Promotion and protection of the rights of children

(a) Promotion and protection of the rights of children

The item entitled “Necessity of adopting effective measures for the promotion and protection of the rights of children throughout the world who are victims of especially difficult circumstances, including armed conflicts” was included in the agenda of the forty-eighth session at the request of Cuba (A/48/242). The General Assembly had the item on its agenda at that session (resolutions 48/156 and 48/157).

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3 In para. 67 (i) of its first report on the organization of the sixty -fifth regular session of the General Assembly, adoption of the agenda and allocation of items (A/65/250), the General Committee reported that it had decided to allocate the item to the plenary and the Third Committee, on the understanding that the Third Committee would consider and act on all recommendations of the Council to the Assembly, including those t hat dealt with the

development of international law in the field of human rights, without prejudice to the right of Member States to present resolutions and decisions on all issues considered in the report of the Council; taking this into account, the Assembly, in plenary meeting, would consider the report of the Council on its activities for the year; and it had been understood that the agreement was in no way a reinterpretation of Assembly resolution 60/251 and that it would be reviewed before the beginning of the sixty-sixth session of the Assembly.

At its forty-ninth session, on the proposal of Uruguay, the Assembly changed the title of the item to “Promotion and protection of the rights of children” (s ee A/BUR/49/SR.1). The Assembly had this item on its agenda annually from its forty -ninth to sixtieth sessions (resolutions 49/209 to 49/212, 50/153 to 50/155, 51/76, 51/77, 52/106, 52/107, 53/127, 53/128, 54/148, 54/149, 55/78, 55/79, 56/138, 56/139, 57/188 to 57/190, 58/155 to 58/157, 58/245, 59/173, 59/261, 60/141 and 60/231 and decisions 51/418, 52/421, 53/431, 54/432, 55/418, 57/530 and 59/525).

At its sixtieth session, the Assembly decided to include the item as a sub -item in the provisional agenda of its sixty-first session (decision 60/537). The Assembly had the sub-item entitled “Promotion and protection of the rights of children” on its agenda annually since the sixty-first session (resolutions 61/146, 62/138 to 62/141, 63/241, 64/145, 64/146, 65/197, 66/139 to 66/141, 67/152, 68/145 to 68/148, 68/273, 69/156 to 69/158, 70/137, 70/138, 71/175 to 71/177, 72/154, 72/245, 73/153 to 73/155, 74/133, 74/134, 75/166 and 75/167 and decisions 61/526, 62/528, 63/532, 64/532, 65/534, 66/534, 67/535, 68/533, 69/532, 71/532 and 73/524).

At its forty-fourth session, under the item entitled “Adoption of the convention on the rights of the child”, the Assembly adopted resolution 44/25 (Convention on the Rights of the Child). At its fifty-fourth session, under the item entitled “Human rights questions”, the Assembly adopted resolution 54/263 (Optional protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography). At its sixty-sixth session, under the item entitled “Report of the Human Rights Council”, the Assembly adopted resolution 66/138 (Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure).

Also at its forty-fourth session, the Assembly decided that the Committee on the Rights of the Child would submit to the Assembly, through the Economic and Social Council, every two years, reports on its activities (resolution 44/25, annex).

At its seventy-fourth session, the Assembly requested the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict to continue to submit reports to the Assembly and the Human Rights Council on the activities undertaken in the fulfilment of her mandate, including information on her field visits and on the progress achieved and the challenges remaining on the children and armed conflict agenda. The Assembly requested the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children to continue to submit annual reports to the Assembly and the Council on the activities undertaken in fulfilment of her mandate, consistent with paragraphs 58 and 59 of its resolution 62/141, including information on her field visits and on the progress achieved and the challenges remaining on the violence against children agenda. The Assembly requested the Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Council on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material, to continue to submit reports to the Assembly and the Council on the activities undertaken in fulfilment of her mandate, including information on her field visits a nd on the progress achieved and the challenges remaining in the prevention and eradication of the sale of children, child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material and the sexual exploitation and abuse of children. The Assembly invited the Chair of the Committee on the Rights of the Child to present an oral report on the work of the Committee and to engage in an interactive dialogue with the Assembly at its seventy-fifth and seventy-sixth sessions as a way to enhance communication between the Assembly and the Committee (resolution 74/133).

