HR/CRC/98/17
18 May 1998

CHILDREN'S RIGHTS COMMITTEE OPENS EIGHTEENTH SESSION

The Committee on the Rights of the Child, the expert panel in charge of monitoring the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, opened its eighteenth session this morning.

During three week of meetings, the Committee will discuss the promotion and protection of children's rights in Hungary, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Fiji, Japan, the Maldives and Luxembourg. They are among the 191 States parties to the Convention and are expected to send representatives to the Committee to present and defend reports on how they give effect to children's rights.

This morning, following the adoption of its agenda for the session, the Committee heard from Helga Klein, speaking as representative of the Secretary-General, who reviewed recent United Nations activities of relevance to children. She said the Organization, along with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), had issued an information kit on the rights of the child. The Commission on Human Rights, which concluded its fifty-fourth session on 24 April, had adopted several resolutions on the child, including one on the abduction of children in northern Uganda. Mrs. Klein also said the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, would address the Committee on Friday, 29 May, at 10 a.m..

The Committee then went into private session to discuss the organization of its work.

The Committee is composed of 10 independent experts, although States parties have adopted an amendment to the Convention that would increase the membership to 18 in order to enable the panel to face a rapidly growing workload. The amendment will enter into force upon its acceptance by a two-thirds majority of States parties.

The experts will meet again in open session at 10 a.m. Tuesday, 19 May, to start its consideration of a report by Hungary on how it implements the provisions of the Convention.