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Committee on Rights of Child to meet in Geneva from 11 to 29 Sep 2006

Situation of Child Rights in Samoa, Ethiopia, Oman, Kiribati, Swaziland, Senegal, Republic of Congo, Benin, Ireland and Jordan to be Reviewed

The Committee on the Rights of the Child will meet at the Palais Wilson in Geneva from 11 to 29 September to review the promotion and protection of children's rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Samoa, Ethiopia, Oman, Kiribati, Swaziland, Senegal, Congo, Benin, Ireland and Jordan.

The promotion and protection of children's rights under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography in Syria, Denmark and Viet Nam will be reviewed. The promotion and protection of children's rights under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the involvement of children in armed conflict in Kazakhstan and Viet Nam will also be reviewed. A technical review will be held on Malta's report under the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict.

The Committee was formed in 1991 to monitor the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which gives a comprehensive collection of children's rights the force of international law. The countries scheduled to come before the Committee at this session are among the 192 to have ratified or acceded to the Convention. The treaty is the most widely accepted international human rights instrument. Only Somalia and the United States have not ratified it. States parties to the Convention are expected to send representatives to the Committee to present periodic reports on national efforts to give effect to children's rights.

The Committee's 18 Experts will start the session by approving their agenda and programme of work. The Committee will be meeting in two concurrent chambers to help overcome the backlog in consideration of reports.

Samoa, Kiribati, Swaziland, and Congo are presenting their initial reports; Oman, Senegal, Benin and Ireland are presenting second periodic reports; and Ethiopia and Jordan are presenting their third periodic reports. Kazakhstan and Malta are presenting their initial reports under the Convention's Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict; Syria and Denmark are presenting their initial reports under the Convention's Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; and Viet Nam is presenting initial reports to both Optional Protocols.

The Committee will hold a day of general discussion devoted to the issue of "The right of the child to be heard", which will take place on Friday, 15 September 2006. An outline for that discussion can be found in document CRC/C/41/3, annex II. Other related documentation for the discussion can be found on the Committee's web page at www.ohchr.org.

Also during the session, the Committee will pursue its discussion of ways and areas in which existing cooperation with various relevant bodies could be further strengthened to enhance the promotion and protection of the rights of the child. The Committee will also pursue its discussion concerning the organization of its future work, as well as the procedure to be followed in the consideration of reports by States parties and their follow-up, including where necessary areas identified for technical assistance. The Committee will also pursue the elaboration of general comments based on the various principles and provisions of the Convention. Other matters related to the work of the Committee will be discussed as necessary.

The Committee took up the second periodic report of Ethiopia on 2 January 2001, and the final conclusions on it can be found in document CRC/C/15/Add.144; the initial report of Oman was taken up on 1 September 2001, and the Committee's final conclusions on it can be found in document CRC/C/15/Add.161; the initial report of Senegal was taken up on 1 November 1995, and the Committee's final conclusions on it can be found in document CRC/C/15/Add.44; the initial report of Benin was taken up on 1 May 1999, and the Committee's final conclusions on it can be found in document CRC/C/15/Add.106; the initial report of Ireland was taken up on 1 January 1998, and the Committee's final conclusions on it can be found in document CRC/C/15/Add.85; and the second report of Jordan was taken up on 2 May 2000, and the Committee's final conclusions on it can be found in document CRC/C/15/Add.125.

Convention on the Rights of the Child

The General Assembly adopted the Convention unanimously on 20 November 1989, 30 years after the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of the Child. The Convention renders States parties legally accountable for their actions towards children. Work on drafting the Convention began in 1979 - the International Year of the Child - at the Commission on Human Rights.

The Convention was opened for signature on 26 January 1990. That day, 61 countries signed it, a record first-day response. It entered into force just seven months later, on 2 September 1990.

