7 March 2002, CRINMAIL 363: Special Edition on the Committee on the Rights of the Child - COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: Day of General Discussion ? The Private Sector [theme day cover note] - COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: Recommendation Adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child on Methods of Work [document] - OPTIONAL PROTOCOL: Guidelines Regarding Initial Reports: Optional Protocol to the CRC on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography [reporting guidelines] - NGO ALTERNATIVE REPORTS [CRIN website] - UNCRC: Amendment to the Convention on the Rights of the Child [document] Your submissions are welcome if you are working in the area of child rights. To contribute, email us at info@crin.org. Please note that we are unable to respond to emails addressed to crinmail_english@domeus.co.uk --------------------------------------------------- - COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: Day of General Discussion ? The Private Sector [theme day cover note] The Committee on the Rights of the Child has decided to devote its next day of general discussion to the theme of the Private Sector as Service Provider and its Role in Implementing Child Rights. The meeting will take place at the Palais Wilson in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday, 20 September 2002. The meeting is open to the public and representatives of UN programs, and agencies, NGOs, governments and other interested individuals and organisations are welcome to attend. In light of the theme for the upcoming discussion, representatives of the private sector as well as international financial institutions are particularly encouraged to attend. The focus of the general discussion will be on the impact of the increasing participation of private sector actors in the provision and funding of traditional state functions and the issues arising from the privatisation of services. The main objectives will be to examine the different types of partnerships and assess the positive and negative impact this has on the realisation of children's rights. There is also the need to explore the legal obligations of States Parties in the context of privatisation including with respect to ensuring equal and affordable access as well as the quality and sustainability of services. The third objective is to assess the implications of private sector involvement in service provision on governance issues, including accountability, transparency and independence. Finally, the Committee would like to look at best practices in order to identify possible models of implementation for States Parties. A copy of the outline for the day of general discussion is available online at: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/6/crcdod4.htm NGOs are invited to submit written contributions to the Office of the High Commissioner as soon as possible, and before 28 June 2002. Although documents may be submitted in English, French or Spanish, they will not be translated into the other languages. If possible, documents should be sent electronically. Oral contributions from NGOs are also welcome during the day itself but should be limited to interventions in the debate rather than formal statements. As the meeting is open to the public, written invitations will not be issued by the United Nations or the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child. For security reasons and due to limited space, attendance at the meeting requires advance registration. To register, please send your name, organisation and contact details by email to the Office of the High Commissioner before 13 September 2002. Please note that there is no funding available for travel expenses either from the United Nations or the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child. For registration and to submit written contributions, please contact: Committee on the Rights of the Child - Secretariat Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights-UNOG CH-1211 Geneva 10 - Switzerland E-mail: klucke.hchr@unog.ch or khemmerich.hchr@unog.ch If you have any questions, please contact: Laura Theytaz-Bergman CRC/NGO Liaison Officer NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child P.O. Box 88, CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland E-mail: NGO-CRC@tiscalinet.ch Go to: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=2469&flag=news --------------------------------------------------- - COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: Recommendation Adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child on Methods of Work [document] At the 29th session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (14 January ? 1 February 2002), the Committee on the Rights of the Child adopted a Recommendation on Methods of Work. With this, the Committee recognised the need to support States parties to ensure that they comply with the strict timeline of the reporting procedure to the Convention (article 44.1). The Recommendation includes the following rules, which apply only in exceptional circumstances to help State parties adhere to the strict reporting periodicity of the Convention. Expressing the need to support States parties in an effort to ensure compliance with the strict timeframe established by the Convention (article 44.1.), the Committee on the Rights of the Child ? 1. Decides to inform States parties in the related concluding observations adopted by the Committee about the deadline for the submission of their second and, where appropriate, following periodic reports.' 2. Therefore, decides to apply the following rules: ?(i) when the second periodic report is due within a year after the dialogue with the Committee, the State party shall be requested to submit that report combined with the third one. This rule also applies (mutatis mutandis) when a similar situation occurs with the third and fourth periodic reports.? ?