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12 April 2000
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Commission on Human Rights
56th session
12 April 2000
Afternoon
East Timorese Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Jose Ramos Horta Speaks
The Commission on Human Rights continued its discussion this afternoon on the topic of the rights of the child, hearing, among other things, a demand from Cuba for the immediate return of 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez to his father in Cuba from his relatives in Miami, with whom he had lived since he survived a boating accident on the way to the United States in which his mother was killed.
Among other subjects raised were pleas for universal ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and expressions of support for recently completed draft optional protocols to the Convention aimed at ending the participation of children in armed conflicts and eradicating the sale of children, child prostitution, and child pornography. Approval of both draft texts by the Commission was recommended.
At 3:30 p.m., the Commission was addressed by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Jose Ramos Horta of East Timor, who said, among other things, that East Timor was now focusing on reconstruction and was normalizing relations with Indonesia and attempting to bury the past. Mr. Ramos Horta said there had been many exchanges of visits between top officials from both sides, and commendable efforts were now under way to punish those responsible for human-rights violations following the East Timorese vote in favour of independence from Indonesia.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Commission concluded its "special dialogue", begun this morning, on extreme poverty and human rights.
Addressing the afternoon session were representatives of Iraq, Canada, the United Kingdom, Egypt, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Tunisia, Argentina, Chile, Cuba, Venezuela (on behalf of the Group of Latin American and Caribbean Countries (GRULAC)), the Czech Republic, the Republic of Korea, Honduras, Iran, Israel, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Holy See, the International Labour Office (ILO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Cameroon, San Marino, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Georgia, South Africa, the World Health Organization (WHO), Angola, Uganda, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and Kuwait.
Following adjournment at 6 p.m., the Commission immediately began an evening session.
Conclusion of special dialogue on extreme poverty and human rights
MILOON KOTHARI, Convenor of the Housing Rights Committee of the Habitat International Coalition, said one topic that had come up repeatedly was that States had to reallocate resources to deal with poverty, and that such reallocation of resources had to be supplemented by greater aid from the international community. The Commission, in requesting States to implement human-rights instruments related to poverty, perhaps should stress this connection for developing and developed countries alike. Another need that had emerged from the debate was the need to develop reliable statistical indicators on matters related to poverty so that requirements and progress in combatting poverty could be measured accurately.
SAAD HUSSAIN (Iraq) said his country was a rich country whose resources allowed its people to live in dignity; but for 10 years the country had coped with a unique version of poverty -- a total international embargo imposed by the Security Council; over one and a half million people had been victims. How could anyone imagine that human-rights bodies dealing with poverty would have to confront the fact that another body in the same international organization was causing hunger and poverty through such an embargo?
To eradicate poverty, the Commission and related bodies should look seriously into the humanitarian problems being faced by the Iraqi people -- denial of the rights to life, education, food, medicine. The devastating results of the embargo on Iraq, and of other embargoes on other developing countries, required a strong response from the Commission.
SUSAN STEFFEN (Canada) said that great strides had been made in making the link between human rights and poverty. Poverty was more than an economic income issue. The situation of women and girls in poverty required particular attention. Extreme poverty could cause and serve as an excuse for human rights violations. There had been significant moves toward a rights-based approach, not to implement conditionality, but recognizing good governance and the participation enjoyed in developing countries. Poverty alleviation had been a focus of the Canadian overseas development assistance and the country had recognized the unsustainable foreign debt burdens.
PATRICK TOBIN (the United Kingdom) said a rights-based approach to the eradication of poverty required practical steps, including a massive investment in infrastructure for developing countries. The donor community should respond to this challenge. Success, however, still depended on the extent to which the public sectors of recipient countries could make efficient use of such aid, and the extent of good governance in the recipient countries.
FAYZA ABOULNAGA (Egypt) said that the Africa Europe summit had made progress in the work toward the alleviation of poverty. It was important not to focus on self-interest, nor charity or good works. The figures encouraged thought as half of the world's population lived on $ 2 a day. Furthermore, the systematic reduction of overseas development assistance did not cover the needs of developing countries as the objectives of the Copenhagen summit had not been reached by far. There was no political will to eradicate poverty, however this was just an excuse to avoid international responsibility. The inequality in the terms of trade in the global economy had to be redressed. The Washington Consensus stated that these institutions should assist developing countries in their path to development.
IAN HILL (New Zealand) said reducing and eliminating poverty was one of the greatest challenges facing the international community -- a challenge to world civilization. It was a matter of human rights and social justice that all should share in the great wealth being created by globalization. Coherent and coordinated actions were needed. New Zealand was dedicated to such actions, but also stressed that development assistance should be used wisely. All Governments should ensure that development's benefits reached all people, including the poorest members of society. Good governance was required for this.
HUMAYAN TANDUR (Afghanistan) said the problem of corruption was being taken up by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), however, only with regards to trading relations. Corruption caused the continuation of poverty when countries were robbed of their resources. This was not confined only to one region of the world. The international community had to cooperate to end the scourge of corruption which had acquired serious dimensions, when millions of Euros were lost and the authors of corruption had fled their responsibility and were not held accountable. Enterprises took hostage the resources of poor countries and hence fuelled civil wars.
RAOUF CHATTY (Tunisia) said poverty was a serious violation of human rights and human dignity, but it was not enough just to know that; it was necessary to study the profound causes behind poverty and what was holding back development. There were internal and, above all, external causes. Poverty had to be envisioned from the point of view of the right to development -- that was essential. Developing countries had to be able to realize the right to development in cooperation with donor countries. From that realization, specific actions should come.
Tunisia had set up a national solidarity fund three years ago which carried out important activities which had made a big contribution to the eradication of poverty. Tunisia also appealed for world solidarity to fight against poverty.
LEANDRO DESPOUY (Argentina) said the most important issue was the clear awareness of the link between abject poverty and human rights. This should guide everyone in their thinking. Previously there had been an ideological debate which now seemed resolved. Poverty was not just economic in nature but caused the vulnerability and fragility of human rights. This had to do with the indivisibility of human rights. Categories were only of scientific interests, not in reality and in the implementation of human rights. There seemed to be a level of schizophrenia between macro economic plans and other homoeopathic remedies to poverty and human rights. Poverty was not only for people, but one had to work with the people. The discussion had showed the dilemma of the conditions people were subject to. The delegation of Argentina warned against fatalism, one could get out of poverty, it was not to become the new form of Apartheid.
PEDRO OYARCE (Chile) said extreme poverty was part of the human-rights debate today. The United Nations system and the Commission in particular must deal in an overall way with the subject, as part of a comprehensive approach to development. Chile considered that the plan of action adopted at the Social Subject, along with the Beijing Plus 5 meeting, would be a way of devising strategies to cope with this challenge.
