CRC CRINMAIL 6: 44th session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child

10 January 2007 - CRC CRINMAIL 6: 44th session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child

 

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- FORTY-FOURTH SESSION INFORMATION: Agenda and Timetable 

- STATES PARTIES INFORMATION: State reports and Alternative reports

- OPAC: Review of States Parties reports [NGO publication]

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This list provides specific information on the work of the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Updates are sent during CRC sessions and on an ad hoc basis. Please feel free to forward these updates to others who may be interested. To contribute, email us at [email protected].
If you do not receive this email in html format, you will not be able to see some hyperlinks in the text. At the end of each item we have therefore provided a full URL linking to a web page where further information is available.

This CRINMAIL is also available online at: http://www.crin.org/email/crinmail_detail.asp?crinmailID=1872

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FORTY-FOURTH SESSION INFORMATION: Agenda and Timetable

The 44th Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child will begin next Monday at the Palais Wilson in Geneva, Switzerland, and close on Friday, 2nd February. 

The Committee will examine reports from from Chile, Honduras, Kenya, Malaysia, Mali, the Marshall Islands and Suriname. It will also examine reports on the implementation of the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (OPSC) and the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (OPAC) for Costa Rica and Kyrgyzstan.

Note that the examination of the combined Second and Third Periodic Report of the Maldives has been reported to the 45th session.

A special CRC news page devoted to the activities of the Committee on the Rights of the Child has been set up on the CRIN website in partnership with the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The page provides summaries of the Committee sessions by country, UN press releases, NGO press releases, information about side events, Decisions, General Comments and other activities of the Committee.

Visit: http://www.crin.org/CRCnews

For more information on the Committee, contact:
UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Committee on the Rights of the Child
8-14 Avenue de la Paix, CH 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Tel: + 41 22 917 9000; Fax: + 41 22 917 9022
Website: http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc

Further information

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STATES PARTIES INFORMATION: State reports and Alternative reports

States Parties reports submitted by governments to the Committee on the Rights of the Child are available in English, French and Spanish on the website of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

Alternative Reports submitted by NGOs to the Committee on the Rights of the Child are made available on the CRIN website in partnership with the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The reports can also be searched by country, Committee session or by organisation. Note that alternative reports are posted on the CRIN website as they are received.

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GENERAL REPORTING

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CHILE 

Third Periodic Report 

On Friday, 26th January, the Committee will examine Chile's Third Periodic Report. The report (CRC/C/CHL/3) is accessible in English, French and Spanish on the OHCHR website.

Alternative reports

  • Briefing from Global Initiative to end all corporal punishment of children - Chile
    By: Global Intitiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children
    Report in: English
  • Recommendations to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child - Chile
    By: Child Helpline International
    Report in: English
  • Alternative Report Chile
    By: Red de ONGs Infancia-Chile
    Report in: English / Español

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HONDURAS

Third periodic report 

On Friday 19th January, the Committee will examine Honduras' Third Periodic report. The report (CRC/C/HND/3) is accessible in English, French and Spanish on the OHCHR website.

Alternative reports

  • Briefing from Global Initiative to end all corporal punishment of children - Honduras
    By: Global Intitiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children
    Report in: English
  • Recommendations to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child - Honduras
    By: Child Helpline International
    Report in: English
  • Current Report of the Honduras Childhood Situation
    By: Cordinadora de Instituciones por los Derechos de Niñez - COIPRODEN
    Report in: English / Español

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KENYA

Second Periodic Report 

On Tuesday, 16th January, the Committee will examine Kenya's Second Periodic Report. The report (CRC/C/KEN/2) is accessible in English, French and Spanish on the OHCHR website.

Alternative reports

  • Briefing from Global Initiative to end all corporal punishment of children - Kenya
    By: Global Intitiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children
    Report in: English
  • Recommendations to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child - Kenya
    By: Child Helpline International
    Report in: English
  • NGO Complementary Report on: Implementation of the UN CRC in Kenya
    By: Kenya Alliance for Advancement of Children
    Report in: English
  • Rights of Child in Kenya: An alternative report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on the implementation of the CRC in Kenya
    By: Organisation Mondiale Contre la Torture
    Report in: English 

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MALAYSIA

Initial Report 

On Thursday, 25th January, the Committee will examine Malaysia's Initial Report. The report (CRC/C/MYS/1) is accessible in English, French and Spanish on the OHCHR website.

Alternative reports

  • Briefing from Global Initiative to end all corporal punishment of children - Malaysia
    By: Global Intitiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children
    Report in: English 
  • Recommendations to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child - Malaysia
    By: Child Helpline International
    Report in: English

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MALI

Second Periodic Report 

On Thursday, 18th January, the Committee will examine Mali's Second Periodic Report. The report (CRC/C/MLI/2) is accessible in English, French and Spanish on the OHCHR website.

