Human Rights Brief

Volume 12 | Issue 2 Article 9

2005 Update Nicole Trudeau American University Washington College of Law

Christian De Vos American University Washington College of Law

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Recommended Citation Trudeau, Nicole, and Christian De Vos. "United Nations Update." Human Rights Brief 12, no. 2 (2005): 31-32.

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UNITED NATIONS UPDATE

TOWARD GREATER IMPLEMENTATION education, and legal and social services, dard of health and develop sustainable OF THE GLOBAL STANDARDS ON THE which act as benchmarks by which states are health systems and social services, which RIGHTS OF THE CHILD measured. Upon ratifying the Convention, should be provided without discrimination ON DECEMBER 23, 2004, THE UNITED States assume a legal obligation to implement to children. Particular attention should be Nations General Assembly (General the rights of the treaty and to submit regular paid to the prevention of disease, malnutri- Assembly) adopted a resolution concerning reports to the Committee on the Rights of tion and drug abuse, the special needs of the “Rights of the Child” (Resolution) to the Child (Committee) showing how the adolescents, and to reproductive and sexual urge states that have not yet signed or rati- rights are being implemented. States initially health. States should give support to chil- fied the Convention on the Rights of the report two years after joining the dren and families affected by HIV/AIDS by Child (Convention) and its Optional Convention, and every five years thereafter. providing access to healthcare and stressing the importance of prevention through ade- Protocols (Protocols) to do so as a matter of In addition, the Convention contains quate HIV/AIDS awareness. priority. Concerned about the situation of two Optional Protocols designed to children in many parts of the world, partic- strengthen the Convention in two areas. The Education should be recognized by states ularly the persistence of poverty and social, first, the Optional Protocol on the Sale of as a fundamental right and should be com- economic, and gender inequality, the Children, Child Prostitution and Child pulsory and freely available to all children. General Assembly passed the Resolution to Pornography, entered into force on January Social services should be implemented to call for urgent national and international 18, 2002, and has been signed by 110 coun- support adolescent mothers to enable them action to eradicate poverty, discrimination, tries and ratified by 87. This optional proto- to complete their education. Discriminatory, violence, sexual abuse, the sale of children, col seeks to eradicate the sale of children, racist, and xenophobic attitudes and behav- child prostitution, child pornography, and child pornography, and child prostitution by iors should be prevented through education the use of children in armed conflict. The criminalizing all forms of sexual exploitation and awareness. Measures should be taken to Resolution reaffirms the Convention’s global and child abuse. The second, the Optional protect schoolchildren from violence, injury, standard for the promotion and protection Protocol on the Involvement of Children in and abuse, as well as to establish complaint of children’s rights and calls upon states to Armed Conflict, entered into force on mechanisms accessible and age-appropriate fully implement the Convention and its February 12, 2002, and has been signed by for children to allow prompt investigations Protocols by passing legislation at the 117 countries and ratified by 88. The second for acts of violence and discrimination. national level in accordance with the optional protocol seeks to eradicate the use Further, states should have concrete action Convention’s guidelines. of children in armed conflict by condemn- plans to eliminate child labor that is likely to ing the recruitment and use of children in be hazardous to the child or interfere with BACKGROUND armed conflict. Upon ratification of this the child’s education. The Resolution The Convention on the Rights of the protocol, the ratifying party must raise the emphasizes that free, compulsory education Child, adopted by the General Assembly on minimum age of voluntary recruitment into is the key to eliminating child labor. November 20, 1989, and entered into force the armed forces to age 18. on September 2, 1990, has since been ratified The Resolution calls for states to com- by 192 countries, making it the most widely plete and follow a national action plan PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF THE adopted international human rights treaty in incorporating the commitments outlined in RIGHTS OF CHILDREN history. It is the first legally binding interna- both the Resolution and the Convention. tional document to incorporate the full spec- By passing the Resolution, the General The Resolution also requests the - trum of human rights, including social, Assembly seeks to strengthen the protection General to submit to the General Assembly political, civil, economic, and cultural rights. and promotion of the rights of children. The a report on the status of the Convention at The Convention provides a set of duties that General Assembly urges states to implement its next session and to prepare an updated states must adopt to meet the basic human the rights of children to birth registration, report on the progress achieved with an eye rights standards for children and relies on preservation of identity (including nationali- toward identifying new challenges and rec- four basic principles: non-discrimination; the ty), and family relations, and to promote ommending actions necessary to achieve fur- best interests of the child; the child’s rights to awareness regarding the importance of these ther progress. The General Assembly plans life, survival, and development; and respect rights. Strengthening these rights would con- to focus general debate on the promotion of for the views of the child. tribute to the prevention of illegal adoptions the rights of the child at future sessions, and the international abduction of children. while paying particular attention to specific To protect children’s rights, the challenges. Convention outlines standards in healthcare, The General Assembly further urges States to provide the highest attainable stan-