Statement
Jose Ramos Horta, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate of East Timor, said that East Timor was now forced to build a new future from the ashes of destruction. He expressed gratitude to the countries that had come to the rescue of East Timor when it had faced destruction. A coalition of more than 30 nations had saved one nation. Every year the Commission reviewed various situations. But there were more situations, less known but no less deserving of attention. The nature of East Timor was different, it was time for reconstruction. East Timor had won an epic battle, a battle of minds, not a battle of weapons. East Timorese had only sympathy for their neighbouring country, and support for their new democracy. They were now normalizing their relations with Indonesia and attempting to bury the past. There had been many exchanges of visits between top officials from both sides, which showed the commitment to bury the past. There were also demands for the punishment of those accountable for violations and impunity had to come to an end for those holding public office. He commended the courageous efforts of the Indonesian President in bringing to justice those responsible. After the vote for independence, the slow process of nation building had began in East Timor but there was a serious lack of administrative and institutional infrastructures.
The East Timorese were participating in all policy decisions, through the National Consultative Council. A new court system with East Timorese judges and prosecutors had been set up. Thousands of refugees were slowly returning, and United Nations agencies and private humanitarian groups had mounted heroic efforts to feed and care for those deprived of their homes and livelihoods. It was essential that donor countries supply more support if East Timor was to move forward. East Timor called for the debt cancellation of all least developed countries. East Timor had been destroyed by war and impoverished by centuries of colonialization, neglect and mismanagement, but now it had a chance to defeat poverty and become relatively prosperous. One of the first act of the newly elected parliament would be the ratification of all the existing human rights instruments.
Continuation of debate on the rights of the child
CARLOS AMAT FORES (Cuba) said the extraordinary case of the Cuban boy, Elian Gonzalez, 6 years old, had been a topic of worldwide debate. His separation from his dearest relatives had touched a deep nerve, especially in the United States and Cuba. The father had informed Elian's uncle in Florida, from the time the uncle was granted temporary custody, that he was absolutely determined that Elian should return to Cuba, but for four months Elian's Florida relatives had kept the boy. The paternal connection was something that could not be compensated for by toys. The case had become a matter of painful, political manipulation; some were using the boy as a way of trying to undermine Cuba.
Correct United States Federal Court decisions had been taken in favour of returning the boy to his father in Cuba, but the anti-Cuba mafia based in Miami had done everything to block that event. These court decisions should be implemented immediately; currently the image of the United States was looking very tarnished as the Government could not enforce its own Federal Court decisions. Relevant international laws and conventions also indicated the boy should be returned immediately to his father in Cuba.
VICTOR RODRIGUEZ CEDENO (Venezuela), on behalf of the Group of Latin American and Caribbean Countries, said that GRULAC had tried to present an updated draft resolution on the rights of the child to the Commission. The Group disapproved of new trends like increased adoptions and lack of care and abuse, problems that ran counter to the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. That was why the GRULAC had proposed including issues like the right to identity and the right to being registered and cared for by parents in the new draft resolution. It also was focusing on wording on concrete actions by States parties. The year 2000 was historic because it marked the tenth anniversary of the Convention and it had also seen the adoption of the two draft optional protocols to the Convention on children and armed conflict and sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Countries should sign and ratify these two draft optional protocols promptly.
Thanks were expressed to the Special Rapporteur on sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and the Secretary-General's Special Representative on children and armed conflict. GRULAC would always fight for the rights of the child.
IVANA SCHELLONGOVA (the Czech Republic) said the Convention on the Rights of the Child should be universally ratified before the end of this tenth year anniversary of its original entry into force. Monitoring of implementation of the Convention should be enhanced. The ILO Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour was supported by the Czech Republic, and the country especially welcomed the inclusion of child soldiering among the worst forms of child labour. The Czech Republic expected to ratify the Convention by the end of the year.
One of the major shortcomings of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, similarly, was about to be remedied in part by adoption of an optional protocol related to the involvement of children in armed conflict. The protocol did not meet all expectations, but at least a clear message was being sent that no one under age 18 should participate in hostilities. The country also welcomed the optional protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution, and child pornography.
HU KANG IL (the Republic of Korea) welcomed the completion of 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 completion of the two optional protocols, in addition to the adoption of International Labour Office Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, had strengthened international norms. They reflected the firm will and incessant efforts of the international community to guarantee both the protection of the children and the prosecution of the offenders. The next step was to prepare tools to operationalize these norms.
The Republic of Korea strove for the protection of children generally, and it was careful to observe that there may be different priorities in different regions. In East Asia, great efforts had been and continued to be made to eradicate one of the most disturbing and intolerable aspects of child exploitation, namely trafficking and sexual exploitation of children. The Republic of Korea was confident that ongoing efforts would contribute towards ultimately eliminating the horrible reality of trafficking in children.
SAAD HUSSAIN (Iraq) said Iraqi children were suffering horribly from the effects of the international economic embargo imposed against the country. Former indicators of child health had more or less equalled the levels of developed countries; but since 1990, child-rights programmes had been greatly hindered by the embargo. Half a million Iraqi children were suffering. A UNICEF report on the topic showed that child mortality had climbed and that a million Iraqi children were suffering from malnutrition.
Iraqi children could not get enough health care, could not attend school as before, and did not receive sufficient resources in other areas. They lived in fear and isolation and suffered from the daily bombardments carried out against Iraq by planes of the United States and the United Kingdom. The use of depleted uranium by the United States and the United Kingdom also was having negative repercussions for Iraqi children, and in fact the consequences, according to experts, would continue for centuries. The children of Iraq were wondering where the United Nations was, since it was doing nothing to ease their suffering. The Commission must act.
SAYED DURAN (Venezuela) said children were a high priority for the Government and the delegation wished to state its support for the ideas put forth by the GRULAC group. Venezuela had strengthened its social policies concerning children and protection practices had been given great consideration. There were many practices which violated the physical and mental well-being of children and Venezuela was against them. The international community should have no doubt that the responsibility for the protection of the child was shared between the family and the State in order to ensure the best protection of children.
DEBORAH GEELS (New Zealand) said the Convention on the Rights of the Child should be universally ratified. It was also true, however, that further work was needed to enhance protection of children at risk and to implement child rights. New Zealand thus looked forward to adoption by the Commission of the recently negotiated draft optional protocols on children in armed conflict and on the sale of children, child prostitution, and child pornography. While the draft text of the optional protocol on child soldiers did not go as far as many delegations would have liked, when it entered into force it would significantly raise standards of legal protection. New Zealand hoped both draft protocols could be opened for signature before the end of the year.
The recent appointment of child protection advisers in United Nations peacekeeping missions in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo was a welcome development, as was the recent conclusions of ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour.
