5 February 2007 - CRINMAIL CRC 7: 44th session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child
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Session reports: Chile, Costa Rica, Honduras, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mali, Suriname
Committee on the Rights of the Child issues its Concluding Observations
General Comment No. 10: Children's Rights in Juvenile Justice
Elections to the Committee on the Rights of the Child to be held this month
Montenegro becomes the 193rd State Party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child
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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].
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Session reports: Chile, Costa Rica, Honduras, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mali, Suriname
The Committee on the Rights of the Child held its 44th session in Geneva, Switzerland from 15 January - 2 February 2007. The Committee has adopted recommendations on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Chile, Costa Rica, Honduras, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mali, the Marshall Islands and Suriname.
The NGO Group for the Convention of the Rights of the Child has produced summaries of the Committee sessions for each country. These are available on the CRIN website, on a news page devoted to the activities of the Committee on the Rights of the Child. Reports are available for: Chile (third periodic report), Costa Rica (OPSC and OPAC), Honduras (third periodic report), Kenya (second periodic report), Kyrgyzstan (OPAC), Malaysia (First Periodic Report), Mali (Second Periodic Report), Suriname (second periodic report). The remaining report from Kyrgyzstan on the OPSC will be posted when it becomes available.
There is no summary report available for the Marshall Islands as the government delegation did not attend the meeting and the Committee decided to examine the report of the Marshall Islands in a private technical review. This is the second time that the government has been absent from a Committee meeting.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/crcnews
Further information
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Committee on the Rights of the Child issues its Concluding Observations
The following Concluding Observations to the States parties reports considered at the 44th Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child are available (in English) on CRIN's website. French and Spanish versions are forthcoming.
CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
OPTIONAL PROTOCOLS
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=12465
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
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General Comment No. 10: Children's Rights in Juvenile Justice
The Committee on the Rights of the Child has published its General Comment number 10 on "Children's Rights in Juvenile Justice." 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.
In the reports they submit to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, States Parties often pay quite detailed attention to the rights of children alleged as, accused of, or recognised as having infringed the penal law, also referred to as ‘children in conflict with the law’. In line with the Committee’s guidelines for periodic reporting, the implementation of articles 37 and 40 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is the main focus of the information provided by the States Parties. The Committee notes with appreciation the many efforts to establish an administration of juvenile justice in compliance with the CRC. However, it is also clear that many States Parties still have a long way to go in achieving full compliance with the CRC, e.g. in the areas of procedural rights, the development and implementation of measures for dealing with children in conflict with the law without resorting to judicial proceedings, and the use of deprivation of liberty only as a measure of last resort.
The Committee is equally concerned about the lack of information on the measures that States Parties have taken to prevent children from coming into conflict with the law. This may be the result of a lack of a comprehensive policy for the field of juvenile justice. This may also explain why many States Parties are providing only (very) limited statistical data on the treatment of children in conflict with the law.
The experiences in reviewing the States Parties’ performances in the field of juvenile justice are the reason for this General Comment, by which the Committee wants to provide the States Parties with more elaborated guidance and recommendations for their efforts to establish an administration of juvenile justice in compliance with the CRC. This juvenile justice, which should promote inter alia the use of alternative measures such as diversion and restorative justice, will provide States Parties with possibilities to respond to children in conflict with the law in an effective manner serving not only the best interests of these children but also the short and long term interest of the whole society.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infodetail.asp?id=12462
Further information
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Elections to the Committee on the Rights of the Child to be held this month
The Committee on the Rights of the Child is composed of 18 independent experts with recognised competence in the field of human rights.
Members are elected for a term of four years by States parties in accordance with article 43 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Members serve in their personal capacity and may be re-elected if nominated.
The next meeting of States parties will be held at the United Nations in New York in February 2007 to elect members to replace the nine current members whose terms expire on 28 February 2007. These nine members are: Ms. Mary Alison Anderson (Jamaica), Mr. Jacob Egbert Doek (Chairperson from the Netherlands), Mr. Kamel Filali (Algeria), Ms. Moushira Khattab (Egypt), Mr. Hatem Kotrane (Tunisia), Mr. Lothar Krappmann (Germany), Mr. Norberto Liwski (Argentina), Ms. Rosa Maria Ortiz (Paraguay), and Ms. Awa N’Deye Ouedraogo (Burkina Faso).
Nominations of candidates for members of the Committee have been submitted by State Parties to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (see updated list below). The CVs of the nominees are available on the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
List of nominees (by chronological order of submission):
Ms. Rosalia Gil Fernandez - Costa Rica - nominated on 19 January 2006 (withdrawn November 2006)
Mr. Norberto Liwski - Argentina - nominated on 24 February 2006 (withdrawn on 14 November 2006)
Ms. Rosa Maria Ortiz - Paraguay - nominated on 29 March 2006
Ms. Ojobo Atuluku - Nigeria - nominated on 18 May 2006
Mr. Hatem Kotrane - Tunisia - nominated on 10 July 2006
Mr. Luigi Citarella - Italy - nominated on 14 July 2006
Ms. Lidija Topic - Bosnia and Herzegovina - nominated on 11 September 2006
Ms. Moushira Khattab - Egypt - nominated on 9 October 2006
Ms. Esmeralda Elizabeth Arosemena de Troitiño - Panama - nominated on 10 October 2006
Ms. Marie-Gisèle Zinkpe - Benin - nominated on 16 October 2006
Ms. Mariama Aribot - Guinea - nominated 17 October 2006
Ms. Agnes Akosua Aidoo - Ghana - nominated on 18 October 2006
Ms. Sylvie Kayitesi Zaïnebo - Rwanda - nominated on 19 October 2006
Mr. Lothar Friedrich Krappmann - Germany - nominated on 19 October 2006
Ms. Nakpa Polo - Togo - nominated on 20 October 2006
Ms. Marta Maurás Pérez - Chile - nominated on 20 October 2006
Ms. Maria Herczog - Hungary - nominated on 20 October 2006
Mr. Kamel Filali - Algeria - nominated on 20 October 2006
Ms. Itumelen Kimane - Lesotho - nominated on 23 October 2006
Mr. Dainius Puras - Lithuania - nominated on 25 October 2006
Ms. Lourdes G. Balanon - Philippines - nominated on 25 October 2006
Ms. Ruth Farrugia - Malta - nominated on 26 October 2006
Mr. Ghassan Salim Rabah - Lebanon - nominated on 30 October 2006
Mr. Robert Vincent Makaramba - United Republic of Tanzania - nominated 14 November 2006 (withdrawn on 30 January 2007)
Ms. Harimisa Razafindrakoto - Madagascar - nominated on 20 November 2006
Ms. Mirna Yolanda Lorenzana Arriaga de Gonzalez - Guatemala - nominated on 22 November 2006
Ms Mary Clarke - Jamaica - nominated on 11 January 2007
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=10947&flag=news
Further information
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Montenegro becomes the 193rd State Party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child
Montenegro has become the 193rd State Party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
Formerly part of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, the Republic of Montenegro held a referendum on full independence from the union on 21 May 2006. It was granted admission to the UN as the 192nd Member State by a vote of the General Assembly on 28 June 2006. The seat formerly occupied by Serbia and Montenegro passed to the Republic of Serbia.
The only two States which have not ratified the CRC are the United States and Somalia.
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=12424&flag=news
Further information
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