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Government must report to UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on key children’s rights issues
- 5 January 2012
- Type: Press Release
- Topic: Child Protection, Education, Family Law
Key children’s rights and welfare issues such as the continued detention of children in St Patrick’s Prison, child death, child protection, corporal punishment and children’s rights in the Constitution must be addressed in the State’s overdue report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child according to Children’s Ombudsman, Emily Logan today (Thursday). Emily Logan made her comments in advance of a seminar this evening at UCC on Child Protection and Children’s Rights attended by UN Committee on the Rights of the Child member, Professor Kirsten Sandberg.
The seminar, chaired by the Ombudsman for Children, is being hosted by University College Cork’s Child Law Clinic and ISS21 Children and Young People Research Cluster.
When Ireland ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1992, it agreed not only to advance children’s rights in line with those set out in the Convention but also to report its progress periodically to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. To date the Irish State has submitted two reports, the first in 1998 and again in 2006. Following both submissions and oral hearings before the Committee, the Committee published a list of recommendations in the form of Concluding Observations for Ireland. However, the State has now missed the deadline for the next report updating the Committee on what, if any progress, it has made in relation to these recommendations.
Emily Logan said: “With all of the current focus on the economy, it is important that the Government does not neglect its obligations to children and families. There are many current issues which are of grave concern to me as Ombudsman for Children such as child death, child protection, the ongoing detention of children in an adult prison and corporal punishment. The Government is obliged to report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on any progress it has made on tackling these issues and others, and how it intends to improve the current situation.”
Emily Logan added: “As it stands, the State has already missed its deadline to report to the Committee by a significant length of time. It must now channel appropriate resources into assessing the status of children’s rights in Ireland today, reporting this to the UN Committee and addressing outstanding issues. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child must be a live document that shapes and guides how we respect and treat children.”
ENDS
Contact: Nikki Gallagher at 01-8656803 or 086-8163246
Note to Editors:
In addition to the traditional Ombuds complaint handling function, the Ombudsman for Children has a statutory obligation set out in primary legislation, the Ombudsman for Children Act, 2002, to promote children’s rights specifically using the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The Ombudsman for Children is responsible for promoting and monitoring the rights of all children in Ireland without prejudice.
The Ombudsman for Children is independent of Government and reports directly to the Oireachtas.
Emily Logan is Ireland’s first Ombudsman for Children. She was appointed to the post in 2003 by President McAleese following an open competition.
- 5 January 2012
- Type: Press Release
- Topic: Child Protection, Education, Family Law