GRACIBEL BU FIGUEROA (Honduras) said all boys and girls were humans and States had the obligation to guarantee their rights and to fulfill all international agreements they were party to. Honduras was implementing policies to ensure the rights of the child. The Convention on the Rights of the Child was used as a framework for action to make decisions on children. The Code for children and adolescents was adopted in 1996 and Honduras was now working on harmonizing legislation to be in line with the COnvention. It had also been working on the reform of the Criminal Code in this regard. Honduras was aware that much remained to be done for the proper distribution and allocation of resources in general in order to ensure that the rights of children were realized. Honduras was strengthening institutions to help this process.
Concerning adolescent offenders, the Government had established a social reeducation programme to deal with them and to give them the necessary conditions to ensure their successful reintegration back into the family and society. Poverty and the deterioration of the environment were the fain factors which jeopardized the future and development of children. They had negative effects because they limited and restricted alternatives that children had available. Honduras had scant resources but it was doing its best to develop programmes for children.
ZAHRA TAHERI (Iran) said child rights should take priority for the international community and for nations. The UNICEF report "The State of the World's Children 2000" showed progress since 1990 in terms of access of children to safe water, sanitation facilities, food, education, and immunization. However, the progress was still too slow. Some 600 million children now lived in poverty; some 55 million children between the ages of 5 and 11 worked in hazardous circumstances; some 2 million had been killed and 6 million injured in armed conflicts. The two draft optional protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child were positive steps.
Iran had made great efforts over the last 20 years to improve the circumstances of Iranian children. Currently more than 20 per cent of the Iranian budget was allocated to health, education, social security and other services for children, including establishment of a primary health-care system and the construction of primary and secondary schools across the country.
ADY SCHONMANN (Israel) wished to comment on some recent developments that had taken place in the country in the field of promoting children's rights and combatting child abuse. For example, in a landmark decision in October 1999, the Supreme Court had imposed damages on a parent who neglected the children under his guardianship by completely estranging himself from them, thereby causing them severe pain. In another landmark ruling in January 2000, the Supreme Court had condemned in absolute terms the resort to corporal punishment against children as a method of discipline and child raising. These rulings were a milestone in a long standing campaign against domestic violence in general and child abuse in particular.
The planning of a comprehensive reform was taking place in Israel in the realm of children's rights. This was not to say that hurdles did not lay ahead. There were still many obstacles to overcome in the battle against child abuse. In fact, anachronistic social and traditional norms were still evident in the society as they were in many other societies. That was precisely the reason that Israel called upon all States and non-governmental organizations to make greater efforts in promoting children's rights.
SYLVIA LADAME, of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said the ICRC welcomed the draft optional protocol on children and armed conflicts and looked forward to its implementation, which would not be easy. The positive aspects should be stressed -- the prohibition of participation of children under age 18, the will shown by States to control the behaviour of non-State actors, and the inclusion in the protocol of internal conflicts.
But there were obvious shortcomings. Indirect participation in armed conflicts had not been included. And voluntary recruitment under age 18 was not prohibited. How could one tell what was voluntary? The exception for military schools also was questionable. The ICRC had been involved with child soldiers for years, along with children in general who were affected by armed conflicts. The ICRC tried to meet the needs of all vulnerable groups who suffered from armed conflicts; it tried to reunite children with their families and registered them and monitored their welfare until such reunions could take place.
GIUSEPPE BERTELLO (the Holy See) said the Commission was examining the work of two Working Groups which had adopted two optional protocols concerning children in armed conflict and the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. The Holy See appreciated the will for compromise which allowed the adoption of these optional protocols in order to protect children. International public opinion was showing growing sensitivity to these questions and expected the Commission to take a clear position. The Holy See had hoped that the States parties could find a consensus on the question of voluntary recruitment at the age of 18. The Holy See believed that the adoption of a new international instrument did not solve the problem of child soldiers but it helped. As for the optional protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, it also added better specification of the obligation of States. These new states of slavery were serious violations of the fundamental rights of the children.
YOSHIE NOGUCHI, of the International Labour Office (ILO), said ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, which had been adopted unanimously in June 1999, was explicitly aimed at liberating scores of millions of children from forcible recruitment for armed conflict, from prostitution and pornography, from slavery, trafficking, debt bondage and hazardous work. The ILO had also participated and watched with strong interest the drafting of the two draft protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Convention 182 had seen a rapid rate of ratification and would enter into force on 19 November.
Ratification and implementation were two different things, however. Convention 182 required States to take immediate action. It also called for international cooperation or assistance in implementation. The ILO was providing technical assistance to constituents under its International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour.
MARTA SANTOS PAIS, of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), said it was essential to ensure the mainstreaming of children's rights throughout the work of the Commission. UNICEF welcomed in this regard the decision to devote this year's special debate to poverty. This provided a unique opportunity to show that preventing the perpetuation of poverty could only be effective if it started with children. Over the past year, important steps were taken to reinforce the protection of children's rights. Among others, there was the approval of two optional protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. UNICEF hoped that these two optional protocols would be adopted by the next session of the General Assembly. UNICEF would actively support their process of ratification and future implementation. UNICEF hoped that this important step would be used by States to demonstrate their commitment to always apply the highest level of child protection, using the Convention as a minimum threshold.
FELIX-XAVIER NGOUBEYOU (Cameroon) said the Convention on the Rights of the Child had done much to protect one of the world's most vulnerable groups. More had to be done to prevent the participation of children in war, however. Some 300,000 children now served as soldiers; some 800 were mutilated by land mines every year; some 5 million lived in refugee camps. The draft optional protocol on children and armed conflicts deserved support. The sale of children for sexual exploitation, prostitution and pornography had to be eradicated. National laws had to be passed to protect children against the worst forms of child labour. Abuse of the Internet for pornographic purposes should be ended through international efforts.
In Cameroon, great attention was paid to child rights, and much emphasis was placed on education, including the education of refugees staying in the country. UNICEF had provided useful support and advice to the Government on various children's programmes and issues, including the problem of street children, a difficulty that could only be completely eradicated through the elimination of poverty.
EROS GASPERONI (San Marino) said the year 2000 was an important year for children around the world as it marked the tenth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It was a chance to reaffirm the indisputable legal, social and moral values for the protection of children and San Marino insisted on the full accession to the Convention. To commemorate this event, San Marino was issuing four postage stamps on the provisions of the Convention and would also issue a booklet related to the Convention. All profits would go to programmes benefiting children. The year 2000 had also seen the adoption of the two optinal protocols to the Convention and San Marino intended to ratify them both. No doubt that the increased awareness by civil society of the need for new instruments for the protection of children was a step forward. The task remained to ensure the physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development of all children.
ELIZABETA GORGIEVA (the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) said that on the tenth anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention on the Rights of the Child it was imperative to implement the provisions of the Convention. The world owed this to children who were dying every day of hunger in Ethiopia, as well as to thousands of child victims of violence, sexual exploitation, child labour, and abuse in military conflicts. Appalling violations of child rights came from poverty, and the Special Session of the General Assembly on social development should devise measures to overcoming extreme poverty and its negative impact on children.
