儿童权利委员会召开第六十三届会议（部分翻译）

儿童权利委员会

2013年5月27日

委员会选举新的主席团，科尔斯顿•桑德伯格任主席

儿童权利委员会今日上午召开第六十三届会议，听取联合国人权事务高级专员办事处人权条约司焦点小组科科长Wan-Hea Lee的致辞。委员会还通过了会议议程，选举了新的主席团，由挪威的科尔斯顿•桑德伯格担任新主席，并听取了七名新成员的庄严宣誓。

Lee女士在声明中祝贺了委员会通过新的议事规则，它反映了有关条约机构成员独立性和公正性的指导原则。应对条约机构系统的挑战并非是减少成本或保持成本适中的问题，同时正在形成一种认识，即额外的预算资金应该解决结构性问题，而不仅仅是减少积压项目。Lee女士谈到了人权理事会有关儿童权利的进展，即通过了儿童享有可达到的最高水准健康权问题决议、父母被判死刑或被处决的儿童的人权问题决议、以及出生登记问题决议。Lee女士还提到，关于2015年后发展议程的十一次全球主题磋商都呼吁更明确地关注人权，这都与儿童权利有关。 

委员会选举挪威的科尔斯顿•桑德伯格担任新主席，并任命沙特阿拉伯的阿塞尔•谢海勒（Aseil Al-Shehail）、埃塞俄比亚的本雅姆•达维特•梅兹姆尔（Benyam Dawit Mezmur）、厄瓜多尔的萨拉•德赫苏斯•奥维多•费耶罗（Sara De Jesús Oviedo Fierro）和斯里兰卡的希兰提•维吉曼尼（Hiranthi Wijimanne）为副主席。匈牙利的玛利亚•赫尔佐格（Maria Herzog）当选报告员。

以下七名委员会新成员今天上午做了庄严宣誓。巴林的阿玛尔•阿尔多谢里（Amal Aldoseri）、厄瓜多尔的萨拉•德赫苏斯•奥维多•费耶罗、俄罗斯联邦的奥尔加•哈佐娃（Olga Khazova）、埃塞俄比亚的本雅姆•达维特•梅兹姆尔、马来西亚的亚思敏•穆哈迈德•沙里夫（Yasmeen Muhamad Shariff）、巴西的王德里诺•诺奎拉•内托（Wanderlino Nogueira Neto）和奥地利的雷纳特•温特（Renate Winter）。第八名新成员——意大利的玛利亚•丽塔•帕尔西（Maria Rita Parsi）将于下周宣誓。

委员会主席科尔斯顿•桑德伯格表示，委员会当前的会议将审议十二份报告：根据儿童权利公约提交的六份国别报告（亚美尼亚、卢旺达、以色列、乌兹别克斯坦、斯洛文尼亚和几内亚比绍）；根据关于买卖儿童、儿童卖淫和儿童色情制品问题的任择议定书提交的三份报告（亚美尼亚、卢旺达和乌兹别克斯坦）；根据关于儿童卷入武装冲突问题的任择议定书提交的三份报告（亚美尼亚、卢旺达和乌兹别克斯坦）。

至于国别报告的当前状况，委员会获悉自上次届会以来，已收到七份根据儿童权利公约提交的报告，目前待审议的报告总数达到112份。瑙鲁和汤加根据公约提交的首份报告已经过期。到2013年5月为止，151个国家批准了关于儿童卷入武装冲突问题的任择议定书，163个国家批准了关于买卖儿童、儿童卖淫和儿童色情制品问题的任择议定书，37个国家签署、4个国家批准了关于来文程序的任择议定书。

委员会将于5月29日（周三）上午10点召开下一次公共会议，开始审议亚美尼亚根据儿童权利公约提交的第三和第四次合并定期报告（CRC/C/ARM/3-4）和亚美尼亚根据关于买卖儿童、儿童卖淫和儿童色情制品问题的任择议定书提交的首份报告（CRC/C/ARM/OPSC/1）、以及关于儿童卷入武装冲突问题的任择议定书提交的首份报告（CRC/C/ARM/OPAC/1）。

