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12 January 2001
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CRC
26th session
12 January 2001
Morning
The Committee on the Rights of the Child this morning discussed cooperation with United Nations bodies, specialized agencies and other competent bodies working for the promotion and protection of the rights of children.
In the course of the discussion, representatives of UN agencies and non-governmental organizations briefly gave an account of the activities of their respective groups, with emphasis on their contributions to the forthcoming special session of the General Assembly on children to be held next September in New York. Speakers also focused on their collaboration with the Committee for the promotion and protection of rights of children.
Representatives of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF); the International Labour Office (ILO); the World Health Organization (WHO); and the NGO Group on the Convention on the Rights of the Child participated in the discussion.
A representative of UNICEF showed slides which visualized the organization's activities and future plans.
The Committee will meet next meet in public at 10 a.m. on Monday, 15 January, to take up the second periodic report of Egypt.
Statements
The Representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said that the forthcoming special session of the General Assembly on children would bring about new commitments from States, non-governmental organizations, civil societies, community leaders and individuals. The coming G-7 meeting of the industrial nations, which would be held on 27 February and would be hosted by the United Kingdom, would commit itself to eradicate poverty. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and representatives of international financial institutions would take part in the meeting.
Further, the Representative of UNICEF said that at the dawn of the 21st century, more than 1.2 billion people in the world lived on less than $ 1 per day -- half of them children. Armed conflicts around the world had been killing and maiming more children than soldiers. In addition, by the end of 2000, 13 million children would have lost one or both parents to AIDS. Concerning education, 110 million children of primary school age were not enrolled in school and the majority of them were girls. Despite these negative aspects, much progress had been made in the eradication of polio from the planet, and there was now unprecedented potential for a global movement developed to creating a world where every child's right to dignity, security and self-fulfilment was achieved.
The Representative of the International Labour Office (ILO) said that the campaign for ratification of International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labour was proving successful. It was recording the fastest rate of ratification in the ILO's more than 80 years of existence. The universal ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child was an encouraging example for the ILO Convention. In addition, the global mobilization to eliminate child labour, initiated by the ratification campaign for Convention 182, was also reflected in a sharply increased ratification rate of the Minimum Age Convention No. 138. As of today, the exact numbers of ratification of ILO Conventions 182 and 138 stood at 57 and 103 respectively. In addition, some countries had now developed national statistical data on child labour which could be accessible through the Internet.
The ILO had developed a 'Time Bound Programme' aimed at accelerating the process of eradicating the worst forms of child labour. That approach linked action against child labour to national development efforts as a whole.
The Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) said training for regional staff continued, in addition to workshops aimed at increasing awareness on child health care. The provisions of the Convention were used in training programmes and to strengthen the health component of child rights. Training kits would be provided to the Committee as soon as they were ready. In addition, WHO was involved in the preparatory work for the upcoming special session on children to be held in September.
The Representative of the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child said a child rights caucus had been established to promote full implementation and compliance with the Convention and to ensure that child rights were given priority during the special session on children and its preparatory process. A child rights agenda had already appeared in a document form as a basis for discussion with governments. It also reflected the NGO perspective that the special session should be used to develop practical and sustainable ways to fully implement the Convention as rapidly as possible worldwide. This, NGOs argued, needed to be achieved by making the Convention's provisions ever more binding by reinforcing its monitoring and implementation capabilities, by selecting a new set of comprehensive and measurable goals on which to focus for the next decade, and by mustering the political will to achieve them.
The Representative of the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child on Child Sexual Exploitation said the second world congress against the commercial sexual exploitation of children would be held in Yokohama, Japan, from 17 to 20 December 2001. The congress should include in its discussion aspects such as commercial sexual exploitation, the world criminalization of child sexual exploitation and travel industries involved in sexual tourism. Topics concerning racism and AIDS should also be included.
A Committee member said that if ILO activities on the eradication of the worst forms of child labour were not accompanied by social development measures, the problem could not be wholly resolved. Another Expert requested that the ILO provide the Committee with information on the exact content of the last ILO Convention on maternity.
