21 April 2005 Children Have Rights Too! No 9
Child Rights at the 61st Session of the Commission on Human Rights 2
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- LATEST NEWS - Commission adopts Resolution on the Rights of the Child
- THEMATIC RESOLUTIONS: Resolution on the Abduction of Children in Africa
- THEMATIC RESOLUTIONS: Resolution on the Right to Education
- PLENARY SESSION: Item 13 - Rights of the Child
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LATEST NEWS - Commission adopts Resolution on the Rights of the Child
In an omnibus resolution on the rights of the child, adopted by a roll-call vote of 52 in favour and one against (US), with no abstentions, the Commission urged once again the States that have not yet done so to consider signing and ratifying or acceding to the Convention on the Rights of the Child as a matter of priority and its Optional Protocols on the involvement of children in armed conflict and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. It called upon States parties to implement the Convention and its Optional Protocols fully and in accordance with the best interests of the child and to strengthen relevant governmental structures for children. It further called upon all States to end impunity for perpetrators of crimes committed against children.
This year's resolution was sponsored by Luxembourg, as president for the EU group and, by Uruguay for the Latin American group (GRULAC). The negotiations on the draft resolution started on 15 April, and were attended by many state representatives. Unfortunately, there were hardly no NGOs present. Few states seemed interested in improving the draft resolution, and generally only took the floor to add their own comments and suggestions. Henri-Paul Normandin, speaking on behalf of Canada, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland, mentioned that although they were supportive of the draft resolution, it was still too long, where repetition of old language was not conducive to the promotion of the rights of the child. Furthermore, he regretted that the draft had been circulated too late for review and suggestions by other parties, as co-operation and transparency were very important on all draft resolutions, particularly this one as it attracts so much support from many delegations.
Before the Commission voted on this resolution, the US proposed amendments to the Preambular paragraph one and operative paragraph two that recognise the importance of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC); to the operative paragraph seven recognising the contribution of the International Criminal Court in defending the rights of children victims of serious crimes, and ending impunity. Its final suggestion was to operative paragraphs 16 (d) and (f) that addresses the rights of the child to maintain contact with their parents residing in different states, including in the case of illegal adoption.
The co-sponsors rejected the proposed US amendments, as they would undermine the CRC, (and its Optional Protocols), which has been ratified by 192 states and provides for a comprehensive normative standard for children's rights. The amendments were rejected by a vote of 51 against, 1 in favour (US) and one abstention (Pakistan).
More information here
See the text of the resolution and the alternative resolution prepared by the subgroup for the CHR here
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THEMATIC RESOLUTIONS: Resolution on the Abduction of Children in Africa
In a resolution on the abduction of children in Africa, adopted as amended and without a vote, the Commission condemned the practice of abduction of children for various purposes, among other things, for involvement in armed forces or armed groups, for participation in hostilities, for sexual exploitation and forced labour. It also condemned the abduction of children from camps of refugees and internally displaced persons by armed forces and armed groups, and their subjection of children to participation in fighting, torture, killing and rape as victims and as perpetrators.
The Commission demanded the immediate demobilisation and disarmament, reintegration and, where applicable, repatriation of all child soldiers, particularly girls, who have been recruited or used in armed conflicts in contravention of international law. It called for the immediate and unconditional release and safe return of all abducted children to their families, extended families and communities.
The Commission called on African States to, among other things, take extra measures to protect refugee children and internally displaced children, particularly girls, from being abducted; and to take adequate measures to prevent the abduction and recruitment of children by armed forces and armed groups and their participation in hostilities. It encouraged all African States to integrate the rights of the child into all peace processes, peace agreements and post-conflict recovery and reconstruction phases; and called upon all Member States to put an end to impunity and to take appropriate steps to identify those responsible for child abductions in Africa and bring them to justice.
Lastly, the Commission requested the OHCR, working with Member States, the ILO, UNICEF, and other relevant United Nations agencies, international organisations and NGOs, to undertake a comprehensive assessment of the situation of the abduction of children throughout Africa through the organisation of sub-regional consultations.
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THEMATIC RESOLUTIONS: Resolution on the Right to Education
The Commission adopted a text on the right to education, by which it urged all States to give full effect to the right to education and to guarantee that this right was recognised and exercised without discrimination of any kind, to take all appropriate measures to eliminate obstacles limiting effective access to education, and to mainstream human rights education in educational activities, in order to strengthen respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
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PLENARY SESSION: Item 13 - Rights of the Child
On Monday 11th, the Commission concluded its general debate on children's rights. NGOs addressing the Commission raised concerns related to the scourges of child labour, sexual abuse and rape, child prostitution and trafficking, lack of access to adequate standards of living, and lack of realisation of the rights to health, food, and education, as well as to specific discrimination and mistreatment suffered by the girl child such as female genital mutilation and early marriage. They also raised situations of concern in specific countries.
Representatives of the following non-governmental organisations addressed the Commission on children's rights: International Educational Development; Society for Threatened Peoples; International Institute for Non-Aligned Studies; Consultative Council of Jewish Organisations; International Islamic Federation of Student Organisations; International Young Catholic Students; MADRE; Netherlands Organisation for International Development Co-operation; Human Rights Council of Australia; Japanese Workers Committee for Human Rights; International Human Rights Association of American Minorities; Asia-Japan Women's Resource Centre; United Nations Association of San Diego; World Young Women's Christian Association, in a joint statement with Women's International League for Peace and Freedom; Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions; Liberal International; and United Nations Watch.
Detailed session reports
All the updates produced during the 61st Session of the Commission on Human Rights are available on the CRIN website
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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 61st Session is available on the CRIN website at: http://www.crin.org/chr. To submit information, contact Veronica Yates on [email protected]. CRIN, c/o Save the Children, 1, St John's Lane, London EC1M 4AR, UK.
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