18 September 2002: CRINMAIL 410: Special Edition on the 31st Session of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. Contents: - COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: Committee on Rights of the Child Opens Thirty-First Session [news] - COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: Thirty-first Session of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child [event] - DAY OF GENERAL DISCUSSION: Documents submitted for the Day of General Discussion (20 September 2002) on ?The Private Sector as Service Provider and its Role in Implementing Child Rights? [publications] - UN COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: Committee on Rights of Child Considers Argentina?s Second Periodic Report on Compliance with Convention. [press release] - NGO GROUP FOR THE CRC/CRIN: NGO Alternative Reports [publications] - NGO GROUP FOR THE CRC: Organisational Profile [organisation] - SAVE THE CHILDREN: The Well-Being of Children in the UK [report] 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: Committee on Rights of the Child Opens Thirty-First Session [news] [Geneva, 16 September 2002] The Committee on the Rights of the Child this morning opened its thirty-first session at the Palais Wilson by adopting its agenda and programme of work. The Committee heard an address by Maria Francesca Ize-Charrin, Representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, who announced that the new High Commissioner, Sergio Vieira de Mello, will open the Committee's day of general discussion on 'the private sector as service provider and its role in implementing child rights' on Friday, 20 September. The focus of the day of discussion will be the impact of the increasing participation of private sector actors in the provision and funding of state-like functions on the implementation of the Convention. Mrs. Ize-Charrin recalled that the General Assembly approved on 23 July the appointment of Sergio Vieira de Mello as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for four years beginning 12 September. Regarding the Committee, Mrs. Ize-Charrin said that the amendment increasing the Committee's membership from 10 to 18 independent Experts will enter into force when 127 States parties formally notify their acceptance to the Secretary-General. So far, 123 notifications of acceptance have been received and four more were needed, she said. To read the full press release, including the statement by Maria Francesca Ize-Charrin, go to: http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/NewsRoom?OpenFrameSet [Source: OHCHR, 16 September 2002] A background press release, including the timetable for the Committee?s consideration of States Parties reports is also available at: http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/NewsRoom?OpenFrameSet --------------------------------------------------- - COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: Thirty-first Session of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child [event] The 31st Session of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child takes place in Geneva, Switzerland, from 16 September to 4 October 2002. States Parties reports being considered are as follows (in English). Argentina http://daccess-ods.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G02/405/51/PDF/G0240551.pdf?OpenElem ent Burkina Faso http://daccess-ods.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G02/404/40/PDF/G0240440.pdf?OpenElement Israel http://daccess-ods.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G02/405/64/PDF/G0240564.pdf?OpenElement Poland http://daccess-ods.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G02/404/06/PDF/G0240406.pdf?OpenElement Republic of Moldova http://daccess-ods.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G02/421/67/PDF/G0242167.pdf?OpenElement Seychelles CRC/C/3/Add.64 (forthcoming on site as of 18 September 2002) Sudan http://daccess-ods.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G01/450/71/PDF/G0145071.pdf?OpenElement Ukraine http://daccess-ods.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G02/419/44/PDF/G0241944.pdf?OpenElement United Kingdom http://daccess-ods.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G02/405/43/PDF/G0240543.pdf?OpenElem ent See: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/6/crc/session31.htm Information about this session is available at http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/6/crc/session31.htm - This link includes all the country documentation for the Committee's 31st session, including: States Parties Reports, lists of issues, States' written replies to the lists of issues, delegation lists and statements, as well as the Committee's concluding observations. It will be updated on a daily basis during the session. 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 9022; Email: ssyed@ohchr.org or jmermet@ohchr.org Website: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/6/crc/crcs30.htm#31st See also: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=1557 -------------------------------------------------- - DAY OF GENERAL DISCUSSION: Documents submitted for the Day of General Discussion (20 September 2002) on ?The Private Sector as Service Provider and its Role in Implementing Child Rights? [publications] At its twenty-eighth session, in September 2001, the Committee on the Rights of the Child decided to devote its 2002 Day of General Discussion to the theme 'The Private Sector as Service Provider and its Role in Implementing Child Rights.' As for previous thematic discussions, the Committee invited representatives of United Nations organs, bodies and specialised agencies, as well as other competent bodies, including non-governmental organisations, research and academic organisations and individual experts, to contribute to the discussion. Several organisations and individual experts submitted contributions and other relevant documents on this theme. These