Ratifying the Convention entails reviewing national legislation to make sure it is in line with the provisions of the treaty. The Convention stipulates, among other things, that every child has the right to life, and that States shall ensure the maximum child survival and development; that every child has the right to a name and nationality from birth; and that when courts, welfare institutions or administrative authorities deal with children, the child's best interests shall be a primary consideration. The Convention also recognizes the right of children to be heard.

Furthermore, States shall ensure that each child enjoys full rights without discrimination or distinction of any kind, and shall ensure that children not be separated from their parents, unless by competent authorities for their well-being. In addition, States shall facilitate reunification of families by permitting travel into, or out of, their territories; and States shall protect children from physical or mental harm and neglect, including sexual abuse or exploitation.

Also according to the Convention, disabled children shall have the right to special treatment, education and care; primary education shall be free and compulsory and discipline in school should respect the child's dignity; capital punishment or life imprisonment shall not be imposed for crimes committed before the age of 18; no child under 15 should take any part in hostilities and children exposed to armed conflict shall receive special protection; and children of minority and indigenous populations shall freely enjoy their own cultures, religions and languages.

In May 2000, the General Assembly adopted the two Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. The Optional Protocols entered into force in 2002. Currently, 108 countries have ratified the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict; 107 have ratified the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

At its fifty-ninth session (2004), the UN General Assembly agreed to the request of the Committee to work simultaneously in two chambers during 2006 (starting with the pre-sessional working group meeting of October 2005) in order to increase the working capacity of the Committee and decrease the existing backlog of reports (see A/59/499). The Chairperson of the Committee will present an oral statement to the sixty-first session of the General Assembly on the Committee's assessment of its work in two chambers.

Committee Membership

The Convention requires that the members of the Committee have a high moral standing and recognized competence in the field of children's rights. The following Experts, nominated by the States parties to serve in their personal capacity, have been elected to the Committee: Ghalia Mohd Bin Hamad Al-Thani (Qatar), Joyce Aluoch (Kenya), Mary Alison Anderson (Jamaica); Jacob Egbert Doek (the Netherlands), Kamel Filali (Algeria), Moushira Khattab (Egypt), Hatem Kotrane (Tunisia), Lothar Friedrich Krappmann (Germany), Yanghee Lee (Republic of Korea), Norberto Liwski (Argentina), Rosa Maria Ortiz (Paraguay), Awa N'Deye Ouedraogo (Burkina Faso), David Brent Parfitt (Canada), Awich Pollar (Uganda), Kamal Siddiqui (Bangladesh), Lucy Smith (Norway), Nevena Vuckovic-Sahovic (Republic of Serbia) and Jean Zermatten (Switzerland).

Mr. Doek is the Chairperson. While the Committee is meeting in two chambers, Mr. Doek is also Chairperson for Chamber A. Ms. Khattab is the Chairperson for Chamber B. Ms. Aluoch, Ms. Khattab, Ms. Lee, and Mr. Liwski are Vice Chairpersons, and Ms. Vuckovic-Sahovic is the Rapporteur.

Tentative Timetable for Consideration of Reports

Following is a tentative timetable for the consideration of reports from States parties to the Convention during this session:

Monday, 11 September Chamber A Chamber B
3 p.m. Kazakhstan OPAC Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict. Malta OPAC (technical review)

Tuesday, 12 September
10 a.m Samoa Ethiopia
3 p.m. Samoa Ethiopia

Wednesday, 13 September
10 a.m. Oman Kiribati
3 p.m. Oman Kiribati

Friday, 15 September
10 a.m. Day of General Discussion Day of General Discussion
3 p.m. (continued) (continued)

Monday, 18 September
10 a.m. Swaziland Senegal
3 p.m. Swaziland Senegal

Tuesday, 19 September
10 a.m. Congo Syria OPSC‡‡ Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.
3 p.m. Congo Denmark OPSC

Wednesday, 20 September
10 a.m. Benin Ireland
3 p.m. Benin Ireland

Friday, 22 September
10 a.m. Viet Nam OPAC/OPSC Jordan
3 p.m. Viet Nam OPAC/OPSC Jordan

For use of the information media; not an official record