Published by Digital Commons @ American University Washington College31 of Law, 2005 1 Human Rights Brief, Vol. 12, Iss. 2 [2005], Art. 9 In passing a resolution 16 years after also discussed temporary relief from interna- IIC, noted that the Programme suffered the adoption of the Convention, the tional debt repayment for countries affected from a “chronic shortage” of auditors. General Assembly has shown its commit- by the tsunami. Canada remains the only Programme managers were found to be slow ment to the rights of the child and its donor to declare a unilateral moratorium on in responding to criticism and often unable intent to improve enforcement of the such payments. or unwilling to address issues raised by the Convention’s mandates. The General auditors. The IIC highlighted that UN audi- As part of the priorities outlined in Assembly’s strategies to monitor continual- tors should have evaluated procedures for Jakarta, the United Nations Children’s Fund ly the progress of the Convention and the approving oil contracts and oil prices and for has targeted four priorities to support the reports of each State regarding their com- the processing of humanitarian goods con- “tsunami generation” of children orphaned pliance with the Convention, as well as tracts in the Programme’s executive offices. by the tragedy: keeping children alive, caring choosing to continue a dialogue on the sit- UN auditors told the IIC that auditors did for separated children, protecting them from uation of the rights of the child, places the not review the contracts because they fell exploitation (the risk of trafficking is partic- necessary emphasis on children’s rights and under the mandate of the Security Council’s ularly high), and returning children to creates an environment in which chal- Sanctions Committee. school as quickly as possible. The UN lenges will be met with awareness. Population Fund has focused its activities on A spokeswoman for Secretary-General addressing the specific vulnerabilities of Annan indicated that, while Annan accepted TSUNAMI TRAGEDY women and children, launching a $28 the committee’s findings, the inquiry is not THE DEVASTATION WROUGHT by the tsuna- million appeal to cover projects over the next yet complete. The IIC plans to release an mi of December 26, 2004, has launched six months in Indonesia, Maldives, and interim report on the Programme, available what UN Undersecretary General for Thailand, including the provision and distri- at www.iic-offp.org. HRB Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland called one bution of equipment, medicines, and of the United Nation’s “biggest relief opera- supplies to ensure safe childbirth and Nicole Trudeau and Christian De Vos, J.D. candidates at tions ever” to assist countries throughout emergency obstetric care. In addition, the the Washington College of Law, cover the United Nations South and South-East Asia. Egeland stressed UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s for the Human Rights Brief. that the UN’s initial appeal of $1 billion in Fisheries Department has embarked on a aid would need to be delivered within the concerted effort to assist the hard-hit next six months to meet the basic humani- fisheries and aquaculture sectors through tarian needs of an estimated five million rehabilitation measures and projects. people affected by the disaster. While prais- ing global generosity in responding to the IIC REVEALS MISMANAGEMENT OF crisis, Egeland warned that, as with the 2003 OIL-FOR-FOOD PROGRAMME Bam earthquake in Iran, similar pledges have THE INDEPENDENT INQUIRY COMMITTEE not always been honored in the past. (IIC), appointed by UN Secretary-General Speaking at the UN World Conference on in April 2004 to investigate the Disaster Reduction in Kobe, , he noted UN Oil-for-Food Programme in Iraq, that, with nearly half of the world’s popula- released what it described as a “provisional tion living in disaster-prone areas, mapping assessment” in January 2005. This assess- tsunami relief efforts onto the UN’s ment chronicled a variety of shortcomings in Millennium Development Goals (an effort the financial management and oversight of to halve the number of people living in the $60 billion-plus program. The Oil-for- poverty and suffering from hunger by 2015) Food Programme was established in 1996 to would be an especially important task for allow Iraq to sell oil in exchange for food and the organization in the months ahead. other humanitarian goods after it was placed Addressing a January 5 aid conference in under a comprehensive trade embargo in the Jakarta, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan wake of the first Gulf War. Accompanied by asserted that the UN was in a “race against the public release of 58 internal audits of the time” to prevent another rise in the death Programme undertaken between 1999 and toll. While urging that the pledges made 2004, the provisional assessment indicated thus far be translated into available funds as that internal auditors at the UN failed to soon as possible, Annan noted that “We investigate allegations that Iraq siphoned bil- have a duty to the survivor. . .to treat the lions of dollars in illicit profits from compa- wounded, to prevent further suffering as a nies that bought more than $64 billion in oil result of polluted drinking water, destroyed and humanitarian goods. infrastructure, lack of food, clothing and Paul Volcker, former chairman of the shelter.” Participants in the aid conference U.S. Federal Reserve Bank and chair of the http://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/hrbrief/vol12/iss2/9 32 2