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UN Committee examines NZ performance on child rights
UN Committee examines NZ government's performance on child rights
19 January 2011
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (the Committee) has tonight begun its consideration of the government's compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (the Convention) and the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (OP-AC).
The government's 3rd and 4th Periodic Report under the Convention (CRC/C/NZL/3-4, available at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/nzcrc3-4.pdf ), along with information provided by NGOs, will be the subject of questions and answers during the interactive dialogue between Committee members and the government delegation in two sessions, the first beginning at 10am and the second at 3pm (Geneva time). The list of government representatives appearing before the Committee is available at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/docs/list/New%20Zealand_list56.pdf
Action for Children & Youth Aotearoa (ACYA) and Save the Children have submitted NGO reports covering a range of child rights, and Peace Movement Aotearoa has provided information to the Committee on the increasing militarisation of children and their education, in relation to the Convention and the OP-AC.
ACYA's preliminary report 'Children and Youth in Aotearoa New Zealand', June 2010, is available at http://www.acya.org.nz/site_resources/library/Documents/Reports_to_UN/CYA_2010/Children_and_Youth_Aotearoa_2010.pdf
ACYA also provided additional information in December 2010 summarising recent developments including the potential impact of welfare reform on children, issues in the juvenile justice sector, and the outcome of the Ministerial Review of Special Education services - that report is available at http://www.acya.org.nz/site_resources/library/Documents/Reports_to_UN/CYA_2010/Additional_Information_CYA.pdf
The Executive Summary of Save the Children's child participation report, 'Hear Our Voices We Entreat ' is available at http://www.savethechildren.net/new_zealand/where_we_work/HearOurVoicesSummary.pdf
and the full report is at http://www.savethechildren.net/new_zealand/where_we_work/HearOurVoices2010.pdf
Peace Movement Aotearoa's reports will be released on Thursday, 20 January.
Background information about the Convention, its Optional Protocols, the Committee, the process of consideration of state party reports, New Zealand and the Convention, and the parallel NGO reports will be available at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/crc56.htm on Thursday, 20 January.
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