MINELRES: Information Note: CRC

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Original sender: Sandra Aragon <OHCHR-NGO@LIST.UNOG.CH>


INFORMATION NOTE ON THE COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most comprehensive
instrument on this subject, encompassing recognition of civil, cultural,
economic, political and social rights, and of special protections
specifically required for children. The Convention has been ratified by
more States (191) than any other human rights treaty. The Convention was
adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on November 1989.

There are four general principles enshrined in the Convention. These are
meant to help with the interpretation of the Convention as a whole and
thereby guide national programmes of implementation. The four principles
are formulated, in particular, in articles 2, 3, 6 and 12.
 
.  Non-discrimination (art. 2): States parties must ensure that all
children within their jurisdiction enjoy their rights. No child should
suffer discrimination. This applies to every child, "irrespective of the
child's or his or her parent's or legal guardian's race, colour, sex,
language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or
social origin, property, disability, birth or other status".

The essential message is equality of opportunity. Girls should be given
the same opportunities as boys. Refugee children, children of foreign
origin, children of indigenous or minority groups should have the same
rights as all others. Children with disabilities should be given the
same opportunity to enjoy an adequate standard of living.

.  Best interests of the child (art. 3): When the authorities of a State
take decisions, which affect children, the best interests of children
must be a primary consideration. This principle relates to decisions by
courts of law, administrative authorities, legislative bodies and both
public and private social-welfare institutions. This is, of course, a
fundamental message of the Convention, the implementation of which is a
major challenge.

.  The right to life, survival and development (art. 6): The
right-to-life article includes formulations about the right to survival
and to development, which should be ensured "to the maximum extent
possible". The term "development" in this context should be interpreted
in a broad sense, adding a qualitative dimension: not only physical
health is intended, but also mental, emotional, cognitive, social and
cultural development.

.  The views of the child (art 12): Children should be free to have
opinions in all matters affecting them, and those views should be given
due weight "in accordance with the age and maturity of the child". The
underlying idea is that children have the right to be heard and to have
their views taken seriously, including in any judicial or administrative
proceedings affecting them.

The Convention established a monitoring body, the Committee on the
Rights of the Child, composed of ten "independent experts", elected by
States Parties to the Convention. The Committee conducts its monitoring
work based on reports provided by States every 5 years, as well as other
information made available by reliable sources. The experts represented
a variety of professional backgrounds, including human rights and
international law, juvenile justice, social work, medicine, journalism
and governmental and non-governmental work.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child currently holds three sessions
a year, each of four weeks' duration. The Committee is serviced by the
United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in
Geneva.

In accordance with rule 75 of its provisional rules of procedures, the
Committee on the Rights of the Child has decided to devote periodically
one day of general discussion to a specific article of the Convention or
to a child rights theme.

General discussions have been held on economic exploitation of children,
on the rights of the child in the family context, on the rights of the
girl child, and on juvenile justice, children with disabilities, on
HIV/AIDS and children's rights and on violence against children. Such
thematic discussions are held about once a year and may lead to requests
for studies, but can also serve as a basis for work on interpreting the
articles of the Convention.

The Committee adopts "concluding observations", which are a statement on
its consideration of a State's report. Concluding observations are meant
to be widely publicized in the State party and to serve as the basis for
a national debate on how to improve the enforcement of the provisions of
the Convention. They therefore constitute an essential document:
Governments are expected to implement the recommendations contained
therein.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child will hold its 31th session from
16 September to 4 October 2002 at the United Nations Office at Geneva. 
During its session, the Committee will examine the reports of the
following States parties: Argentina, Burkina Faso, Israel, Moldova,
Poland, Seychelles, Sudan, Ukraine and United Kingdom.

"The private sector* as service provider and its role in implementing
Child Rights" is the theme for the next general discussion of the
Committee. The discussion will take place on 20 September 2002.

For further information please contact Mrs. Katja Hemmerich or Mrs.
Karin Lucke 
Secretariat, Committee on the Rights of the Child
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, UNOG-OHCHR
CH-1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
e-mail: crc-dod.hchr@unog.ch

*In this context, the private sector encompasses businesses,
non-governmental organizations and other private associations, both for
profit and non-profit.