Alternative reports

  • Briefing from Global Initiative to end all corporal punishment of children - Mali
    By: Global Intitiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children
    Report in: English
  • Recommendations to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child - Mali
    By: Child Helpline International
    Report in: English
  • Rapport Complémentaire sur la Mise en Oeuvre de la CDE
    By: Coalition malienne des droits de l’enfant - COMADE
    Report in: Français

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MARSHALL ISLANDS

Second Periodic Report 

On Monday, 22nd January, the Committee will examine the Marshall Islands' Second Periodic Report. The report (CRC/C/93/Add.8) is accessible in English, French and Spanish on the OHCHR website.

Alternative report

  • Briefing from Global Initiative to end all corporal punishment of children - Marshall Islands
    By: Global Intitiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children
    Report in: English

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SURINAME

Second Periodic Report 

On Wednesday, 24th January, the Committee will examine the Suriname's Second Periodic Report. The report (CRC/C/SUR/2) is accessible in English, French and Spanish on the OHCHR website.

Alternative reports

  • Briefing from Global Initiative to end all corporal punishment of children - Suriname
    By: Global Intitiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children
    Report in: English
  • Recommendations to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child - Suriname
    By: Child Helpline International
    Report in: English

  
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OPTIONAL PROTOCOLS

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COSTA RICA

Initial OPSC and OPAC reports

On Monday, 15th January, the Committee will examine the reports submitted by Costa Rica under article 12 (1) of the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (CRC/C/OPSC/CRI/1), and article 8 (1) of the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (CRC/C/OPAC/CRI/1). The reports accessible in English, French and Spanish on the OHCHR website.

Alternative report

  • Recommendations to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child - Costa Rica
    By: Child Helpline International
    Report in: English

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KYRGYZSTAN

Initial OPSC and OPAC reports 

On Monday, 29th January, the Committee will examine the reports submitted by Kyrgyzstan under article 12 (1) of the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (CRC/C/OPSC/KGZ/1), and article 8 (1) of the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (CRC/C/OPAC/KGZ/1). The reports accessible in English, French and Spanish on the OHCHR website.

There are no alternative reports available for Kyrgyzstan.

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OPAC: Review of States Parties reports [NGO publication]

[LONDON, November 2006] - The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict was adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by the UN General Assembly on 25 May 2000. It entered into force on 12 February 2002.

The protocol sets 18 as the minimum age for direct participation in hostilities, for compulsory recruitment by governments and for all recruitment into armed groups. States are obliged to raise the minimum voluntary recruitment age – from 15 years to a minimum of 16 years – but must deposit a binding declaration at the time of ratification setting out their minimum voluntary recruitment age and outlining safeguards to ensure that such recruitment is genuinely voluntary. The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers campaigns for States to adopt and implement the Optional Protocol in a manner that sets 18 years as the minimum age for all forms of military recruitment and use without exception or reservation. This is called the “straight-18 position”.

By May 2006, 121 States had signed and 107 States had ratified the Optional Protocol [respectively 122 and 110 as of 6th December 2006]. The number of governments legally recruiting children below the age of 18 into their armed forces has significantly reduced since the Optional Protocol was adopted. Recruitment of under-18s by non State armed groups has continued; processes to monitor and control such recruitment are more difficult to implement than for States.

States which have ratified the Optional Protocol must submit a report on its implementation to the Committee on the Rights of the Child within two years of ratification. This is known as the Initial Report. Further information on actions to implement the Protocol may be subsequently submitted to the Committee along with government reports on implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

This report reviews ten of the Initial Reports on the Optional Protocol which had been submitted to the Committee by March 2006. At the time of writing, seven had already been considered by the Committee and in these cases issues raised by the committee and its Concluding Observations are briefly summarised.

The review highlights a number of weaknesses in government initiatives to implement the Protocol, as well as identifying areas where the reports lacked detail or did not supply information on key elements of it. It suggests ways in which governments might strengthen legislative and other measures to protect children from all forms of military recruitment and use, as well as noting areas in which more detailed information would contribute to more constructive debate on government actions to effectively implement the Optional Protocol. The review concludes by offering a series of ways in which non-governmental organisations (NGOs) could contribute to the reporting process.

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=11649

For more information, contact:
Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers
2nd Floor, 2-12 Pentonville Road, London N1 9FP, UK
Tel: + 44 20 7713 2761
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.child-soldiers.org

Further informartion

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