WUNRN
UN CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CRC.aspx
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http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsId=52129#.Vg7YJa3ovmI
Somalia Ratifies Convention on the Rights of the Child – UN Calls for Last Remaining Country to Ratify: US
Students at the Hamar Jajab School in Mogadishu, Somalia
on 20 January 2015. UN Photo/Ilyas Ahmed
2 October 2015 – Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon led a chorus of United Nations officials in hailing Somalia’s
ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and in renewing the
call for the last remaining country that has yet to join the treaty to do so.
Somalia deposited its instrument of ratification at UN
Headquarters in New York yesterday during the annual treaty event held in
conjunction with the General Assembly’s high-level debate, formalizing the
process of ratification started earlier this year.
In doing so, the Horn of Africa nation became the 196th
State party to the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history. The
United States is now the only country that has not ratified it.
“The Secretary-General welcomes the Government of
Somalia’s ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child, an important measure which binds the Government to ensure specific
protections for all children in the country,” said a statement
issued by Mr. Ban’s spokesperson.
Adopted in 1989, the Convention is the world’s strongest
commitment to promote and respect the human rights of children, including the
right to life, to health, to education and to play, as well as the right to
family life, to be protected from violence and from any form of discrimination,
and to have their views heard.
Mr. Ban encouraged the US “to join the global movement
and help the world reach the objective of universal ratification,” and affirmed
the UN’s support in these efforts.”
Also welcoming Somalia’s ratification was Anthony Lake,
Executive Director of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF);
Leila Zerrougui, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children
and Armed Conflict; Marta Santos Pais, the Secretary-General’s Special
Representative on Violence against Children; and Benyam Dawit Mezmur,
Chairperson of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.
In a joint statement, they said
Somalia’s action is “a significant and very welcome step” toward realizing the
rights of the country’s 6.5 million children, who face enormous challenges.
Somalia today has one of the highest under-five mortality rates in the world,
alarming malnutrition rates, and very high levels of violence affecting
children.
“By becoming the 196th nation to ratify the Convention,
Somalia has committed to uphold the dignity and worth of every child and
translate the obligations of the CRC into concrete actions, especially for
those children in greatest need and at greatest risk,” they stated.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, in a
separate statement, also welcomed the ratification and repeated its call for
universal ratification of the Convention, adding that it looked forward to
engaging with the US.
The Committee, which monitors implementation of the
treaty, also urged States to ratify the three Optional Protocols to the
Convention that deal with protecting children from trafficking, prostitution
and child pornography; prohibiting their recruitment in armed conflict; and
allowing children to bring forward their complaints to the UN if their rights
are being abused.
Somalia was among 24 Member States that undertook 31
treaty actions during this year’s event at UN Headquarters, on legal instruments
covering issues such as human rights, international trade and development,
penal matters, disarmament, and environment, among others.
US is a SIGNATORY to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, but has NOT RATIFIED.