COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD CLOSES SEVENTY-EIGHTH SESSION IN GENEVA

The Committee on the Rights of the Child this afternoon concluded its seventy-eighth session after adopting its concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of Argentina, Angola, Algeria, Montenegro, Russian Federation, Lesotho and Norway under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its two Optional Protocols.

The concluding observations and recommendations on the States’ reports and other documentation will be available on the session’s webpage.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Committee held a minute of silence in remembrance of Wanderlino Nogueira Neto, a children’s rights defender and advocate, and former member of the Committee.

Renate Winter, Committee Chairperson, in her concluding remarks, summarized the activities of the Committee during the session, which was held from 14 May to 1 June 2018.

Ms. Winter reminded that as of 1 June, there were 196 States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child; 167 States had ratified the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, and 174 States had ratified the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. With the ratification on 17 May by Bosnia and Herzegovina, and on 25 May by Slovenia, 39 States were now parties to the Optional Protocol on a communications procedure.

The Committee had examined the reports of seven countries; reviewed four cases received in relation to the Optional Protocol on a communications procedure, one of which it had deemed a violation, one inadmissible, while two had been discontinued; and continued the revision of General Comment N°10 (2007) on children’s rights in juvenile justice.

In the context of the treaty body strengthening process and the United Nations General Assembly resolution 68/268, the Committee had continued its work to enhance its working methods, including the simplified reporting procedure. The Committee continued preparing for the Day of General Discussion entitled “Protecting and empowering children as human rights defenders”, to be held on 28 September 2018 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

Bernard Gastaud, Committee Rapporteur, presented the report on the intersessional activities of the Committee Experts, and the Committee then adopted the report of the session.

Meeting summaries of all public meetings held during the seventy-eighth session can be found here, and meeting webcasts here.

The Committee will hold its seventy-ninth session at the Palais Wilson in Geneva from 17 September to 5 October 2018 when it will review the reports of El Salvador, Japan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Mauritania and Niger.


For use of the information media; not an official record

CRC18.021E