that the Human Rights Council will ensure meaningful and substantive participation of children's rights NGOs and other independent human rights institutions for children's rights in the work of the Council including consultations during the universal periodic review. We also look forward to the innovative creation of a specific space to allow children themselves to participate in the work of the HRC.
We finally feel it is vital that the special procedures are maintained and strengthened and include the CRC and its Optional Protocols in their mandates.
The Child Rights Information Network shares the view contained in this statement."
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This update has been produced by CRIN, in collaboration with the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Subgroup for the Human Rights Council. To subscribe, unsubscribe or view archives, visit http://www.crin.org/email.
Further information about the Human Rights Council is available on the CRIN website at: www.crin.org/chr. To submit information, contact Isabelle Guitard on [email protected]. CRIN, c/o Save the Children, 1, St John's Lane, London EC1M 4AR, UK.
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