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26th session
12 January 2001
Morning
The Committee on the Rights of the Child this morning discussed cooperation with United Nations bodies, specialized agencies and other competent bodies working for the promotion and protection of the rights of children.
In the course of the discussion, representatives of UN agencies and non-governmental organizations briefly gave an account of the activities of their respective groups, with emphasis on their contributions to the forthcoming special session of the General Assembly on children to be held next September in New York. Speakers also focused on their collaboration with the Committee for the promotion and protection of rights of children.
Representatives of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF); the International Labour Office (ILO); the World Health Organization (WHO); and the NGO Group on the Convention on the Rights of the Child participated in the discussion.
A representative of UNICEF showed slides which visualized the organization's activities and future plans.
The Committee will meet next meet in public at 10 a.m. on Monday, 15 January, to take up the second periodic report of Egypt.
Statements
The Representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said that the forthcoming special session of the General Assembly on children would bring about new commitments from States, non-governmental organizations, civil societies, community leaders and individuals. The coming G-7 meeting of the industrial nations, which would be held on 27 February and would be hosted by the United Kingdom, would commit itself to eradicate poverty. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and representatives of international financial institutions would take part in the meeting.
Further, the Representative of UNICEF said that at the dawn of the 21st century, more than 1.2 billion people in the world lived on less than $ 1 per day -- half of them children. Armed conflicts around the world had been killing and maiming more children than soldiers. In addition, by the end of 2000, 13 million children would have lost one or both parents to AIDS. Concerning education, 110 million children of primary school age were not enrolled in school and the majority of them were girls. Despite these negative aspects, much progress had been made in the eradication of polio from the planet, and there was now unprecedented potential for a global movement developed to creating a world where every child's right to dignity, security and self-fulfilment was achieved.
The Representative of the International Labour Office (ILO) said that the campaign for ratification of International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labour was proving successful. It was recording the fastest rate of ratification in the ILO's more than 80 years of existence. The universal ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child was an encouraging example for the ILO Convention. In addition, the global mobilization to eliminate child labour, initiated by the ratification campaign for Convention 182, was also reflected in a sharply increased ratification rate of the Minimum Age Convention No. 138. As of today, the exact numbers of ratification of ILO Conventions 182 and 138 stood at 57 and 103 respectively. In addition, some countries had now developed national statistical data on child labour which could be accessible through the Internet.
The ILO had developed a 'Time Bound Programme' aimed at accelerating the process of eradicating the worst forms of child labour. That approach linked action against child labour to national development efforts as a whole.
The Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) said training for regional staff continued, in addition to workshops aimed at increasing awareness on child health care. The provisions of the Convention were used in training programmes and to strengthen the health component of child rights. Training kits would be provided to the Committee as soon as they were ready. In addition, WHO was involved in the preparatory work for the upcoming special session on children to be held in September.
The Representative of the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child said a child rights caucus had been established to promote full implementation and compliance with the Convention and to ensure that child rights were given priority during the special session on children and its preparatory process. A child rights agenda had already appeared in a document form as a basis for discussion with governments. It also reflected the NGO perspective that the special session should be used to develop practical and sustainable ways to fully implement the Convention as rapidly as possible worldwide. This, NGOs argued, needed to be achieved by making the Convention's provisions ever more binding by reinforcing its monitoring and implementation capabilities, by selecting a new set of comprehensive and measurable goals on which to focus for the next decade, and by mustering the political will to achieve them.
The Representative of the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child on Child Sexual Exploitation said the second world congress against the commercial sexual exploitation of children would be held in Yokohama, Japan, from 17 to 20 December 2001. The congress should include in its discussion aspects such as commercial sexual exploitation, the world criminalization of child sexual exploitation and travel industries involved in sexual tourism. Topics concerning racism and AIDS should also be included.
A Committee member said that if ILO activities on the eradication of the worst forms of child labour were not accompanied by social development measures, the problem could not be wholly resolved. Another Expert requested that the ILO provide the Committee with information on the exact content of the last ILO Convention on maternity.
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