Macedonia fully supported the draft optional protocol on children and armed conflicts, especially following the Kosovo crisis, when Macedonia had received thousands of child refugees. The tragedy suffered by these children had been alleviated by the humane response of Macedonia, which had provided basic humanitarian protection, free medical care, and free education for all child refugees.
TEIMURAZ BAKRADZE (Georgia) said there was a significant gap between the complete legislation protecting children’s rights in Georgia and the capability of the country for its implementation. This was because of the violation of the territorial integrity of Georgia by the Abkhaz separatists as a result of which more than 200,000 ethnic Georgians were expelled from their places of origin, including 60,000 children. The Georgian Government was deeply concerned about the impact of the conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia on children. In this province of the country, the fundamental human rights of children were being grossly violated. Thousands of children and their parents were experiencing the oppression. The Abkhaz separatists had burned almost all Georgian schools , having in mind the main objective to eradicate the use of Georgian language on the territory of the region. The children living there had no access to elementary health care services and were forcibly engaged with their parents in the slavery labour in the citrus plantations. The conditions of internally displaced children living on the territory of Georgia and controlled by the central Government were hard. It was difficult to cope with internally displaced persons when they made up one tenth of the population, but it was especially difficult for a country with deep economic and financial problems like Georgia.
RENUKA NAIKER (South Africa) said the damaging legacy of apartheid would take a long time to overcome, and it continued to have lingering negative effects on South Africa's children. Section 28 of the Bill of Rights of the South African Constitution gave expression to the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child; and the Government had embarked on a process of dialogue and consultation with a broad-based group of child-rights advocates leading to adoption of a National Programme of Action for Children, which tackled children's problems holistically and required that children's issues and programmes be "mainstreamed" into the portfolios of all Government departments.
HIV/AIDS was having a devastating impact on women and children, and the Government had begun a national campaign to mobilize resources to educate the public and to find alternative care for children orphaned by the epidemic. South Africa had made its first report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child in January; it supported the draft optional protocol on children in armed conflicts; and it remained concerned about sexual exploitation of and trafficking in children and supported the draft optional protocol on that subject.
MARKUS STAHLHOFER, of the World Health Organization, said the organization reaffirmed its recognition of the intrinsic relationship between health and human rights. This reflected the current efforts within WHO to integrate human rights in all areas of its work. WHO chose to draw attention to adolescents because their health needs and rights were all too often neglected. Each year, more than one million adolescents lost their lives, mainly through accidents, suicide, violence, pregnancy-related complications and through illnesses that were either preventable or treatable. Attention to adolescents in the context of the Convention on the Rights of the Child emphasized violations of the rights of girls. WHO wished to recognize the distinct vulnerabilities of boys as well. The failure to adequately address the health and development of adolescents constituted a denial of human rights as they were guaranteed in the Convention and other human rights instruments. WHO urged States to pay full attention to issues relating to health of adolescents as well as young children in their reporting and monitoring obligations under the Convention.
JOAO FILIPE MARTINS (Angola) said the impact of armed conflicts on children was of importance for each country and for the international community; it concerned generations who would be the leaders of the future; healthy children would lead to a healthy future for mankind. In Africa, a Convention on the Rights and Well-Being of the Child had been adopted subsequent to the international Convention on the Rights of the Child. Angola, in addition to a children's court, had a specialized court for all affairs concerning children, along with a Code of the Family, to deal with such matters as adoption, guardians, child custody, and parental responsibilities.
Armed conflict posed extreme threats to children -- it led to orphans, refugee children, street children, child soldiers, sale of children, and other extreme abuses. The Commission, by the end of its session, should adopt a resolution calling for an end to all the evils that afflicted children because of armed conflicts.
HAROLD ACEMAH (Uganda) said he would restrict the intervention to the report of the Secretary-General on the abduction of children from northern Uganda. Since the release of the report, the first group of 21 Ugandans, including some abducted children, were returned from captivity in Sudan in January 2000. On 6 April, another 51 captives were returned. Uganda urged the Government of Sudan to show its commitment to the Nairobi Agreement by such deeds. Although Uganda warmly welcomed the return of some of the abducted children, a lot remained to be done. The vast majority of the abducted children were still languishing under abominable and intolerable conditions in Sudan and the Commission must continue to exert maximum pressure to ensure their early release and safe return to Uganda. Uganda would table a draft resolution on the subject.
Concerning the report of the Secretary-General, Uganda found it irrelevant, unsatisfactory and unacceptable. It failed to address the core issue and fell short of the standards expected of United Nations documentation. Uganda hoped that the Secretary-General in the near future would send a mission to visit all the affected areas in order to assess the implementation of the Commission's resolution.
A. CASSAM, of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said more than 120,000 children under age 16 were serving as soldiers in armed conflicts in Africa; most were traumatized; many suffered from AIDS, malaria, or other diseases. Many had enlisted to escape poverty, while many others had been forcibly recruited. These children were in fact no longer really children. They needed to be given back their childhoods, to be given psychological and social help as part of their demobilization. A number of countries had programmes of this kind connected with demobilization of children.
There had to be a real, clearly expressed political will on the part of the belligerents and exploiters of these children. Demobilization, done properly, was difficult, and took time and money. Simply sending the children back to school was not enough. Children had to be rehabilitated and reinserted into the social, economic, and family tissue of the country. Such children should spend six or so months in a youth centre, then six months in a technical or professional training centre. Support was needed for such programmes.
ADEL AL-JASSAM (Kuwait) said the rights of the child was an issue which was especially important for his country. The rights of the child were the starting point for the building of a healthy society and they ensured human rights. Kuwait had been one of the first countries to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Children's rights were a priority for Kuwait which had adopted many measures to ensure that they were implemented. There were special clinics and centres for children. Qualified people were employed and they provided the latest technology and efforts. For example, there was the clinic of the healthy child, there was the clinic for children with speaking difficulties, there was the centre for mothers and children, there was the department of mothers and children at the Ministry of Social Affairs, and there were clinics for children with special needs.
CORRIGENDUM
In the press release HR/CN/00/33 of 7 April, the statement of Panama on page 8 should read as follows:
ANEL ENRIQUE BELIZ (Panama), speaking on behalf of the Central American countries of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic, said that these countries had actively participated in major UN conferences in the nineties in which plans of actions were adopted on the integration of gender issues. The Beijing Conference and Vienna World Conference had established that the human rights of women and girls were inalienable rights. The group of Latin American countries had participated in the international effort to promote the rights of women. With this objective in mind, actions had been undertaken with a view to promoting the human rights of women and in particular the advancement of women. Thus, special attention had been paid to women's rights in the field of health, education and measures had been adopted to curb violence against them. As signatories to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the group of Latin American countries reaffirmed its commitment to enhancing gender equality and equal opportunities in all fields.
