1 June 2006 - CRINMAIL 785
Special Edition on the 42nd Session of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
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- SESSION REPORTS: Iceland, Italy, El Salvador, Latvia, Mexico, Qatar, Turkey, Uzbekistan
- TREATY BODY REFORM: Statement by Jane Connors, Senior Human Rights Officer
- DAY OF GENERAL DISCUSSION 2006: The Right of the Child to Be Heard
- UNICEF: Preliminary Findings of a Global Study on the Implementation of the CRC
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Your submissions are welcome if you are working in the area of child rights. To contribute, email us at [email protected]. Adobe Acrobat is required for viewing some of the documents, and if required can be downloaded from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html 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.
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SESSION REPORTS: Iceland, Italy, El Salvador, Latvia, Mexico, Qatar, Turkey, Uzbekistan
[1 June 2006] - The Committee on the Rights of the Child is currently holding its 42nd session in Geneva, Switzerland. The session will end tomorrow, with the adoption of recommendations on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Belgium, Canada, Colombia, the Czech Republic, El Salvador, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lebanon, Mexico, Qatar, Turkmenistan, Tanzania, Turkey and Uzbekistan. The Marshall Islands meeting was cancelled.
The NGO Group for the Convention of the Rights of the Child is producing summaries of the Committee sessions for each country. These are being made available on the CRIN website, on a news page devoted to the activities of the Committee on the Rights of the Child. Reports for Iceland (OPSC and OPAC), Italy (OPSC and OPAC), El Salvador (OPAC), Latvia (2nd periodic report), Mexico (3rd periodic report), Qatar (OPSC), Turkey (OPSC) and Uzbekistan (2nd periodic report), are already available. The remaining session reports will be posted on the CRIN website as they become available.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/crcnews
Further information
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TREATY BODY REFORM: Statement by Jane Connors, Senior Human Rights Officer
In the opening meeting of the Committee's 42nd session, on Monday 15 June, Jane Connors, Senior Human Rights Officer of the Treaties and Commission Branch of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights updated those attending the session on the newly created Human Rights Council, the reform of the treaty bodies and the Study on Violence against Children:
Human Rights Council
In her opening statement, Ms. Connors said that as a result of the adoption of a historic General Assembly resolution in March, the new Human Rights Council would replace the Commission on Human Rights, which would formally cease to exist on 16 June 2006. It was foreseen that the Council would convene three times per year in Geneva, in contrast with the annual session of the Commission. It would also have the possibility of special sessions convening with the agreement of one-third of the Members.
It was envisaged that the Council would retain the system of independent special procedures, and in addition, would establish a new system of universal human rights reviews of Member States. While it was not certain at the current stage what impact that would have on the work of the treaty bodies, the High Commissioner believed that the universal review mechanism was likely to bring considerable attention to the work of the Committee, for it would be natural for a human rights review to begin with the independent assessments made by international expert bodies.
Treaty body reform
After initial consultations with treaty bodies and other actors, the High Commissioner had now finalised her concept paper for a unified standing treaty body, Ms. Connors said. The High Commissioner would very much welcome any reactions and suggestions the Committee might have on her paper. A first brainstorming meeting on the concept paper had taken place with Member States on 5 April, and with non-governmental organisations on 6 April. The issue would be discussed during the 5th inter-committee meeting and 18th meeting of the chairpersons, 19-23 June 2006. The Government of Liechtenstein had offered to host an informal brainstorming meeting on the paper from 14 to 16 June 2006.
Ms. Connors said that while discussions on the High Commissioner’s proposals on a unified standing treaty body were on-going, efforts to strengthen the human rights treaty reporting system initiated pursuant to the Secretary-General’s 2002 reform proposal were continuing. The treaty bodies had been considering harmonised guidelines for reporting. The High Commissioner’s Plan of Action emphasised the need to finalise and implement the harmonised guidelines so that the treaty bodies could begin to function as a unified system.
The Office of the High Commissioner had continued to make efforts to help raise awareness of the human rights treaty body system among NGOs, national human rights institutions and the media, Ms. Connors said. The Office continued to advance the treaty body system through its traditional form of engagement – through the technical cooperation activities of its 40 country and regional field presences – by promoting ratification of the treaties as well as encouraging reporting thereto. At the same time, from Headquarters, the Office continued to implement a major programme that would work with them to help national actors make best use of the treaty monitoring process prior to sessions. In that context, a regional workshop on follow-up treaty body recommendations had been held in Nairobi, from 22 to 24 February 2006 for Africa.
UN Study on Violence against Children
Turning to the Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children, which was entering its final phase, Ms. Connors said discussions were taking place at various levels to determine how best to ensure efficient mechanisms to follow-up the recommendations of the Study and ensure that the momentum gained through the regional consultations and other numerous activities was maintained. The Independent Expert was currently working to consolidate the main recommendations and core strategies in order to ensure global impact and strong follow-up to the Study Report.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8296
Further information
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DAY OF GENERAL DISCUSSION 2006: The Right of the Child to Be Heard
The Committee on the Rights of the Child is devoting its next day of general discussion to the theme of the child's right to be heard. The meeting will take place at the Palais Wilson in Geneva, on Friday, 15 September 2006, during the Committee's 43rd session. The meeting is open to NGOs, children's organisations/networks, UN agencies, governments and other interested individuals, experts and organisations. Please note that the deadline for registration is now 15 August 2006.
The aim of the 2006 general discussion will be to explore the meaning of article 12 of the Convention (on the child's opinion), focus on identifying gaps, good practices and priority issues and promote child participation at all levels. The day will be structured in two working groups that will address the following sub-themes:
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the child's right to be heard in judicial and administrative proceedings including those related to civil and criminal law, family and alternative care, protection, health, immigration status and schooling
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children as active participants in society in various settings such as family, school, associations and politics
NGOs and children are invited to submit written contributions on the themes above to the Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR) before 30 June 2006. Contributions will be posted on CRIN's website in collaboration with the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Oral contributions from NGOs are also welcome during the day itself but should be limited to interventions in the debate rather than formal statements.
On this occasion, CRIN would like to get in touch with youth-led organisations, networks and media with a view to exchange more information on child participation and give young people a space for exchanging information on the CRIN website. CRIN is inviting children's organisations that are interested and/or involved in the discussion day to contact [email protected], we are particularly interested to hear from children and young people's media organisations.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6473&flag=event
For registration and to submit written contributions, please contact:
Secretariat, Committee on the Rights of the Child
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/discussion.htm
For questions regarding NGO contributions, please contact:
Laura Theytaz-Bergman
NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child
Email: [email protected]
Further information
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UNICEF: Preliminary Findings of a Global Study on the Implementation of the CRC
The UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre has undertaken a 3-year study on the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Preliminary findings, to be published in full at the end of this year, show that a considerable process of social change has been set in motion.
The study, which encompasses 62 countries from all parts of the world, is largely based on the reports of States Parties to the CRC Committee and the Committee’s concluding comments on them. It addresses the general measures of implementation of the Convention, which include law reform; establishment of national independent human-rights institutions for children, national plans of action, and coordinating bodies; allocation of resources for children; monitoring mechanisms on implementation of the Convention; awareness raising and advocacy; and measurement of the involvement of civil society, including children, in the realisation of children’s rights.
[Source: The Lancet]
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8119
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