Opening Remarks

WAN-HEA LEE, Chief of the Groups in Focus Section, Human Rights Treaties Division of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, congratulated the Committee on the adoption of new rules of procedure which reflected the guiding principles on the independence and impartiality of the members of treaty bodies and on the adoption of four General Comments during its last session.  The co-facilitators of the intergovernmental process on the strengthening of the treaty bodies system had conducted a series of informal consultations with a view to ending the process in June.  The Chairpersons of treaty bodies had held their annual meeting in New York last week, during which they discussed documentation and conference services; the simplified reporting procedure; webcasting and videoconferencing; and the nomination and election process.  Addressing the challenges of the treaty bodies system was not a cost-reduction or cost-neutral exercise and additional budgetary resources would need to be invested to address the problems structurally and not just reduce the backlog.  The proposal for a Comprehensive Reporting Calendar remained the subject of greatest attention and apprehension; and several counter-proposals were now in circulation.  The challenge was to reconcile these proposals without compromising on the basic principle of regular reviews of States parties through full compliance with their reporting obligation.

Ms. Lee updated the Committee about developments in the Human Rights Council related to the rights of the child, including the adoption by consensus of resolution 22/32 on the right of the child to the highest attainable standard of health, of resolution 22/11 on the human rights of children of parents sentenced to death penalty or executed, and of resolution 22/7 on birth registration.  The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights would liaise with the Committee on these initiatives.  Ms. Lee stressed that the post-2015 agenda was surrounded by a great debate and a clearer focus on human rights had been called for across the eleven global thematic consultations, all of which were relevant for children’s rights.  The United Nations and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights were facing budgetary constraints and a system-wide cut of 100 million US dollars in the regular budget of the United Nations Secretariat was anticipated for the 2014-2014 biennium.  Fortunately, the staffing of the Committee’s Secretariat would not be affected at this point in time.  Finally, Ms. Lee expressed appreciation for the work of the outgoing Bureau of the Committee and its Chairperson, Jean Zermatten, under whose leadership the Committee had made great advances in many areas.

Agenda and Organizational Matters

The Committee Secretariat updated members regarding the status of country reports. Since its last session the Committee had received seven reports, bringing the number of reports pending examination to 112.  Five reports had been received under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and two initial reports under the Convention were overdue, those of Nauru and Tonga.  Cameroon had ratified the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, bringing the number of ratifications to 151.  Lichtenstein had ratified the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, bringing the number of ratifications to 163.  One country had signed the Optional Protocol on a communications procedure since the last session and two countries, Bolivia and Germany, had ratified it, bringing the total number of ratifications to four.  The Committee had also received two initial reports under the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, those of Germany and Latvia.

KIRSTEN SANDBERG, Committee Chairperson, noted that during this session Armenia would be presenting its third and fourth periodic report under the Convention and its initial reports under the two Optional Protocols, on the sale of the children and on the involvement of children in armed conflict.  Rwanda would be presenting its third and fourth periodic report under the convention and its initial reports under the two Optional Protocols, on the sale of the children and on the involvement of children in armed conflict.  Israel was presenting its second to fourth periodic report under the Convention, while Uzbekistan would be presenting its third and fourth report under the convention and its initial reports under the two Optional Protocols, on the sale of the children and on the involvement of children in armed conflict.  Further under the Convention, Slovenia was presenting its third and fourth periodic report and Guinea Bissau its second to fourth periodic report.

During this session the Committee would continue to discuss the organization of future work; the procedure for the consideration of country reports; its methods of work, including the format and content of concluding observations; and the strengthening of treaty bodies.  The Committee would also work on a draft joint General Comment on harmful practices with the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.

The Committee then adopted its agenda.
__________

For use of the information media; not an official record