contributions submitted by 'other competent bodies' are available in Word and PDF formats on CRIN?s website. See: http://www.crin.org/docs/resources/treaties/crc.31/Discussion.htm For further information please contact: The Committee on the Rights of the Child - Secretariat, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Palais des Nations, CH-1211, Geneva 10, Switzerland. Tel: 00 41 22 917 9000; Fax: 00 41 22 917 9022; Email: crc-dod.hchr@unog.ch --------------------------------------------------- - UN COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: Committee on Rights of Child Considers Argentina's Second Periodic Report on Compliance with Convention. [press release] [Geneva, 17 September 2002] The Committee on the Rights of the Child today reviewed the second periodic report of Argentina on how that country was implementing the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Introducing his country's report, Norberto Ignacio Liwski, Chairperson of the National Council for Children, Adolescents and the Family of Argentina, recalled that recent social and political tensions that had occurred in his country had reached an extreme point. He said the world had witnessed the violent social expression that had resulted in the loss of human lives. The economic and social crisis that the country had encountered had brought grave consequences which had never been seen in Argentina's contemporary history. The impact of the crisis had also caused social trauma for millions of families, thus affecting the lives of adolescents and children dramatically. Alfred Vicente Chiaradia, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Argentina to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that despite the difficulties it had endured in recent years, Argentina had continued to uphold its commitment to democracy and the state of law since the end of the military dictatorship in 1983. The economic and social crisis had affected not only the society as a whole, but children in particular. To view the full press release, visit the OHCHR Newsroom at: http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/newsroom [Source: OHCHR] --------------------------------------------------- - NGO GROUP FOR THE CRC/CRIN: NGO Alternative Reports [publications] 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. See: http://www.crin.org/resources/treaties/CRC.asp?catName=International+Treatie s&flag=legal&ID=6 An archive of previous NGO Alternative Reports, including those submitted during the 29th Session of the Committee, is also available at: http://www.crin.org/docs/resources/treaties/crc.25/annex-vi-crin.htm For further information, please contact: NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child c/o Defence for Children International, 1 rue de Varembé, P.O. Box 88, CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland. Tel: 00 41 22 740 47 30; Fax: 00 41 22 740 1145; Email: ngo-crc@tiscalinet.ch Website: www.crin.org/NGOGroupforCRC --------------------------------------------------- - NGO GROUP FOR THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: Profile of the NGO Group for the CRC [organisation] The NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child is a coalition of international non-governmental organisations, which work together to facilitate the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It was originally formed in 1983 when members of the NGO Group were actively involved in the drafting of the Convention. The NGO Group has a Liaison Unit that supports participation of the NGOs, particularly national coalitions, in the reporting process to the Committee on the Rights of the Child as well as other activities to ensure the implementation of the Convention. One important area is the management of NGO Alternative Reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child. To view more information on the NGO Group, including an organisation brochure and publications, go to: http://www.crin.org/NGOGroupforCRC/ For more information about the NGO Group, contact: NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, c/o Defence for Children International, 1 rue de Varembé, P.O. Box 88, CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland. Tel: 00 41 22 740 47 30; Fax: 00 41 22 740 1145; Email: ngo-crc@tiscalinet.ch; Website: www.crin.org/NGOGroupforCRC/ --------------------------------------------------- - SAVE THE CHILDREN: The Well-Being of Children in the UK [report] This report shows striking variations, national, regional and local, in levels of child poverty and other key aspects of the quality of children?s lives. The report is published by Save the Children and the University of York in the week the UK Government comes under fire at the United Nations during the 31st Session of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, for its record on children?s rights in the UK. It is the first ever comprehensive study on the well-being of children in the UK and will fuel debate on what needs to be done by policy makers to improve children?s lives. Most strikingly, the report shows that while children?s lives are generally improving UK-wide, there are distinct disparities between the four countries. So, while Northern Ireland has the highest infant mortality rate but the lowest teenage pregnancy rate, children in Scotland appear to have the worst diets, the highest youth suicide rate but the best overall education attainment. In Wales, it is the highest rate of teenage pregnancies and the worst alcohol and drugs problems that stand out. For more information, contact: Save the Children UK 17 Grove Lane, London, SE5 8RD, United Kingdom. Tel: 00 44 20 7703 5400; Fax: 00 44 20 7793 7626; Email: enquiries@scfuk.org.uk. Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=2960&flag=report --------------------------------------------------- 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------
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