January 17, 2013 - A new legal instrument will soon allow children from 10 countries
to complain to a key United Nations committee if they believe their human rights have
been violated. The optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child
received the required 10th ratification from Costa Rica Tuesday, triggering its entry
into force on April 14. Marta Santos Pais, the U.N. special representative on violence
against children, said the ``historic'' entry into force of the protocol will place
``the rights and aspirations of children at the center of the human rights agenda''
by giving youngsters the right to seek redress for violations of their rights for
the first time. Initially, only children from Costa Rica and nine other countries
(Albania, Bolivia, Gabon, Germany, Montenegro, Portugal, Spain, Thailand and Slovakia)
will be able to submit complaints. But Santos Pais said the U.N. and other organizations
will keep promoting ratification of the protocol by the 183 other U.N. member states.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in
1989, ensures children of the right to a name, a nationality, an education, the highest
possible standards of health, protection from abuse and exploitation, and the right
to have their views heard. Two previous optional protocols deal with children in armed
conflict, and the sale of children, child pornography and child prostitution. Under
the new protocol, children or their representatives will be able to submit complaints
to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, which is composed of 18 independent human
rights experts who monitor implementation of the convention and the two other optional
protocols. The committee will then decide whether to review the case. If a violation
is found, it will recommend that the state concerned takes action to remedy the situation.
It can also ask a state to take interim measures to protect a child or group of children
or prevent any reprisals. Kirsten Sandberg, the committee chair, called the protocol
``a major step forward in the implementation of children's rights.'' ``The optional
protocol gives children who have exhausted all legal avenues in their own countries
the possibility of applying to the committee,'' she said in a statement. ``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,'' Sandberg said. She said the committee will have ``child-sensitive
procedures'' and safeguards to ensure that children are not being manipulated or used
to make the complaint. Sandberg stressed that states have the primary responsibility
to address child rights violations and urged countries ``to develop their own systems
to ensure that children's rights are respected and protected and that their voices
can be heard.'' (Source: AP)