COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

Twenty-fourth session

SUMMARY RECORD (PARTIAL)* OF THE 616th MEETING

Held at the Palais Wilson, Geneva,

on Monday, 15 May 2000, at 10 a.m.

Chairperson: Ms. OUEDRAOGO

CONTENTS

OPENING OF THE SESSION

ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA

SUBMISSION OF REPORTS BY STATES PARTIES

The meeting was called to order at 10.10 a.m.

OPENING OF THE SESSION

1.The CHAIRPERSON declared open the twenty-fourth session of the Committee, emphasizing that the session would have a particularly full schedule, as the Committee would be considering nine reports so as to reduce its backlog. The Committee would devote a meeting to the strengthening of cooperation with various competent bodies and would discuss its methods of work at a closed meeting. It would also consider the implementation, in the five years since their adoption, of the Beijing Programme of Action and the Copenhagen Programme of Action and discuss the World Conference against Racism, for which a preparatory committee had recently held its first meeting, with the Committee represented by Mr. Doek.

2.Mr. GAHAM (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)) emphasized that at its recent session, the Commission on Human Rights had adopted the two draft optional protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child relating respectively to the involvement of children in armed conflicts and the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Both draft protocols provided for appeals procedures before the Committee.

3.At the same session, the Commission had also approved the establishment of a post of special representative on the situation of human rights defenders, who might be called upon to consider the rights of the child, and of two rapporteurs’ posts: one on the right to adequate housing and the other on the right to food. Both those rights fell within the remit of article 27 of the Convention.

4.The general comment on the content of education which the Committee was in the process of drafting would be a useful contribution to the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance.

5.At the beginning of the year, OHCHR had launched its first appeal to donors, a practice that subsequently would be carried out annually, in which a comprehensive Plan of Action to support the work of the treaty bodies which met in Geneva had received a good deal of attention. The comprehensive Plan of Action had been inspired to a great extent by the Plan of Action which had been adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child and which had broken fresh ground in that field. The comprehensive plan was aimed at ensuring more coherence and a better distribution of resources in the operation of the treaty bodies.

6.The administration of juvenile justice systems would be one of the priorities of OHCHR, which would organize an experts’ workshop on the subject in 2002.

7.OHCHR was carrying out several other activities directly linked with the Committee’s concerns. In particular, it was providing support for the creation of national human rights protection and promotion institutions, which had a role to play in the promotion of the rights of the child.

8.Concerning the amendment to article 43 of the Convention, only 76 States parties had proceeded with ratification. An effort had to be made to secure the 44 additional ratifications necessary for it to become effective.

9.The CHAIRPERSON noted the lack of significant progress with regard to that amendment, as only four States parties had ratified it since the previous session of the Committee. New efforts were required to raise the number of Committee members from 10 to 18 as quickly as possible.

10.Mr. DOEK asked what consequences the comprehensive Plan of Action would have for the Committee, and what kind of support OHCHR intended to provide to it.

11.Mr. GAHAM (OHCHR) explained that the spirit and letter of the comprehensive Plan of Action were primarily intended for the three committees which had themselves not yet adopted a plan of action: the Human Rights Committee, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the Committee against Torture. The aim of the comprehensive Plan of Action was to establish a link between the activities of all the committees and to ensure cooperation both among the treaty bodies, and between them and other mechanisms.

ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA (item 1 of the provisional agenda) (CRC/C/95)

12.The agenda was adopted.

SUBMISSION OF REPORTS BY STATES PARTIES (agenda item 3)

13.Mr. DAVID (Secretary of the Committee) said that, since the Committee’s previous session, initial reports had been received from Uzbekistan, Kenya, Mauritania, Cameroon and Greece, and that Romania, the Czech Republic, Italy, Iceland, the Republic of Korea and Viet Nam had submitted their second periodic reports. That brought the number of reports received to 183, including 146 initial reports and 37 periodic reports. The Committee had considered 118 reports; 48 initial reports and 95 periodic reports due to have been submitted had still not been received.

The discussion covered in the summary record ended at 10.35 a.m.