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Summary: The Child Rights Caucus sends letter
imploring the United States
government not to further impede
progress of nations on the Outcome
Document.
Open Letter to the Honorable Tommy Thompson, US Secretary of
Health and Human Services and the United States delegation to
the UN Special Session on Children:
As non-governmental organizations from the U.S. and around the
world that are devoted to promoting and protecting the rights of
children, we are deeply disappointed in the position that the
United States has taken during the negotiations on the outcome
document for the Special Session related to the Convention on
the Rights of the Child, sexual and reproductive health education
and services, and the death penalty. These positions neither
reflect the reality of children’s lives, nor the international
framework of children’s rights that has developed over the last
twelve years. By rigidly maintaining its positions on these issues,
the United States is putting the success of this Special Session in
jeopardy.
We welcome the United States’ support of the Optional Protocols
to the Convention, and its ratification of ILO Convention 182 on
the Worst Forms of Child Labor. However, the US’ attempt to
sideline the Convention on the Rights of the Child in the outcome
document is an attack against the global consensus on the
human rights of children that has built over the last twelve years.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child is not only the most
comprehensive international legal standard for children, but also
the most rapidly and widely ratified treaty in history. It is the
logical starting point and centerpiece of any international plan of
action for children. Although not a state party, the United States
should acknowledge the Convention’s international significance
as the global standard for children’s rights.
The US’ position of promoting abstinence as the primary strategy
for dealing with adolescent sexuality is both naïve and
inappropriate. For the millions of girls who marry before age 18 or
who are forced into sexual relationships, abstinence is not an
option, and lack of access to appropriate education and services
can be life-threatening. At previous international conferences,
governments including the United States agreed that adolescents
have the right to sexual and reproductive health education,
information and services. This right should be reaffirmed.
We regret that the United States is one of a very few countries
that continues to use the death penalty for offenses committed
before the age of eighteen. We welcome the fact that some US
states are ending this practice, as have the vast majority of
countries around the world. The international community has
nearly universally condemned the use of capital punishment
against juvenile offenders. This norm should be acknowledged in
the outcome document.
The Outcome Document of this U. N. Special Session on children
has the potential to have strong influence on government policies
and children’s lives worldwide. Like all other countries, the
United States may register reservations on particular paragraphs
of the outcome document. We implore the United States
government to use the recognized U.N. process for reservations
and not to further impede progress of nations on the Outcome
Document.
The Child Rights Caucus encompasses hundreds of national and
international non-governmental organizations from around the
world that are committed to promoting and protecting the rights
of children.