Submitted by crinadmin on
Summary: On 28 February 2003, the terms of
five members of the Committee on
the Rights of the Child will expire.
Elections for new members will be
held during a meeting of States
Parties on 10 February. The NGO
Group for the Convention on the
Rights of the Child recommends that
national NGOs play a role in ensuring
the creation of a well-balanced,
effective and hard working
Committee.On 28 February 2003, the terms of five members of the
Committee on the Rights of the Child will expire. These are Mr.
Jacob Doek (Netherlands), Ms. Moushira Khattab (Egypt), Ms.
Judith Karp (Israel), Ms. Awa Ouedraogo (Burkina Faso) and Ms.
Elisabeth Tigerstedt-Tahtela (Finland). Elections for new
members will be held during a meeting of States Parties on 10
February 2003. In accordance with the amendment to article 43
(2) increasing the number of Committee members from ten to
eighteen, elections will be held for thirteen seats rather than for
five provided that the last acceptance needed is received prior to
the meeting of States Parties.
Nominations of candidates for members of the Committee have
been submitted by States Parties to the Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights. The updated list is attached
below. The CVs of the nominees should be available in the near
future on the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights at http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/6/crc/ .
The NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child
recommends that national non-governmental organizations play
a role in ensuring the creation of a well-balanced, effective and
hard working Committee. It is therefore requesting an indication
of support for the candidate nominated by your country in terms
of the following list of proposed criteria for potential members of
the Committee.
Nominees should have a demonstrated expertise in the field of
human rights, particularly children’s rights, in the course of their
work and other activities. An understanding of international
United Nations mechanisms would also be useful.
Nominees should be independent and impartial. Although
members serve in a personal capacity, there is a need for
Committee members to be independent in relation to their
country of nationality as well as where their government takes
strong positions on human rights in relation to its allies,
neighbors and adversaries. It is for this reason that the
nomination of senior government officials should be avoided
whenever possible.
Nominees should have the ability to devote sufficient time to
the work of the Committee. Committee members are required to
spend three intense four-week sessions in Geneva, Switzerland
each year and are subject to additional demands on their time
because of their position and expertise. In addition, there is a
considerable amount of time needed to study the numerous
documents in order to be prepared for the Committee sessions.
Considering the wide range of rights guaranteed by the
Convention, nominees should be from a variety of professional
backgrounds. The Committee has adopted a holistic approach,
which emphasizes the inter-relationship and interdependence of
all articles of the Convention. Nominees should therefore have a
well-rounded and wide-ranging background.
Nominees who have experience working with NGOs would be
most welcome.
Nominees should have an awareness and sensitivity to cultural
differences.
Nominees must be fluent in one of the three official working
languages of the Committee, which are English, French and
Spanish. It is desirable that French and Spanish speakers have a
basic command of English in order to be able to examine
documents that have not yet been translated into other working
languages.
Any information that you could provide beyond the CV of the
nominated person would be of use in lobbying States Parties to
vote for the best candidates. The information provided will be
summarized and circulated anonymously, in hopes of candid
responses.
List of nominates
(by chronological order of submission)
1. Mrs. Lois L. BRUTHUS (Liberia) 1 May 2002
2. Mr. Awich-POLLAR (Uganda) 18 July 2002
3. Mrs. Moushira KHATTAB (Egypt) 4 September 2002
4. Mr. Kamel FILALI (Algeria) 7 October 2002
5. Mr. Jakob Egbert DOEK (the Netherlands) 17 October 2002
6. Mrs. Lucy SMITH (Norway) 17 October 2002
7. Mr. Lothar Friedrich KRAPPMANN (Germany) 17 October 2002
8. Mrs. Judith KARP (Israel) 17 October 2002
9. Mr. Hatem KOTRANE (Tunisia) 21 October 2002
10. Mrs. Nevena VUCKOVIC-SAHOVIC (Yugoslavia) 23 October
2002
11. Mrs. Awa N’DEYE OUEDRAOGO (Burkina Faso) 25 October 2002
12. Ms. Yanghee LEE (Republic of Korea) 28 October 2002
13. Mr. Norberto LIWSKI (Argentina) 28 October 2002
14. Ms. Velina TODOROVA (Bulgaria) 28 October 2002
15. Ms. Silvia IZQUIERDO (Uruguay) 28 October 2002
16. Ms. Mazen KADRAH (Syrian Arab Republic) 29 October 2002
17. Ms. Joyce ALUOCH (Kenya) 29 October 2002
18. Mr. Nathan STIRLING (Australia) 30 October 2002
19. Ms. Attiat Mustafa Abdul HALIM (Sudan) 30 October
20. Ms. Rosa Maria ORTIZ (Paraguay) 30 October
21. Mr. Ertan KAHRAMANOGLU (Turkey) 31 October
22. Ms. Marjorie TAYLOR (Jamaica) 31 October
23. Ms. Thérèse-Françoise ENGAMBE (Congo) 31 October (to be
confirmed)
24. Ms. Galina CHIRINCIUC (Moldova) 1 November
25. Mrs. Rusudan BERIDZE (Georgia) 1 November
26. Mr. Jean ZERMATTEN (Switzerland) 1 November
27. Mrs. Ewa Miroslawa KATNA (Poland) 1 November
28. Mrs. Ann Therese NDONG-JATTA (The Gambia) 1 November
29. Mrs. Gabriela COMAN (Romania) 8 November
Latest Update: 8 November 2002