C ommittee on the Rights of the Child

Forty-sixth session

Summary Record of the Second Part (Public)* of the 1284 th Meeting

Held at the Palais Wilson, Geneva, on Friday, 5 October 2007, at 10 a.m.

Chairperson: Ms. Lee

Contents

Adoption of the report of the Committee on its forty-sixth session

Presentation and delivery to the Chairperson of the Committee of fully revised third edition of the UNICEFImplementation Handbook for the Convention on the Rights of the Child

Closure of the session

The second part (publi c ) of the meeting was called to order at 12 . 15 p .m .

Adoption of the report of the C ommittee on its forty-sixth session ( CRC /C/46/3)

1.The Chairpersonsaid that, at its forty-sixth session,the Committee had consideredthe second periodic report submitted by Venezuelaunder article44 of the Convention, eight initial reports submitted under article 8 of the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, and three initial reports submitted under article 12 of the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. The Committee had adopted concluding observations on all the reports it had considered.

2.On21 September 2007, the Committee had held a day of general discussion on“Resources for the Rights of the Child - Responsibility of States: Investments for the Implementation of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of Children and International Cooperation (article 4 of the Convention)”. The Committee had also decided to hold a day of general discussion in 2008 on “The Right of the Child to Education in Emergency Situations”.

3.The next Workshop on the Implementation of the Concluding Observations of the Committee would be held inBurkina Fasofor the French-speaking African countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo).

4.The Chairperson said that, if there was no objection, she would take it that the Committee wished to adopt the report on its forty-sixth session (CRC/C/46/3).

5. It was so decided .

6.M r .  Krappmann (Rapporteur) said that given the large number of reports expected under article 44 of the Convention, the Committee should consider once again seeking authorization to sit in two chambers for at least one session per year.

7.The Committee had noted the initiative taken by one NGO to establish a procedure to consider individual complaints in order to enable it to better promote the rights of the child. The Committee noted however that it would be useful to formulate a new optional protocol to that end and that it was a matter for the Member States of the United Nations to make a determination in that regard. Furthermore, some members of the Committee had observed that if the Committee were to have a further mandateit would need significantly more resources.

P resentation and deli very to the chairperson of the C ommittee of fully revised third edition of the UNICEF Implementation Handbook for the Convention on the Rights of the C hild

8.M s. Johnson (United Nations Children's Fund − UNICEF) said that since the launch of its first edition ten years previously, the UNICEF Implementation Handbook for the Convention on the Rights of the Child had become an indispensable reference work for everyone in the world who was working to realize the rights of the child, whether Governments, policy-makers, civil society organizations or actors on the ground such as UNICEF. The changes incorporated into the revised third edition bore witness not only to the immense workload which the Committee faced at each of its sessions but also to the considerable progress made in the field of the rights of the child since the previous edition in 2002, as evidenced by the holding of the United Nations Special Session on Children, the entry into force of the two Optional Protocols to the Convention and the submission of reports under those Protocols by States parties.

9.The process of revising and printing the third edition of the Handbook had been made possible by the generosity of the Swedish Government as part of a project to tailor the Handbook to local needs and publish a Swedish version.

10.Ms. Santos Pais (UNICEF) noted that theImplementation Handbook for the Convention on the Rights of the Child had been a huge success since its first edition and that the thousands of copies published in English, French, Spanish and other national languages hadfailed to satisfy worldwide demand.

11.The Handbook supplied information on how the principles and provisions of the Convention and the two Optional Protocols thereto were transposed into laws, policies and practices, presented the results achieved and outlinedthe challenges that still had to be taken up to give effect to the rights of children. The Handbook was greatly used as a tool for raising awareness, and it enabled the work of the Committee on the Rights of the Child to be communicated and the Committee’s role to be better understood.

12.The new edition, which covered the period from March 2002 to May 2007, reflected the considerable progress made in the field of the rights of the child and the significant role played by the Committee in that process. The Handbookwas based on the ninegeneral comments adopted by the Committee and the recommendations adopted at eachannual day of general discussion held by the Committee. It summarized theimmense amount of work already done by the Committee under each article and analyzed the 140 concluding observations adopted by the Committee during the period under review, thus giving a better understanding of the progress made and the difficulties in implementation encountered by the States parties.

13.The Handbook also analyzed related international instruments and gave accounts of conferences and major initiatives closely linked to the implementation of the Convention. The Handbook therefore enabled the rights of the child to be promoted on the international political scene and contributed to national planning efforts.

14.Access to the Handbook would be facilitated by posting it on the internet, as a follow-up to the production of a CD‑ROM.

C losure of the session

15.The Chairpersonthanked all who had contributed to the success of the Committee’s forty-sixth session.

The meeting rose at 12.55 p.m .

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