Office of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Regional Office for the Pacific - Suva, Fiji       

National Workshop on the Implementation of the Concluding Observations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child by Fiji

Statement by Paulo David
Chief, Regional Office for the Pacific

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen
Dear Young Participants

It is a great honour for my organization, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to co-organize along with the Government of Fiji and UNICEF this National Workshop on the Implementation of the Concluding Observations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child by Fiji.

My organization esatblished a regional office for the Pacific in Suva last August and activities around the seven core international human rights treaties, such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, is one of our major field of work. I am also particularly happy that we have the privilege to have with us during these two days the Chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Mr. Jaap Doek, who will share with us his vast and impressive experience in the field of child rights and guide efficiently our debates.

Fiji ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1993 and five years later the Committee on the Rights of the Child - which is the United Nations expert body mandated to periodically monitor implementation of the treaty by States Parties - adopted recommendations following the submission by Fiji of its initial report. The 1998 recommendations, also referred to as "concluding observations", will be the core of our deliberations during the two-day workshop. We aim to explore at achievements and constraints in following-up these recommendations, especially in four fields: juvenile justice; right to education; corporal punishment, domestic violence and sexual abuse; and independent monitoring mechanisms.

This workshop is in your hands: we count on your expert knowledge, vast experience and creative ideas to fully grasp what has been achieved since 1998 in Fiji and what still requires close attention, specific measures and long-term vision. Discussions in working groups should be frank, objective and constructive in order for all participants to be able to shape useful recommendations to improve the status of children in Fiji for the next few years. Furthermore, the workshop will no doubt also inspire and create momentum for the Fiji Government to prepare its second periodic report under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has been organizing since several years with different Governments and UN agencies, including UNICEF and UNDP, these types of follow-up workshops either at national or at sub-regional levels. In the field of child rights, similar workshops have taken place since 2003, notably in Damascus, Bangkok, Doha, Hanoi, and Buenos Aires. They all succeeded in improving understanding of what had been achieved since treaty ratification and what areas still needed improvement. This is precisely one of the added-values of working with international human rights treaties and their supervising bodies. Periodic reviews provide analytical tools and benchmarks to measure country level achievements as well as remaining challenges.

Ladies and Gentleman,

The Pacific region is the one in the world that counts the lowest level of ratification of international human rights treaties, though every single of the 16 Government has ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child. My Office is very encouraged by the fact that the Pacific Plan, recently adopted by the 16 Leaders of the region, calls explicitly for further ratification of the seven core international human rights instruments. There is no doubt that ratification of the child rights convention has proven to be a crucial step for countries to improve their child rights record. Nevertheless, ratification of other core human rights treaties would furthermore provide additional levels of the protection of children's rights. Fiji is also a party to both the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) which clearly benefit children.

We are further very much aware of the demands and challenges - for some immense - to deal with reporting obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international human rights treaties. It is nevertheless our conviction that reporting should not be perceived as a purely bureaucratic process; on the contrary reporting to United Nations treaty bodies should provide Governments the unique opportunity, among others, to asses in detail their country situation; the quality and effectiveness of their policies, laws, services and programmes; and to improve inter-ministry coordination as well as coordination between the national and local levels.

Ladies and Gentleman,

I am convinced that this workshop will reach its objectives and that after fertile debates, tomorrow evening we will come-up with sound recommendations. I once again wish to thank the Government of Fiji for agreeing to co-organize this event with such enthusiasm, dedication and energy.

Thank you for your attention and I wish you all a very fruitful meeting.