22 June 2006 - Child Rights and the new Human Rights Council 5
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- First week of the Human Rights Council: High-Level Segment statements
- Independent Expert for the UN Study on Violence against Children addresses Council
- General information on the Human Rights Council
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First week of the Human Rights Council: High-Level Segment statements
[22 June 2006] - The first session of the Human Rights Council is currently underway at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The session is attended by delegates from member and non-member States of the Human Rights Council, as well as a substantial number of representatives from non-governmental organisations, representatives of national human rights institutions and members of the press.
Inauguration
The inaugural ceremony took place on Monday 19th June with statements from Jan Eliasson, President of the UN General Assembly, Kofi Annan, the United Nations Secretary-General, Louise Arbour, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Ambassador Luis Alfonso de Alba of Mexico, President of the Council.
In his speech Kofi Annan reminded Council members of their pledges to uphold human rights at home and abroad: "Their peoples – and the peoples of the world – will be watching to see whether those standards are indeed upheld", he said. He then praised the achievements of the Commission on Human Rights but highlighted the need for a "clean break from the past" and a change of culture: "In place of the culture of confrontation and distrust, which pervaded the Commission in its final years, we must see a culture of cooperation and commitment, inspired by mature leadership". Addressing Council members, Annan said: "You have much hard work before you. In the weeks and months ahead, as you descend into detail and wrestle with issues at the heart of the Council’s mandate, I urge you to keep constantly in mind the noble aims that brought you here. Never allow this Council to become caught up in political point-scoring or petty manoeuvre. Think always of those whose rights are denied".
High-Level Segment
Most of the first week of the session has consisted of a High-Level Segment (19-22 June), where dignitaries from member and non-member States have addressed the Council. Their statements are all available on the HRC website.
However, this afternoon, national human rights institutions and a few NGO representatives will also be given the opportunity to deliver statements. Furthermore, the final agenda for the first session will be adopted this afternoon.
Draft programme of work for the second week
According to the latest draft agenda for the second week (published yesterday), the Council is expected to tackle procedural issues as well as some pressing human rights issues as follows:
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Monday 26th: pressing human rights issues - Report of Intergovernmental Working Groups (Durban and Right to Development)
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Tuesday 27th: Report of Intergovernmental Working Groups (on Optional Protocol to International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, on draft Convention on Disappearances, and on draft Indigenous Declaration)
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Wednesday 28th: Universal Periodic Review - Review of mandates and mechanisms
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Thursday 29th: Programme of work for future HRC sessions - Dialogue and cooperation on human rights (human rights education and learning, advisory services, technical assistance and capacity-building) - Conclusions and recommendations, including interim measures on mechanisms and mandates.
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Friday 30th: Continued and Report of the session.
On the second week, CRIN will be reporting from the Human Rights Council through the HRC CRINMAIL and daily updates on the HRC news page. CRIN has produced a new webpage on the Human Rights Council. The page offers information on the first HRC session for child rights NGOs. It provides links to daily news updates on the HRC, information on NGO participation and useful contacts. It contains background information on the Commission on Human Rights and the creation of the Human Rights Council, as well as on the historical involvement of child rights NGOs in the work of the Commission.
[Source: ISHR and UN]
Further information
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Independent Expert for the UN Study on Violence against Children addresses Council
During the General Segment which took place on Wednesday 21st in the afternoon, national delegations, UN specialised agencies and other bodies were invited to address the Council.
Among the number of speakers was the Independent Expert leading the Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children, Prof. Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro. Prof. Pinheiro expressed his pleasure that his presence at the Council showed "a clear signal of the considerable importance that this Council will give to the special procedures".
He then proceeded to inform the Council on the purpose and progress of the Study, and said his final report, will be "action-oriented" and "recommend that each State put in place an explicit framework of law and policy in which all forms of violence against children in all settings (...) are prohibited." The Study, he added, will also recommend the appointment of a "global advocate", "to foster implementation and follow up to the recommendations."
Stressing that the Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children is supposed to be a catalyst for real and lasting change for children, Prof. Pinheiro urged Council members to keep child rights issues high on their agenda in order to provide adequate follow-up on the recommendations and mechanisms that the Study will have put in place:
"I would like to take this opportunity to stress the importance of ensuring that the rights of the child are kept high up in the global agenda to be established through this Council. The Human Rights Council will have a great opportunity to address this urgent need. I hope that the voices of children will always be loudly heard within these walls. And I hope children will benefit from the work of this young international body long before they become adults."
Further information
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General information on the Human Rights Council
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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 Commission on Human Rights. To subscribe, unsubscribe or view archives, visit http://www.crin.org/email.
Further information about the 1st HRC Session is available on the CRIN website at: www.crin.org/chr/news. 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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