Elections to the Committee on the Rights of the Child: call for NGO participation

Call for NGO contributions

InFebruary 2007, the terms of nine members of the Committee on the Rights of the Child will expire. These 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).

The eleventh meeting of State Parties will be held in New York on 21 February 2007 to elect members to replace the nine current members whose terms expire in February 2007. 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 should be available in the near future on the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child recommends that national non-governmental organisations and international NGOs play a role in ensuring the creation of a well-balanced, effective and hard-working Committee. The NGO Group for the CRC is therefore requesting an indication of support for the nominated candidates 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 allies, neighbours 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 emphasises the inter-relationship and inter-dependence of all articles in 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.

We would appreciate it if you could transmit this request for information to your contacts in the countries that have nominated candidates. Any information that could be provided 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 summarised and circulated anonymously, so candid responses are encouraged. 

The NGO Group for the CRC would be pleased to provide you with any additional information you may need and looks forward to your urgent response to this matter.

For more informations, contact:
Laura Theytaz-Bergman
Liaison Unit Programme
NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child
1 rue de Varembé, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 740 4730; Fax: +41 22 740 1145
Email: [email protected] 
Website: http://www.crin.org/NGOGroupforCRC

 
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

Further information

• OHCHR: List of nominees 
• NGO Group Factsheet: Information for NGOs Regarding Elections to the Committee on the Rights of the Child - Français / Español
• 11th Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 21 February 2007, UN Headquarters, New York
• Website of the Committee on the Rights of the Child
• CRIN / NGO Group CRC news page