At the same session, the Assembly requested the Secretary-General to submit a report to it at its seventy-sixth session on the implementation of the resolution, including a status analysis on improvements in the social, economic and political investments

made by Member States towards empowering girls in rural areas, using information provided by Member States, the organizations and bodies of the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations, with a view to assessing the impact of the resolution on the well-being of the girl child (resolution 74/134).

At its seventy-fifth session, the Assembly invited the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children to include information relevant to her mandate on the progress achieved in the protection of children from bullying, including cyberbullying, in her report to the Assembly at its seventy-sixth session (resolution 75/166).

Documents for the seventy-sixth session:

(a) Report of the Committee on the Rights of the Child: Supplement No. 41 (A/76/41);

(b) Report of the Secretary-General (resolution 74/134);

(c) Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (resolution 74/133);

(d) Annual report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children (resolution 74/133);

(e) Note by the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material (resolution 74/133).

References for the seventy-fifth session (agenda item 68 (a)) Reports of the Secretary-General A/75/262 and A/75/307

Annual report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children (A/75/149)

Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (A/75/203)

Note by the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material (A/75/210)

Summary records A/C.3/75/SR.8 and 9

Report of the Third Committee A/75/474

Plenary meeting A/75/PV.46

Resolutions 75/166 and 75/167

(b) Follow-up to the outcome of the special session on children

At its fifty-first session, under the item entitled “Operational activities for development”, the General Assembly decided to convene a special session of the Assembly to review the achievement of the goals of the World Summit for Children, and to consider the arrangements for the special session at its fifty -third session (resolution 51/186).

At its twenty-seventh special session, under the items entitled “Review of the achievements in the implementation and results of the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children and Plan of Action for Implementing the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children in the 1990s” and “Renewal of commitment and future action for children

in the next decade”, the Assembly adopted resolution S-27/2 (A world fit for children). The Assembly requested the Secretary-General to report regularly on progress made in implementing the Plan of Action included in the annex to the resolution.

At its fifty-fourth session, the Assembly, under the sub-item entitled “Operational activities for development of the United Nations system” of the item entitled

“Operational activities for development”, decided to include in the provisional agenda of the fifty-fifth session the item entitled “Special session of the General Assembly in 2001 for follow-up to the World Summit for Children” (resolution 54/93). The Assembly had the item on its agenda at its fifty-fifth session (resolution 55/26).

At its fifty-fifth session, the Assembly decided to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty sixth session the item entitled “Follow-up to the outcome of the special session on children” (resolution 55/26). The Assembly had the item on its agenda annually from its fifty-sixth to sixtieth sessions (resolutions 56/222, 56/259 and 58/282).

At its sixtieth session, the Assembly decided to include the item entitled “Follow -up to the outcome of the special session on children” as a sub-item of the item entitled

“Promotion and protection of the rights of children” in the provisional agenda of it s sixty-first session (decision 60/537). It has had the sub-item on its agenda annually since its sixty-first session (resolutions 61/272 and 62/88 (declaration of the commemorative high-level plenary meeting devoted to the follow-up to the outcome of the special session on children)).

At its seventy-fifth session, under the item entitled “Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly”, the Assembly approved the programme of work of the Third Committee for the seventy-fifth session, which contained the sub-item entitled

“Follow-up to the outcome of the special session on children” (decision 75/540).

Document for the seventy-sixth session: Report of the Secretary-General (resolution S-27/2).

References for the seventy-fifth session (agenda items 68 (b) and 126) Report of the Secretary-General A/75/286

Report of the Third Committee A/75/474

Plenary meeting A/75/PV.46

Decision 75/540