(ii) when the second periodic report is already due at the time of the dialogue and the third report is due 2 years or more after the dialogue with the State party, the State party shall be requested to submit the combined second and third reports at the time when the third report is due as prescribed under the terms of the Convention. This rule also applies (mutatis mutandis) in cases when the second and third reports are due at the time of the dialogue.? The Recommendation can be viewed at: www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/6/crcrecom.htm#29th For more information, contact: UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, OHCHR-UNOG, 8-14 Avenue de la Paix, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland. Tel: 00 41 22 917 9000; Fax: 00 41 22 917 9016; Website: www.unhchr.ch --------------------------------------------------- - OPTIONAL PROTOCOL: Guidelines Regarding Initial Reports: Optional Protocol to the CRC on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography [reporting guidelines] The reporting guidelines for the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography were adopted at the 29th Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child [14 January ? 1 February 2002]. The guidelines state that ?each State Party shall, within two years following the entry into force of this Protocol for that State Party, submit a report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child providing comprehensive information on the measures it has taken to implement the provisions of the Optional Protocol. Thereafter, pursuant to article 12 (2) of the Optional Protocol, States Parties shall include in the reports they submit to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in accordance with article 44 (1)(b) of the Convention any further information with respect to the implementation of the Optional Protocol. State Parties to the Optional Protocol, who are not parties to the Convention, shall submit a report every five years?. The guidelines can be viewed online at: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/6/crcart12(1) For further information, contact: UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights - Committee on the Rights of the Child 8-14 Avenue de la Paix, CH 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland. Tel: 00 41 22 917 9000 ; Fax: 00 41 22 917 9016; Email: pdavid.hchr@unog.ch Website: www.unhchr.ch See: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=2470&flag=legal ---------------------------------------------------- - NGO ALTERNATIVE REPORTS [CRIN website] Reports submitted by NGOs to the Committee on the Rights of the Child are made available on the CRIN website, in partnership with the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child. These reports, which are known as NGO Alternative Reports, provide expert advice on the implementation of the Convention in areas falling within the scope of their respective mandates. The reports are submitted in accordance with article 45(a) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states that ?The Committee may invite the specialized agencies, the United Nations Children's Fund and other competent bodies as it may consider appropriate to provide expert advice on the implementation of the Convention in areas falling within the scope of their respective mandates.? The reports can be searched by country, CRC session or by NGO on the CRIN website. Go to: http://www.crin.org/resources/treaties/CRC.asp?catName=International+Treatie s&flag=legal&ID=6 Alternative NGO reports submitted to the 29th Session of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child concerning the following countries are available in pdf and word format at the following links. INITIAL REPORT Greece http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=2460 [English] Contact: Amnesty International - Greek Section, 30 Sina Street, 106 72 Athens, Greece. Tel: 00 301 36 00 628; Fax: 301 36 38 016; Email: info@amnesty.gr http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=2461 [English] Contact: Greek Helsinki Monitor , P.O. Box 60820, 15304 Glyka Nera, Greece. Tel: 00 301 347 2259; Fax: 00 301 601 8760; Email: panayote@greekhelsinki.gr; Website: www.greekhelsinki.gr Mozambique http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=2463 [English] Contact: Save the Children Norway ? Mozambique, PO Box 160, Mutare, Mozambique. Tel: 00 258 1 494805; Fax: 00 258 1 497231; Email: scn.maputo@teledata.mz SECOND PERIODIC REPORTS Lebanon http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=2462 [English] Contact: Coordination Forum of NGOs Working among the Palestinian Community, P.O. Box 14-5792, Code 1105-2070, Beirut, Lebanon. Tel: 00 961 1 816115; Fax: 00 961 1 815636; Email: CCFPCL@cyberia.net.lb Chile http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=2459 [Spanish] http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=2464 [English] Contact: Fundacion Para la Proteccion de la Infancia Danada por los Estados de Emergencia, Casilla 599-11, Santiago, Chile. Tel: 00 56 2 204 2735; Fax: 00 56 2 225 8752; Email: pidee@terra.cl; Website: www.pidee.web.cl http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=2465 [Spanish] Contact: Fundacion Instituto de la Mujer , Tel: 00 562 222 4946; Email: xzavala@insmujer.cl ; For further information, see: http://www.crin.org/resources/treaties/list.asp?ID=17&type=session and An archive of previous NGO Alternative Reports is available at: http://www.crin.org/docs/resources/treaties/crc.25/annex-vi-crin.htm ---------------------------------------------------- - UNCRC: Amendment to the Convention on the Rights of the Child [document] In May 1995, the Government of Costa Rica proposed an increase in the membership of the Committee on the Rights of the Child. It presented an amendment to article 43, paragraph 2 that would raise the number of members from ten to eighteen. Only fourteen more notifications are needed in order for the amendment to article 43.2 to enter into force. There is a new push to find the remaining notifications so that the 2003 elections would bring the Committee up to 18 members. This means that the remaining notifications must be received by the summer. For more information contact: UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights - Committee on the Rights of the Child 8-14 Avenue de la Paix, CH 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland. Tel: 00 41 22 917 9000 ; Fax: 00 41 22 917 9016; Email: pdavid.hchr@unog.ch; Website: www.unhchr.ch --------------------------------------------------- The CRINMAIL is an electronic mailing list of the Child Rights Information Network (CRIN). CRIN does not accredit, validate or substantiate any information posted by members to the CRINMAIL. The validity and accuracy of any information is the responsibility of the originator.
[Reply to this message] [Start a new topic] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Author Index] [Subject Index] [List Home Page] [HREA Home Page]