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56th session
12 April 2000
Afternoon
East Timorese Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Jose Ramos Horta Speaks
The Commission on Human Rights continued its discussion this afternoon on the topic of the rights of the child, hearing, among other things, a demand from Cuba for the immediate return of 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez to his father in Cuba from his relatives in Miami, with whom he had lived since he survived a boating accident on the way to the United States in which his mother was killed.
Among other subjects raised were pleas for universal ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and expressions of support for recently completed draft optional protocols to the Convention aimed at ending the participation of children in armed conflicts and eradicating the sale of children, child prostitution, and child pornography. Approval of both draft texts by the Commission was recommended.
At 3:30 p.m., the Commission was addressed by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Jose Ramos Horta of East Timor, who said, among other things, that East Timor was now focusing on reconstruction and was normalizing relations with Indonesia and attempting to bury the past. Mr. Ramos Horta said there had been many exchanges of visits between top officials from both sides, and commendable efforts were now under way to punish those responsible for human-rights violations following the East Timorese vote in favour of independence from Indonesia.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Commission concluded its "special dialogue", begun this morning, on extreme poverty and human rights.
Addressing the afternoon session were representatives of Iraq, Canada, the United Kingdom, Egypt, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Tunisia, Argentina, Chile, Cuba, Venezuela (on behalf of the Group of Latin American and Caribbean Countries (GRULAC)), the Czech Republic, the Republic of Korea, Honduras, Iran, Israel, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Holy See, the International Labour Office (ILO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Cameroon, San Marino, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Georgia, South Africa, the World Health Organization (WHO), Angola, Uganda, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and Kuwait.
Following adjournment at 6 p.m., the Commission immediately began an evening session.
Conclusion of special dialogue on extreme poverty and human rights
MILOON KOTHARI, Convenor of the Housing Rights Committee of the Habitat International Coalition, said one topic that had come up repeatedly was that States had to reallocate resources to deal with poverty, and that such reallocation of resources had to be supplemented by greater aid from the international community. The Commission, in requesting States to implement human-rights instruments related to poverty, perhaps should stress this connection for developing and developed countries alike. Another need that had emerged from the debate was the need to develop reliable statistical indicators on matters related to poverty so that requirements and progress in combatting poverty could be measured accurately.
SAAD HUSSAIN (Iraq) said his country was a rich country whose resources allowed its people to live in dignity; but for 10 years the country had coped with a unique version of poverty -- a total international embargo imposed by the Security Council; over one and a half million people had been victims. How could anyone imagine that human-rights bodies dealing with poverty would have to confront the fact that another body in the same international organization was causing hunger and poverty through such an embargo?
To eradicate poverty, the Commission and related bodies should look seriously into the humanitarian problems being faced by the Iraqi people -- denial of the rights to life, education, food, medicine. The devastating results of the embargo on Iraq, and of other embargoes on other developing countries, required a strong response from the Commission.
SUSAN STEFFEN (Canada) said that great strides had been made in making the link between human rights and poverty. Poverty was more than an economic income issue. The situation of women and girls in poverty required particular attention. Extreme poverty could cause and serve as an excuse for human rights violations. There had been significant moves toward a rights-based approach, not to implement conditionality, but recognizing good governance and the participation enjoyed in developing countries. Poverty alleviation had been a focus of the Canadian overseas development assistance and the country had recognized the unsustainable foreign debt burdens.
PATRICK TOBIN (the United Kingdom) said a rights-based approach to the eradication of poverty required practical steps, including a massive investment in infrastructure for developing countries. The donor community should respond to this challenge. Success, however, still depended on the extent to which the public sectors of recipient countries could make efficient use of such aid, and the extent of good governance in the recipient countries.
FAYZA ABOULNAGA (Egypt) said that the Africa Europe summit had made progress in the work toward the alleviation of poverty. It was important not to focus on self-interest, nor charity or good works. The figures encouraged thought as half of the world's population lived on $ 2 a day. Furthermore, the systematic reduction of overseas development assistance did not cover the needs of developing countries as the objectives of the Copenhagen summit had not been reached by far. There was no political will to eradicate poverty, however this was just an excuse to avoid international responsibility. The inequality in the terms of trade in the global economy had to be redressed. The Washington Consensus stated that these institutions should assist developing countries in their path to development.
IAN HILL (New Zealand) said reducing and eliminating poverty was one of the greatest challenges facing the international community -- a challenge to world civilization. It was a matter of human rights and social justice that all should share in the great wealth being created by globalization. Coherent and coordinated actions were needed. New Zealand was dedicated to such actions, but also stressed that development assistance should be used wisely. All Governments should ensure that development's benefits reached all people, including the poorest members of society. Good governance was required for this.
HUMAYAN TANDUR (Afghanistan) said the problem of corruption was being taken up by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), however, only with regards to trading relations. Corruption caused the continuation of poverty when countries were robbed of their resources. This was not confined only to one region of the world. The international community had to cooperate to end the scourge of corruption which had acquired serious dimensions, when millions of Euros were lost and the authors of corruption had fled their responsibility and were not held accountable. Enterprises took hostage the resources of poor countries and hence fuelled civil wars.
RAOUF CHATTY (Tunisia) said poverty was a serious violation of human rights and human dignity, but it was not enough just to know that; it was necessary to study the profound causes behind poverty and what was holding back development. There were internal and, above all, external causes. Poverty had to be envisioned from the point of view of the right to development -- that was essential. Developing countries had to be able to realize the right to development in cooperation with donor countries. From that realization, specific actions should come.
Tunisia had set up a national solidarity fund three years ago which carried out important activities which had made a big contribution to the eradication of poverty. Tunisia also appealed for world solidarity to fight against poverty.
LEANDRO DESPOUY (Argentina) said the most important issue was the clear awareness of the link between abject poverty and human rights. This should guide everyone in their thinking. Previously there had been an ideological debate which now seemed resolved. Poverty was not just economic in nature but caused the vulnerability and fragility of human rights. This had to do with the indivisibility of human rights. Categories were only of scientific interests, not in reality and in the implementation of human rights. There seemed to be a level of schizophrenia between macro economic plans and other homoeopathic remedies to poverty and human rights. Poverty was not only for people, but one had to work with the people. The discussion had showed the dilemma of the conditions people were subject to. The delegation of Argentina warned against fatalism, one could get out of poverty, it was not to become the new form of Apartheid.
PEDRO OYARCE (Chile) said extreme poverty was part of the human-rights debate today. The United Nations system and the Commission in particular must deal in an overall way with the subject, as part of a comprehensive approach to development. Chile considered that the plan of action adopted at the Social Subject, along with the Beijing Plus 5 meeting, would be a way of devising strategies to cope with this challenge.
