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Summary: 19 July – East Timorese officials
today told a United Nations meeting
on children that the new nation was
on the verge of adopting an
international treaty that protects the
rights of youngsters.
19 July – East Timorese officials today told a United Nations
meeting on children that the new nation was on the verge of
adopting an international treaty that protects the rights of
youngsters.
The announcement was made at a briefing by the UN Children's
Fund (UNICEF) on "The Protection of East Timorese Children and
the Convention on the Rights of the Child." The event in Dili drew
a wide range of government and UN officials, civil society groups
and journalists.
East Timorese Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri told the briefing that the
Convention on the Rights of the Child is currently being
considered by Parliament, which he expects will soon endorse
East Timor's adoption of the measure.
The Prime Minister also said he hoped that the current generation
of East Timor's children that have been raised in a climate of
violence will now be able to enjoy the country's newly achieved
stability.
Mehr Kahn, the Director of UNICEF's Southeast Asia regional
office, opened the briefing by congratulating East Timor's
government for moving quickly since the country's independence
to bring about improvements and take many new and important
initiatives.
Ms. Khan also said she was "very encouraged to learn that when
East Timor takes its place in the United Nations General Assembly
in September, the Government hopes to be able to accede to the
Convention on the Rights of the Child as well as other human
rights instruments."
She also said she was pleased to see that East Timor's recently
adopted Constitution explicitly recognizes many of the
fundamental rights enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of
the Child.
Association: UN News Centre