COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

Thirty-first session

SUMMARY RECORD OF THE FIRST PART (PUBLIC)** OF THE 833rd MEETING

Held at the Palais Wilson, Geneva,

on Friday, 4 October 2002, at 11 a.m.

Chairperson: Mr. DOEK

CONTENTS

ADOPTION OF THE COMMITTEE’S REPORT ON ITS THIRTY-FIRST SESSION

* No summary record was issued for the 831st meeting. ** The summary record of the second part (closed) of the meeting appears as document CRC/C/SR.833/Add.1.This record is subject to correction.Corrections should be submitted in one of the working languages. They should be set forth in a memorandum and also incorporated in a copy of the record. They should be sent within one week of the date of this document to the Official Records Editing Section, room E.4108, Palais des Nations, Geneva.Any corrections to the records of the public meetings of the Committee at this session will be consolidated in a single corrigendum, to be issued shortly after the end of the session.GE.02-44804 (E) 081002 101002The meeting was called to order at 11.50 a.m.

ADOPTION OF THE COMMITTEE’S REPORT ON ITS THIRTY-FIRST SESSION (CRC/C/121)

Adoption of concluding observations (chapter III B of the report)

The CHAIRPERSON invited Ms. Karp (Rapporteur) to present an overview of the Committee’s consideration of the reports submitted to the thirty-first session.

Ms. KARP (Rapporteur) said the Committee had considered the reports of Israel, Moldova, the Seychelles, Argentina, Burkina Faso, Poland, the Sudan, Ukraine and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the first three of which had been initial reports. Regrettably, in the case of the six periodic reports most of the Committee’s previous concluding observations had not been implemented. At the same time, however, the Committee had seen a general trend toward better implementation of the rights of the child and increased awareness of their importance. Three of the nine States had recently prohibited corporal punishment in homes, schools and institutions; another had taken steps to do so, and four had adopted legislation against violence committed against children. Although corporal punishment and violence persisted in practice and called for sustained efforts to uproot them, the adoption of legislation was a heartening sign of a change in attitudes, as was the establishment or strengthening of institutions or mechanisms to protect children’s rights in each of the nine countries.

Of all the factors impeding the enjoyment of children’s rights, two were of particular importance. Poverty was a serious problem in each of the countries considered, including those with relatively wealthy economies, and economic difficulties had had a serious impact on the lives of children and poor families in all of them. Another devastating phenomenon was armed conflict, which had taken an extremely serious toll on children in the Sudan and under the jurisdiction of Israel. In both cases, the Committee stated in its concluding observations that armed conflict was a major factor impeding the implementation of the Convention, and noted the difficulty of ensuring the rights of the child when non-State entities took actions directly affecting children. The Committee had formulated its recommendations both for States and for non-State entities involved in such conflicts.

Some of the Governments had claimed to bear limited responsibility for ensuring the rights of the child, either because of a transferral or devolution of power or because of a lack of control over some territories in their jurisdictions. While the Committee acknowledged that difficulties could arise in situations of armed conflict, it considered that States parties were ultimately responsible for ensuring implementation. In the case of devolution, the State party retained responsibility for ensuring the monitoring, coordination and implementation of the Convention within the devolved regions.

The CHAIRPERSON invited the Committee to adopts its concluding observations concerning the initial and second periodic reports of States parties considered at its thirty‑first session.

Concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child: Argentina (CRC/C/15/Add.187)

The concluding observations on the second periodic report of Argentina were adopted.

Concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (CRC/C/15/Add.188)

The concluding observations on the second periodic report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland were adopted.

Concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child: Seychelles (CRC/C/15/Add.189)

The concluding observations on the initial report of Seychelles were adopted.

Concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child: Sudan (CRC/C/15/Add.190)

The concluding observations on the second periodic report of the Sudan were adopted.

Concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child: Ukraine (CRC/C/15/Add.191)

The concluding observations on the second periodic report of Ukraine were adopted.

Concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child: Moldova (CRC/C/15/Add.192)

The concluding observations on the initial report of Moldova were adopted.

Concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child: Burkina Faso (CRC/C/15/Add.193)

The concluding observations on the second periodic report of Burkina Faso were adopted.

Concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child: Poland (CRC/C/15/Add.194)

The concluding observations on the second periodic report of Poland were adopted.

Concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child: Israel (CRC/C/15/Add.195)

The concluding observations on the initial report of Israel were adopted.

Other documents considered during the thirty-first session

General Comment on the role of independent national human rights institutions in the protection and promotion of the rights of the child (chapter X of the report) (CRC/GC/2002/2)

The General Comment on the role of independent national human rights institutions in the protection and promotion of the rights of the child was adopted.

Summary of the day of general discussion on “The private sector as service provider and its role in implementing child rights” (chapter VII of the report) (document without a symbol, distributed in the meeting room in English only)

The summary of the day of general discussion on “The private sector as service provider and its role in implementing child rights” was adopted.

The CHAIRPERSON, reviewing the work of the session, said that the Committee had made progress in its revision of the guidelines for the submission of periodic reports and in its ongoing discussion to prepare a general comment on HIV/AIDS and children, which it hoped to complete at the next session. It had also discussed possible working methods for the discussion of initial reports submitted under the two Optional Protocols to the Convention, and ongoing efforts to improve its work with other United Nations treaty bodies and special rapporteurs. He invited the members to consider the remainder of the report.

The report of the thirty-first session, as a whole, was adopted.

The meeting rose at 12.20 p.m.