Statement
Jose Ramos Horta, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate of East Timor, said that East Timor was now forced to build a new future from the ashes of destruction. He expressed gratitude to the countries that had come to the rescue of East Timor when it had faced destruction. A coalition of more than 30 nations had saved one nation. Every year the Commission reviewed various situations. But there were more situations, less known but no less deserving of attention. The nature of East Timor was different, it was time for reconstruction. East Timor had won an epic battle, a battle of minds, not a battle of weapons. East Timorese had only sympathy for their neighbouring country, and support for their new democracy. They were now normalizing their relations with Indonesia and attempting to bury the past. There had been many exchanges of visits between top officials from both sides, which showed the commitment to bury the past. There were also demands for the punishment of those accountable for violations and impunity had to come to an end for those holding public office. He commended the courageous efforts of the Indonesian President in bringing to justice those responsible. After the vote for independence, the slow process of nation building had began in East Timor but there was a serious lack of administrative and institutional infrastructures.
The East Timorese were participating in all policy decisions, through the National Consultative Council. A new court system with East Timorese judges and prosecutors had been set up. Thousands of refugees were slowly returning, and United Nations agencies and private humanitarian groups had mounted heroic efforts to feed and care for those deprived of their homes and livelihoods. It was essential that donor countries supply more support if East Timor was to move forward. East Timor called for the debt cancellation of all least developed countries. East Timor had been destroyed by war and impoverished by centuries of colonialization, neglect and mismanagement, but now it had a chance to defeat poverty and become relatively prosperous. One of the first act of the newly elected parliament would be the ratification of all the existing human rights instruments.
Continuation of debate on the rights of the child
CARLOS AMAT FORES (Cuba) said the extraordinary case of the Cuban boy, Elian Gonzalez, 6 years old, had been a topic of worldwide debate. His separation from his dearest relatives had touched a deep nerve, especially in the United States and Cuba. The father had informed Elian's uncle in Florida, from the time the uncle was granted temporary custody, that he was absolutely determined that Elian should return to Cuba, but for four months Elian's Florida relatives had kept the boy. The paternal connection was something that could not be compensated for by toys. The case had become a matter of painful, political manipulation; some were using the boy as a way of trying to undermine Cuba.
Correct United States Federal Court decisions had been taken in favour of returning the boy to his father in Cuba, but the anti-Cuba mafia based in Miami had done everything to block that event. These court decisions should be implemented immediately; currently the image of the United States was looking very tarnished as the Government could not enforce its own Federal Court decisions. Relevant international laws and conventions also indicated the boy should be returned immediately to his father in Cuba.
VICTOR RODRIGUEZ CEDENO (Venezuela), on behalf of the Group of Latin American and Caribbean Countries, said that GRULAC had tried to present an updated draft resolution on the rights of the child to the Commission. The Group disapproved of new trends like increased adoptions and lack of care and abuse, problems that ran counter to the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. That was why the GRULAC had proposed including issues like the right to identity and the right to being registered and cared for by parents in the new draft resolution. It also was focusing on wording on concrete actions by States parties. The year 2000 was historic because it marked the tenth anniversary of the Convention and it had also seen the adoption of the two draft optional protocols to the Convention on children and armed conflict and sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Countries should sign and ratify these two draft optional protocols promptly.
Thanks were expressed to the Special Rapporteur on sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and the Secretary-General's Special Representative on children and armed conflict. GRULAC would always fight for the rights of the child.
IVANA SCHELLONGOVA (the Czech Republic) said the Convention on the Rights of the Child should be universally ratified before the end of this tenth year anniversary of its original entry into force. Monitoring of implementation of the Convention should be enhanced. The ILO Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour was supported by the Czech Republic, and the country especially welcomed the inclusion of child soldiering among the worst forms of child labour. The Czech Republic expected to ratify the Convention by the end of the year.
One of the major shortcomings of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, similarly, was about to be remedied in part by adoption of an optional protocol related to the involvement of children in armed conflict. The protocol did not meet all expectations, but at least a clear message was being sent that no one under age 18 should participate in hostilities. The country also welcomed the optional protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution, and child pornography.
HU KANG IL (the Republic of Korea) welcomed the completion of 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 completion of the two optional protocols, in addition to the adoption of International Labour Office Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, had strengthened international norms. They reflected the firm will and incessant efforts of the international community to guarantee both the protection of the children and the prosecution of the offenders. The next step was to prepare tools to operationalize these norms.
The Republic of Korea strove for the protection of children generally, and it was careful to observe that there may be different priorities in different regions. In East Asia, great efforts had been and continued to be made to eradicate one of the most disturbing and intolerable aspects of child exploitation, namely trafficking and sexual exploitation of children. The Republic of Korea was confident that ongoing efforts would contribute towards ultimately eliminating the horrible reality of trafficking in children.
SAAD HUSSAIN (Iraq) said Iraqi children were suffering horribly from the effects of the international economic embargo imposed against the country. Former indicators of child health had more or less equalled the levels of developed countries; but since 1990, child-rights programmes had been greatly hindered by the embargo. Half a million Iraqi children were suffering. A UNICEF report on the topic showed that child mortality had climbed and that a million Iraqi children were suffering from malnutrition.
Iraqi children could not get enough health care, could not attend school as before, and did not receive sufficient resources in other areas. They lived in fear and isolation and suffered from the daily bombardments carried out against Iraq by planes of the United States and the United Kingdom. The use of depleted uranium by the United States and the United Kingdom also was having negative repercussions for Iraqi children, and in fact the consequences, according to experts, would continue for centuries. The children of Iraq were wondering where the United Nations was, since it was doing nothing to ease their suffering. The Commission must act.
SAYED DURAN (Venezuela) said children were a high priority for the Government and the delegation wished to state its support for the ideas put forth by the GRULAC group. Venezuela had strengthened its social policies concerning children and protection practices had been given great consideration. There were many practices which violated the physical and mental well-being of children and Venezuela was against them. The international community should have no doubt that the responsibility for the protection of the child was shared between the family and the State in order to ensure the best protection of children.
DEBORAH GEELS (New Zealand) said the Convention on the Rights of the Child should be universally ratified. It was also true, however, that further work was needed to enhance protection of children at risk and to implement child rights. New Zealand thus looked forward to adoption by the Commission of the recently negotiated draft optional protocols on children in armed conflict and on the sale of children, child prostitution, and child pornography. While the draft text of the optional protocol on child soldiers did not go as far as many delegations would have liked, when it entered into force it would significantly raise standards of legal protection. New Zealand hoped both draft protocols could be opened for signature before the end of the year.
The recent appointment of child protection advisers in United Nations peacekeeping missions in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo was a welcome development, as was the recent conclusions of ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour.
