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New Zealand places a high priority on children's rights and wishes to play an active part in advancing a meaningful discussion in this Committee on the rights of the child.
We are committed to the promotion and protection of the rights of the child. We are strong supporters of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols, the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the work of the United Nations Children’s Fund. New Zealand has also been a dedicated sponsor of texts on the rights of the child and has again cosponsored the omnibus text this year.
However, New Zealand reiterates its call for a new approach to the debate on the rights of the child in this Committee. This is not a new message.
The length and detail of the omnibus text are not conducive to constructive debate. In our view, there is no need to simply repeat from year-to-year previously agreed chapters.
Instead we favour the replacement of the annual debate on the omnibus text with a focussed and progressive thematic debate and resolution. For example, this year’s decision could have concentrated solely on violence against children, including the creation of the Special Representative on Violence against Children. In our view, such an approach could have provided the opportunity for an inclusive and progressive debate on such an important issue.
If we are to produce an effective resolution that propels debate forward and results in concrete advances, then in our view we must focus our debate. Accordingly, next year’s resolution on the rights of the child and corresponding debate should concentrate on a particular theme and it should not simply repeat previously agreed text. Such an approach would result in a considerably shorter and more focussed resolution. Importantly, the resolution must be open to inclusive debate and negotiation amongst all traditional cosponsors and interested delegations at a much earlier point.
We believe these adjustments to the way we approach the text on the rights of the child are essential if we are to facilitate a more progressive and inclusive debate on the rights of the child in this Committee.
