17th June 2011, Geneva; The Maldives, Slovakia, Slovenia, Chile, Uruguay and Thailand today secured the adoption, by the UN, of a new international treaty to strengthen the protection of the rights of children. The new Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child establishes a global communications procedure under which children or their representatives can report human rights violations to the UN and seek international intervention. Speaking after adoption, H.E. Mr. Ahmed Naseem, Minister of Foreign Affairs said: "This is the first time the Maldives has been centrally involved in the drafting and adoption of a full UN human rights treaty. This reflects the growing involvement and importance of the Maldives in the international human rights sphere. Promoting the rights of children is a priority for the Government, and is one of our priorities as a Member of the Human Rights Council. I am delighted therefore that we have been able to steer this new Treaty through the Council".
Agreement on the new Optional Protocol follows the decision by the Human Rights Council, in 2010, to establish an intergovernmental Working Group to draft a new treaty establishing an international communications procedure for children. The Maldives chaired negotiations leading to that decision, a decision which had previously been on-hold for more than twenty years due to disagreements between States. The Working Group finished its work in early 2011, and today the Council approved and adopted the resulting Optional Protocol. The Optional Protocol will now be transmitted to New York for approval by the General Assembly, and will then be open for State signatures.
Under the Optional Protocol, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child will be able to receive and review complaints from children and their representatives about alleged human rights violations, in situations where domestic remedies have been exhausted. Where the Committee finds the complaints to be justified, States will be asked to take action to respond to the issues raised.
The UN General Assembly is expected to adopt the Optional Protocol this coming September. The UN Secretary-General will then convene a Signing Ceremony for States during 2012.
ENDS.