GRACIBEL BU FIGUEROA (Honduras) said all boys and girls were humans and States had the obligation to guarantee their rights and to fulfill all international agreements they were party to. Honduras was implementing policies to ensure the rights of the child. The Convention on the Rights of the Child was used as a framework for action to make decisions on children. The Code for children and adolescents was adopted in 1996 and Honduras was now working on harmonizing legislation to be in line with the COnvention. It had also been working on the reform of the Criminal Code in this regard. Honduras was aware that much remained to be done for the proper distribution and allocation of resources in general in order to ensure that the rights of children were realized. Honduras was strengthening institutions to help this process.
Concerning adolescent offenders, the Government had established a social reeducation programme to deal with them and to give them the necessary conditions to ensure their successful reintegration back into the family and society. Poverty and the deterioration of the environment were the fain factors which jeopardized the future and development of children. They had negative effects because they limited and restricted alternatives that children had available. Honduras had scant resources but it was doing its best to develop programmes for children.
ZAHRA TAHERI (Iran) said child rights should take priority for the international community and for nations. The UNICEF report "The State of the World's Children 2000" showed progress since 1990 in terms of access of children to safe water, sanitation facilities, food, education, and immunization. However, the progress was still too slow. Some 600 million children now lived in poverty; some 55 million children between the ages of 5 and 11 worked in hazardous circumstances; some 2 million had been killed and 6 million injured in armed conflicts. The two draft optional protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child were positive steps.
Iran had made great efforts over the last 20 years to improve the circumstances of Iranian children. Currently more than 20 per cent of the Iranian budget was allocated to health, education, social security and other services for children, including establishment of a primary health-care system and the construction of primary and secondary schools across the country.
ADY SCHONMANN (Israel) wished to comment on some recent developments that had taken place in the country in the field of promoting children's rights and combatting child abuse. For example, in a landmark decision in October 1999, the Supreme Court had imposed damages on a parent who neglected the children under his guardianship by completely estranging himself from them, thereby causing them severe pain. In another landmark ruling in January 2000, the Supreme Court had condemned in absolute terms the resort to corporal punishment against children as a method of discipline and child raising. These rulings were a milestone in a long standing campaign against domestic violence in general and child abuse in particular.
The planning of a comprehensive reform was taking place in Israel in the realm of children's rights. This was not to say that hurdles did not lay ahead. There were still many obstacles to overcome in the battle against child abuse. In fact, anachronistic social and traditional norms were still evident in the society as they were in many other societies. That was precisely the reason that Israel called upon all States and non-governmental organizations to make greater efforts in promoting children's rights.
SYLVIA LADAME, of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said the ICRC welcomed the draft optional protocol on children and armed conflicts and looked forward to its implementation, which would not be easy. The positive aspects should be stressed -- the prohibition of participation of children under age 18, the will shown by States to control the behaviour of non-State actors, and the inclusion in the protocol of internal conflicts.
But there were obvious shortcomings. Indirect participation in armed conflicts had not been included. And voluntary recruitment under age 18 was not prohibited. How could one tell what was voluntary? The exception for military schools also was questionable. The ICRC had been involved with child soldiers for years, along with children in general who were affected by armed conflicts. The ICRC tried to meet the needs of all vulnerable groups who suffered from armed conflicts; it tried to reunite children with their families and registered them and monitored their welfare until such reunions could take place.
GIUSEPPE BERTELLO (the Holy See) said the Commission was examining the work of two Working Groups which had adopted two optional protocols concerning children in armed conflict and the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. The Holy See appreciated the will for compromise which allowed the adoption of these optional protocols in order to protect children. International public opinion was showing growing sensitivity to these questions and expected the Commission to take a clear position. The Holy See had hoped that the States parties could find a consensus on the question of voluntary recruitment at the age of 18. The Holy See believed that the adoption of a new international instrument did not solve the problem of child soldiers but it helped. As for the optional protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, it also added better specification of the obligation of States. These new states of slavery were serious violations of the fundamental rights of the children.
YOSHIE NOGUCHI, of the International Labour Office (ILO), said ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, which had been adopted unanimously in June 1999, was explicitly aimed at liberating scores of millions of children from forcible recruitment for armed conflict, from prostitution and pornography, from slavery, trafficking, debt bondage and hazardous work. The ILO had also participated and watched with strong interest the drafting of the two draft protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Convention 182 had seen a rapid rate of ratification and would enter into force on 19 November.
Ratification and implementation were two different things, however. Convention 182 required States to take immediate action. It also called for international cooperation or assistance in implementation. The ILO was providing technical assistance to constituents under its International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour.
MARTA SANTOS PAIS, of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), said it was essential to ensure the mainstreaming of children's rights throughout the work of the Commission. UNICEF welcomed in this regard the decision to devote this year's special debate to poverty. This provided a unique opportunity to show that preventing the perpetuation of poverty could only be effective if it started with children. Over the past year, important steps were taken to reinforce the protection of children's rights. Among others, there was the approval of two optional protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. UNICEF hoped that these two optional protocols would be adopted by the next session of the General Assembly. UNICEF would actively support their process of ratification and future implementation. UNICEF hoped that this important step would be used by States to demonstrate their commitment to always apply the highest level of child protection, using the Convention as a minimum threshold.
FELIX-XAVIER NGOUBEYOU (Cameroon) said the Convention on the Rights of the Child had done much to protect one of the world's most vulnerable groups. More had to be done to prevent the participation of children in war, however. Some 300,000 children now served as soldiers; some 800 were mutilated by land mines every year; some 5 million lived in refugee camps. The draft optional protocol on children and armed conflicts deserved support. The sale of children for sexual exploitation, prostitution and pornography had to be eradicated. National laws had to be passed to protect children against the worst forms of child labour. Abuse of the Internet for pornographic purposes should be ended through international efforts.
In Cameroon, great attention was paid to child rights, and much emphasis was placed on education, including the education of refugees staying in the country. UNICEF had provided useful support and advice to the Government on various children's programmes and issues, including the problem of street children, a difficulty that could only be completely eradicated through the elimination of poverty.
EROS GASPERONI (San Marino) said the year 2000 was an important year for children around the world as it marked the tenth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It was a chance to reaffirm the indisputable legal, social and moral values for the protection of children and San Marino insisted on the full accession to the Convention. To commemorate this event, San Marino was issuing four postage stamps on the provisions of the Convention and would also issue a booklet related to the Convention. All profits would go to programmes benefiting children. The year 2000 had also seen the adoption of the two optinal protocols to the Convention and San Marino intended to ratify them both. No doubt that the increased awareness by civil society of the need for new instruments for the protection of children was a step forward. The task remained to ensure the physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development of all children.
ELIZABETA GORGIEVA (the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) said that on the tenth anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention on the Rights of the Child it was imperative to implement the provisions of the Convention. The world owed this to children who were dying every day of hunger in Ethiopia, as well as to thousands of child victims of violence, sexual exploitation, child labour, and abuse in military conflicts. Appalling violations of child rights came from poverty, and the Special Session of the General Assembly on social development should devise measures to overcoming extreme poverty and its negative impact on children.
