8 June 2006 - CRINMAIL 787
Special edition on the 42nd session of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
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- COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: 42nd session closes
- CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS: Committee issues its recommendations
- COUNTRY SUMMARIES: NGO Group session summaries by country
- GENERAL COMMENT: Committee issues General Comment on corporal punishment
- ARAB REGION: CRC Alternative Reporting and Follow-up on Concluding Observations
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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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COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: 42nd session closes
[GENEVA, 2 June 2006] - The Committee on the Rights of the Child concluded its forty-second session on Friday 2nd June, and issued its conclusions and recommendations on the situation of children in Latvia, Uzbekistan, Tanzania, Mexico, Lebanon, Turkmenistan, and Colombia, all of whose reports on efforts to comply with the Convention on the Rights of the Child were considered during the session.
The reports of Italy, Turkey, Qatar, and Iceland on efforts to comply with the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography were also examined. The Committee further took up the reports of El Salvador, Belgium, Italy and Iceland on efforts to comply with the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the involvement of children in armed conflict.
Also at its final meeting, the Committee issued a General Comment on corporal punishment, (see below) highlighting the obligation of all States parties to prohibit and eliminate all corporal punishment and all other cruel or degrading forms of punishment of children and outlining the legislative and other awareness-raising and educational measures that States must take. The Committee expected States to include in their periodic reports under the Convention information on measures taken to prohibit and prevent all corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment in the family and all other settings, including on related awareness-raising activities and promotion of positive, non-violent relationships and on the State’s evaluation of progress towards achieving full respect for children’s rights to protection against all forms of violence.
The Committee's next session will be held from 11 to 29 September at the Palais Wilson in Geneva. Scheduled for consideration are the reports of Samoa, Ethiopia, Oman, Kiribati, Swaziland, Senegal, Benin, Ireland, Republic of Congo and Jordan. Under the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, the reports of Denmark, Viet Nam and Syria are scheduled. Under the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, the reports of Kazakhstan, Viet Nam and Malta are scheduled for consideration.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8507&flag=news
Further information
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CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS: Committee issues its recommendations
The following Concluding Observations to the States parties reports considered at the 42nd Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child are available (in English) on the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. French and Spanish versions are forthcoming.
RECOMMENDATIONS ON CRC REPORTS
Colombia: CRC/C/COL/CO/3
Latvia: CRC/C/LVA/CO/2
Lebanon: CRC/C/LBN/CO/3
Mexico: CRC/C/MEX/CO/3
Turkmenistan: CRC/C/TKM/CO/1
Tanzania: CRC/C/TZA/CO/2
Uzbekistan: CRC/C/UZB/CO/2
RECOMMENDATIONS ON OPTIONAL PROTOCOLS REPORTS
Belgium: CRC/C/OPAC/BEL/CO/1 (OPAC)
Canada: CRC/C/OPAC/CAN/CO/1 (OPAC)
Czech Republic: CRC/C/OPAC/CZE/CO/1 (OPAC)
El Salvador: CRC/C/OPAC/SLV/CO/1 (OPAC)
Iceland: CRC/C/OPAC/ISL/CO/1 (OPAC) CRC/C/OPSC/ISL/CO/1 (OPSC)
Italy: CRC/C/OPAC/ITA/CO/1 (OPAC) CRC/C/OPSC/ITA/CO/1 (OPSC)
Qatar: CRC/C/OPSC/QAT/CO/1 (OPSC)
Turkey: CRC/C/OPSC/TUR/CO/1 (OPSC)
For more information, contact:
Committee on the Rights of the Child
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
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
Visit: http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/crcs42.htm
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COUNTRY SUMMARIES: NGO Group session summaries by country
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. All country reports are now available:
Friday 26 May: Colombia
Monday 15 May: El Salvador
Tuesday 16 May: Latvia
Tuesday 16 May: Italy
Wednesday 17 May: Turkey
Wednesday 17 May: Qatar
Friday 19 May: Uzbekistan
Friday 19 May: Tanzania
Tuesday 23 May: Mexico
Wednesday 24 May: Lebanon
Wednesday 24 May: Turmenistan
Friday 26 May: Iceland
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=7599&flag=report
Further information
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GENERAL COMMENT: Committee issues General Comment on corporal punishment
The Committee on the Rights of the Child ended its 42nd session last Friday and adopted a new General Comment (number 8) on The right of the child to protection from corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment.
The Committee regularly adopts general comments based on specific articles, provisions and themes of the Convention on the Rights of the Child to assist the States parties in fulfilling their obligations under the Convention and to stimulate international organisations and specialised agencies in achieving the full realisation of the rights recognised in the Convention.
Following its two General Discussion Days on violence against children, held in 2000 and 2001, the Committee on the Rights of the Child resolved to issue a series of General Comments concerning eliminating violence against children, of which General Comment 8 is the first.
The Committee aims to guide States parties in understanding the provisions of the Convention concerning the protection of children against all forms of violence. This General Comment focuses on corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment, which are currently very widely accepted and practiced forms of violence against children.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8495
Further information:
For more information, contact:
UN OHCHR - 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: www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/6/crc
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ARAB REGION: CRC Alternative Reporting and Follow-up on Concluding Observations
The Arab Resource Collective (ARC), in collaboration with Save the Children Sweden (SCS) and Save the Children Denmark (SCD) recently released a report on a regional workshop entitled "CRC Alternative Reporting and Follow-Up on Concluding Observations in Arab Countries", held between 28th September 2005 and 1st October 2005 in Broummana, Lebanon.
The workshop agenda was based on research studies conducted in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen and Jordan, and that examined the processes of CRC reporting and follow-up on Concluding Observations. The workshop aimed at building NGO capacity regarding alternative reporting and follow-up on Concluding Observations through the exchange of Arab country experiences and recommendations. Specifically, the workshop proposed to meet the following objectives:
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Promoting NGO follow-up on concluding observations
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Advancing CRC reporting procedures based on lesson learnt
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Improving networking and coalition-building among attending NGOs towards further development of reporting practices in Arab countries
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Advancing stakeholder knowledge of legislation, practice and recommended line of action
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Building stakeholder capacity in report writing, monitoring and advocacy
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Bringing about concrete outputs on which further action may be pursued
The workshop revolved around the application of reporting procedures in Arab countries. It thoroughly discussed the CRC Committee working mechanisms and the CRC NGO Group. The workshop tackled the reporting experiences of participating Arab NGOs, their achievements, needs and the challenges they faced in the reporting process, in addition to lessons learnt and follow-up on Concluding Observations. Special attention was allotted to the issue of child participation in reporting and follow-up on Concluding Observations. Research on CRC and alternative reporting in Arab countries was also presented. An action plan for each country was set at the end of the workshop.
The workshop verified that the reporting process has evolved into a vibrant national process that involves diverse contributions from government agencies, civil society and ntergovernmental organisations.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=8318
For more information, contact:
Samar Haidar, Child Rights Programme Coordinator
Arab Resource Collective (ARC) Lebanon
PO Box 13-5916, Beirut, Lebanon
Tel: +9611 742075; Fax: +9611 742077
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.mawared.org/english
Further information
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