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Summary: Compilation of joint oral statements delivered by the NGO Group for the CRC at the second session meeting with the Open-ended Working Group on an Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child 6-10 December 2010.
Joint statement – Closing Remarks on the Optional Protocol to the CRC Delivered on 10 December by Anita Goh, Advocacy Officer of the NGO Group for the CRC Mr Chairman, Thank you for giving me the floor. On behalf of the NGO Group for the Convention on Rights of the Child, a global network of 77 national and international child rights NGOs, I take this opportunity to offer our sincere thanks to you as Chairman of the Open-ended Working Group. We are particularly grateful for this week of important and constructive dialogue which we regard as a significant step towards consensus on the Optional Protocol. Under your stewardship the dialogue between States, experts, and non-governmental representatives has been open, constructive, and positive and has demonstrated the commitment of all the parties present to the fulfilment of children's rights under the Convention and its Optional Protocols. The rationale for having this new communications procedure is really to ensure that all children can have access to an international complaints mechanism that will address violations of their rights in an appropriate and child-sensitive manner, if national systems fail them. One issue of particular concern for the NGO Group is therefore the accessibility and effectiveness of the future communications procedure to all children, including those who will not have a legal guardian or identifiable parents, and for victims who might not be identifiable. On a symbolic day like today, Human Rights Day, we are confident that all States can commit to work towards creating an effective and accessible mechanism for all children. We look forward to further discussions in this vital mechanism in the coming weeks and months.