Macedonia fully supported the draft optional protocol on children and armed conflicts, especially following the Kosovo crisis, when Macedonia had received thousands of child refugees. The tragedy suffered by these children had been alleviated by the humane response of Macedonia, which had provided basic humanitarian protection, free medical care, and free education for all child refugees.
TEIMURAZ BAKRADZE (Georgia) said there was a significant gap between the complete legislation protecting children’s rights in Georgia and the capability of the country for its implementation. This was because of the violation of the territorial integrity of Georgia by the Abkhaz separatists as a result of which more than 200,000 ethnic Georgians were expelled from their places of origin, including 60,000 children. The Georgian Government was deeply concerned about the impact of the conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia on children. In this province of the country, the fundamental human rights of children were being grossly violated. Thousands of children and their parents were experiencing the oppression. The Abkhaz separatists had burned almost all Georgian schools , having in mind the main objective to eradicate the use of Georgian language on the territory of the region. The children living there had no access to elementary health care services and were forcibly engaged with their parents in the slavery labour in the citrus plantations. The conditions of internally displaced children living on the territory of Georgia and controlled by the central Government were hard. It was difficult to cope with internally displaced persons when they made up one tenth of the population, but it was especially difficult for a country with deep economic and financial problems like Georgia.
RENUKA NAIKER (South Africa) said the damaging legacy of apartheid would take a long time to overcome, and it continued to have lingering negative effects on South Africa's children. Section 28 of the Bill of Rights of the South African Constitution gave expression to the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child; and the Government had embarked on a process of dialogue and consultation with a broad-based group of child-rights advocates leading to adoption of a National Programme of Action for Children, which tackled children's problems holistically and required that children's issues and programmes be "mainstreamed" into the portfolios of all Government departments.
HIV/AIDS was having a devastating impact on women and children, and the Government had begun a national campaign to mobilize resources to educate the public and to find alternative care for children orphaned by the epidemic. South Africa had made its first report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child in January; it supported the draft optional protocol on children in armed conflicts; and it remained concerned about sexual exploitation of and trafficking in children and supported the draft optional protocol on that subject.
MARKUS STAHLHOFER, of the World Health Organization, said the organization reaffirmed its recognition of the intrinsic relationship between health and human rights. This reflected the current efforts within WHO to integrate human rights in all areas of its work. WHO chose to draw attention to adolescents because their health needs and rights were all too often neglected. Each year, more than one million adolescents lost their lives, mainly through accidents, suicide, violence, pregnancy-related complications and through illnesses that were either preventable or treatable. Attention to adolescents in the context of the Convention on the Rights of the Child emphasized violations of the rights of girls. WHO wished to recognize the distinct vulnerabilities of boys as well. The failure to adequately address the health and development of adolescents constituted a denial of human rights as they were guaranteed in the Convention and other human rights instruments. WHO urged States to pay full attention to issues relating to health of adolescents as well as young children in their reporting and monitoring obligations under the Convention.
JOAO FILIPE MARTINS (Angola) said the impact of armed conflicts on children was of importance for each country and for the international community; it concerned generations who would be the leaders of the future; healthy children would lead to a healthy future for mankind. In Africa, a Convention on the Rights and Well-Being of the Child had been adopted subsequent to the international Convention on the Rights of the Child. Angola, in addition to a children's court, had a specialized court for all affairs concerning children, along with a Code of the Family, to deal with such matters as adoption, guardians, child custody, and parental responsibilities.
Armed conflict posed extreme threats to children -- it led to orphans, refugee children, street children, child soldiers, sale of children, and other extreme abuses. The Commission, by the end of its session, should adopt a resolution calling for an end to all the evils that afflicted children because of armed conflicts.
HAROLD ACEMAH (Uganda) said he would restrict the intervention to the report of the Secretary-General on the abduction of children from northern Uganda. Since the release of the report, the first group of 21 Ugandans, including some abducted children, were returned from captivity in Sudan in January 2000. On 6 April, another 51 captives were returned. Uganda urged the Government of Sudan to show its commitment to the Nairobi Agreement by such deeds. Although Uganda warmly welcomed the return of some of the abducted children, a lot remained to be done. The vast majority of the abducted children were still languishing under abominable and intolerable conditions in Sudan and the Commission must continue to exert maximum pressure to ensure their early release and safe return to Uganda. Uganda would table a draft resolution on the subject.
Concerning the report of the Secretary-General, Uganda found it irrelevant, unsatisfactory and unacceptable. It failed to address the core issue and fell short of the standards expected of United Nations documentation. Uganda hoped that the Secretary-General in the near future would send a mission to visit all the affected areas in order to assess the implementation of the Commission's resolution.
A. CASSAM, of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said more than 120,000 children under age 16 were serving as soldiers in armed conflicts in Africa; most were traumatized; many suffered from AIDS, malaria, or other diseases. Many had enlisted to escape poverty, while many others had been forcibly recruited. These children were in fact no longer really children. They needed to be given back their childhoods, to be given psychological and social help as part of their demobilization. A number of countries had programmes of this kind connected with demobilization of children.
There had to be a real, clearly expressed political will on the part of the belligerents and exploiters of these children. Demobilization, done properly, was difficult, and took time and money. Simply sending the children back to school was not enough. Children had to be rehabilitated and reinserted into the social, economic, and family tissue of the country. Such children should spend six or so months in a youth centre, then six months in a technical or professional training centre. Support was needed for such programmes.
ADEL AL-JASSAM (Kuwait) said the rights of the child was an issue which was especially important for his country. The rights of the child were the starting point for the building of a healthy society and they ensured human rights. Kuwait had been one of the first countries to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Children's rights were a priority for Kuwait which had adopted many measures to ensure that they were implemented. There were special clinics and centres for children. Qualified people were employed and they provided the latest technology and efforts. For example, there was the clinic of the healthy child, there was the clinic for children with speaking difficulties, there was the centre for mothers and children, there was the department of mothers and children at the Ministry of Social Affairs, and there were clinics for children with special needs.
CORRIGENDUM
In the press release HR/CN/00/33 of 7 April, the statement of Panama on page 8 should read as follows:
ANEL ENRIQUE BELIZ (Panama), speaking on behalf of the Central American countries of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic, said that these countries had actively participated in major UN conferences in the nineties in which plans of actions were adopted on the integration of gender issues. The Beijing Conference and Vienna World Conference had established that the human rights of women and girls were inalienable rights. The group of Latin American countries had participated in the international effort to promote the rights of women. With this objective in mind, actions had been undertaken with a view to promoting the human rights of women and in particular the advancement of women. Thus, special attention had been paid to women's rights in the field of health, education and measures had been adopted to curb violence against them. As signatories to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the group of Latin American countries reaffirmed its commitment to enhancing gender equality and equal opportunities in all fields.
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