[child-rights] Committee on Rights of Child to hold forty-fourth session in Geneva from 15 January to 2 February 2007

UNITED NATIONS Press release
BACKGROUND RELEASE

Committee on the Rights of the Child 
11 January 2007 

Situation of Child Rights in Kenya, Mali, Honduras, Marshall Islands,
Suriname, Malaysia and Chile to be Reviewed 

The Committee on the Rights of the Child will meet at the Palais
Wilson in Geneva from 15 January to 2 February to review the
promotion and protection of children's rights under the Convention on
the Rights of the Child in Kenya, Mali, Honduras, the Marshall
Islands, Suriname, Malaysia and Chile. 

The Committee will also consider the situation in Costa Rica and
Kyrgyzstan with regard to the promotion and protection of children's
rights under the two Optional Protocols to the Convention – on
the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; and
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 193 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. 

At the Committee's forty-fourth session, Malaysia will be presenting
its initial report; Kenya, Mali, the Marshall Islands and Suriname
will present their second periodic reports; and Honduras and Chile
are presenting their third periodic reports. Costa Rica and
Kyrgyzstan will be presenting their initial reports under both of the
Convention's Optional Protocols: on the involvement of children in
armed conflict; and on the sale of children, child prostitution and
child pornography. 

Also during the session, the Committee will pursue the elaboration of
general comments based on the various principles and provisions of
the Convention, and members will discuss the outline for the day of
general discussion to be held during the Committee's forty-sixth
session, in September 2007. The Committee will also continue 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 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. Other matters
related to the work of the Committee will be discussed as necessary. 

The Committee took up the initial report of Kenya on 26 September
2001, and the final conclusions on it can be found in document
CRC/C/15/Add.160; the initial report of Mali was taken up on 28 and
29 September 1999, and the Committee's final conclusions on it can be
found in document CRC/C/15/Add.113; the second periodic report of
Honduras was taken up on 25 May 1999, and the Committee's final
conclusions on it can be found in document CRC/C/15/Add.105; the
initial report of Marshall Islands was taken up on 29 September 2000,
and the Committee's final conclusions on it can be found in document
CRC/C/15/Add.139; the initial report of Suriname was taken up on 29
May 2000, and the Committee's final conclusions on it can be found in
document CRC/C/15/Add.130; and the second periodic report of Chile
was taken up on 23 January 2002, and the Committee's final
conclusions on it can be found in document CRC/C/15/Add.173. 

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, 110 countries have ratified the
Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict;
115 have ratified the Optional Protocol on the sale of children,
child prostitution and child pornography. 

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 María 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. 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, 15 January 
11 a.m. Costa Rica: initial reports on OPAC 
Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict.
(CRC/C/OPAC/CRI/1) and OPSC‡ ‡Optional Protocol on the
sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.
(CRC/C/OPSC/CRI/1) 
3 p.m. Costa Rica (continued) 

Tuesday, 16 January 
10 a.m. Kenya: second periodic report (CRC/C/KEN/2) 
3 p.m. Kenya (continued) 

Thursday, 18 January 
10 a.m. Mali: second periodic report (CRC/C/MLI/2) 
3 p.m. Mali (continued) 

Friday, 19 January 
10 a.m. Honduras: third periodic report (CRC/C/HND/3) 
3 p.m. Honduras (continued) 

Monday, 22 January 
10 a.m. Marshall Islands: second periodic report (CRC/C/93/Add.8) 
3 p.m. Marshall Islands (continued) 

Wednesday, 24 January 
10 a.m. Suriname: second periodic report (CRC/C/SUR/2) 
3 p.m. Suriname (continued) 

Thursday, 25 January 
10 a.m. Malaysia: initial report (CRC/C/MYS/1) 
3 p.m. Malaysia (continued) 

Friday, 26 January 
10 a.m. Chile: third periodic report (CRC/C/CHL/3) 
3 p.m. Chile (continued) 

Monday, 29 January 
10 a.m. Kyrgyzstan OPAC*/OPSC‡ (CRC/C/OPAC/KGZ/1;
CRC/C/OPSC/KGZ/1) 
3 p.m. Kyrgyzstan (continued) 

Thursday, 1 February 
3 p.m. Fourth informal meeting with States parties 

Friday, 2 February 
12.30 p.m. Adoption of the report; closing of the session 

* Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict.

‡ Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child
prostitution and child pornography. 

__________ 

For use of the information media; not an official record