COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD EXCHANGES VIEWS ON COOPERATION WITH OTHER BODIES

AFTERNOON
HR/CRC/99/12
21 January 1999


The Committee on the Rights of the Child this afternoon exchanged views on its cooperation with other bodies whose activities were closely related to the promotion and protection of the rights of the child.

In the course of the discussion, a representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) told Committee members that the European Network of Ombudsmen for Children had prepared some concise background notes on the need for independent offices for children, the strategic role they could play, and some necessary characteristics of such offices. The background notes underlined that a society that respected the human rights of children, should, within a generation, become a society that respected all human rights.

A representative of the International Labour Office (ILO) said that the draft convention on the extreme form of child labour was discussed thoroughly during the ILO's meeting last June and that it was expected to be adopted in the form of a convention during the ILO conference next June. The adoption of the convention would add impetus to the fight against child labour in general.

A representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that
in the current year, WHO would improve its capacity to act on issues relating to the rights of children and adolescents by advocating and implementing an effective coordination mechanism within WHO for activities relating to these rights.

And a representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that direct links existed between the concerns of the rights of the child and those of the mandates of the Fund. The representative was of the view that the policies and goals set by the Committee had to be seen within the individual settings of States.

When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Friday, 22 January, it will start its consideration of the second periodic report of Sweden.

Statements

A representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) presented documents and reports to Committee members on some of the activities of the organization in the course of last year. The representative said that in October 1998, the Regional Office for Europe and the Division of Evaluation, Policy and Planning invited 6 National Committees and 6 UNICEF field offices to participate in a pilot initiative on children's participation. The initiative "What do you think?" was designed to strengthen and facilitate children reporting their views on respect for their rights.

UNICEF's representative also told experts that the European Network of Ombudsmen for Children had prepared some concise background notes on the need for independent offices for children, the strategic role they could play, and some necessary characteristics of such offices. The background notes underlined that a society that respected the human rights of children, should, within a generation, become a society that respected all human rights.

A representative of the International Labour Organization (ILO) recalled that during its annual conference last June, a declaration was adopted on the fundamental human rights of workers, including children. The draft convention on the extreme form of child labour was discussed thoroughly by the meeting and it was expected to be adopted during the forthcoming ILO Conference in June in the form of a convention. The adoption of the convention would add impetus to the fight against child labour in general. The Committee's concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of each country had also incited States to accede to ILO Convention No. 138 on minimum working age.

Further, a representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) presented the Organization's proposed 1999 activities for an expanded rights approach to child and adolescent health. According to the representative, the main areas of work were to improve the capacity of WHO to act on issues relating to the rights of children and adolescents by advocating and implementing an effective coordination mechanism within WHO for activities relating to these rights. WHO would also continue and strengthen the provision of technical support to the work of the Committee on the Rights of the Child. The representative also said that WHO would continue and strengthen collaboration with other relevant actors to work effectively towards assuring the progressive realization of child and adolescent rights to health and health care.

A representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated that recent developments in the financial sector had impacts on the rights of children in general. Also direct links existed between the concerns of the rights of the child and those of the mandates of the Fund. The representative was of the view that the policies and goals set by the Committee had to be seen within the individual settings of individual States. On the macroeconomic aspect, the IMF focused on the social policies, particularly education and health development of each country. The IMF had direct interest on the social dimension of taxation and government expenditure policies which indicated the best chances of success. The Fund had been criticised for not seriously focusing on social equity and equality. Nevertheless, the IMF had been organizing seminars in equity and income distribution. In addition, the IMF had developed a code of good governance and on how to combat corruption. The code of good fiscality and practices with transparency in matters of budget elaboration had also been developed to assist States.