PHM-Exch> Children's rights boosted as UN body now able to hear individual complaints

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: Thea Gelbspan <tgelbspan at escr-net.org>


*From:* Daniela Ikawa




*Children's rights boosted as UN body now able to hear individual
complaints*

* Source: OHCHR
 (http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=14166&LangID=E
<http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=14166&LangID=E>)
*

GENEVA (14 January 2014) - Children whose rights have been violated will
soon be able to complain to a key UN Committee after a new legal instrument
on the rights of the child  was ratified by the required 10 countries.

Costa Rica became on 14 January* the 10th country to ratify the Optional
Protocol to the Convention  on the Rights of the Child on a Communications
Procedure, meaning that it will take effect in three months.

Children or their representatives will be able to submit complaints to the
Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which will then decide whether
to review the case. Where a violation is found, it will recommend that the
State concerned takes action to remedy the situation.

"The Optional Protocol gives children who have exhausted all legal avenues
in their own countries the possibility of applying to the
Committee,*"*said CRC Chair Kirsten Sandberg.

"It means children are able to fully exercise their rights and are
empowered to have access to international human rights bodies in the same
way adults are under several other human rights treaties," she said.

"It is a major step forward in the implementation of children's rights, but
at the same time we urge States to develop their own systems to ensure that
children's rights are respected and protected and that their voices can be
heard," Ms Sandberg added, noting that it is the primary responsibility of
States to address child rights violations.

Individual children or groups of children will be able to submit complaints
about specific violations of their rights under the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, and under the Optional Protocol on children in armed
conflict and the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child
pornography and child prostitution.

But they can only complain to the CRC if their government has ratified the
Optional Protocol on a Communications Procedure.

"We applaud the countries that have ratified it and call on other States to
take this step too," Ms Sandberg said.

The CRC Chairperson stressed that the Committee's overriding concern would
be the best interests of the child.

"We will have child-sensitive procedures and also safeguards to ensure the
child is not being manipulated or used to make the complaint. And at all
times we will work for the rights of the child and take that child's views
into account," said Ms Sandberg.

The Committee may ask the State to take interim measures to protect the
child or the group of children or prevent any reprisals. At the end of the
review, if the State concerned is found to have violated the Convention,
the Committee will issue specific recommendations which the State must
implement.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child is composed of 18 international
independent human rights experts who monitor the implementation of the
Convention and the Optional Protocols by States parties.

Countries that have ratified the Optional Protocol as of 14 January 2014:
Albania, Bolivia, Gabon, Germany, Montenegro, Portugal, Spain, Thailand,
Slovakia and Costa Rica.

ENDS

*Costa Rica will officially deposit its ratification with the UN at 16:00
in New York (21:00 GMT, 22:00 in Geneva) on 14 January 2014.

Video: What the CRC does and why the Optional Protocol is important
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgRBZO2xK8w&feature=c4-overview&list=UU3L8u5qG07djPUwWo6VQVLA

Audio available on request.

For more information and media requests, please contact Liz Throssell  -
+41 (0) 22 917 9434/ ethrossell at ohchr.org

To arrange an interview with a Committee member, please contact Allegra
Franchetti  - +41 (0) 22 917 9340/ afranchetti at ohchr.org)

To learn more about the Committee on the Rights of the Child, visit:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRC/Pages/CRCIndex.aspx

Guide to Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on
a Complaints Procedure:
http://srsg.violenceagainstchildren.org/sites/default/files/cropped_images/RaisingUnderstanding_OCPC.pdf

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