STATEMENT by
H.E. Mrs. Mirjana Mladineo
Permanent Representative of the Republic of Croatia
Third Committee
Item 68: Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Children
General Assembly
Sixty-second Session
United Nations, New York
19 October 2007
Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Delegates,
At the outset allow me to congratulate you upon your election as Chairman of this Committee. My congratulations also go to other members of the Bureau. Croatia has aligned itself with the statement made by Portugal on behalf of the EU, but I would like to add a few points in our national capacity.
Since the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 18 years ago, many countries have changed their national laws guided by its provisions. Therefore children in many countries got better protection from different types of abuse. They also got a better education, a better health care and better chances to prosper in their adult life. For some children in the world, however, its provisions didn't mean the improvement of their lives. They simply meant better chances of a bare survival.
Today we applaud each other on the progress we made in protecting and promoting children's rights, but what have we really done? Under-five and infant mortality rate has declined and the total number of measles deaths was reduced by 60%. But 1.4 children are still dying from vaccine-preventable diseases, more than half a million women are still dying from complications of pregnancy and childbirth, some 60 million children live in households without access to improved sanitation facilities and some 93 million children are still out of school.
And that is just a top of the iceberg. Although we live in the 21st century and consider ourselves very civilized, the UN Study on Violence against Children clearly shows that every day millions of children are being tortured, raped, beaten, forced into work and army and deprived of their basic right. Unfortunately, in too many countries Governments fail to protect the families who then fail to protect their children.
Mr. Chairman,
The Republic of Croatia, as a country that experienced war and its horrors in the 90s is motivated enough to advocate in favour of the global efforts against the practice of recruiting child soldiers. Much progress has been made in the last decade regarding demobilization and reintegration programs for children. Governments of certain countries have put a lot of effort in these programs but like for every challenging project they need more resources. We must not forget the causes while trying to heal the consequences. Education is the key of reintegrating child soldiers back into the civil society.
Croatia has therefore committed to the Paris principles aimed at fighting against the mobilization of children and the impunity of perpetrators, at releasing child soldiers without demands and treating them as victims. We all have to bear in mind that according to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court the recruitment of children under the 15 years of age is a war crime.
Before presenting the concrete situation in Croatia, allow me to first underline the importance of the work of the Committee on the Rights of the Child. At the Committee session held in Geneva in 2004, Croatia presented its Second Periodical Report concerning the implementation of the CRC. Based on this Report and the discussion that followed, the Committee issued recommendations that were widely disseminated and became the key guidelines in drafting the new National Plan of Activities for the Rights and Interests of Children 2006-2012.
Belonging to one of just 19 States that have legal instruments prohibiting all forms of corporal punishment, Croatia wishes to see much more progress in replacing this humiliating punishment with non-violent forms of discipline both in family and schools. In Croatian legal system, corporal punishment is unlawful as a sentence for crime and as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions. It is also unlawful in schools and in all other institutions and forms of childcare as stated in the Criminal Code and the Constitution.
Croatian Government cooperates with UNICEF on special programs aimed at protecting children from different forms of violence. Some of them, like the campaign “Safe and Enabling Schools” and “Seven Steps to the Safe School” have been recognized in the region as the good practices examples. We will be happy to share with interested countries our experience how to raise awareness and sensitize the public to the question of violence in schools, particularly the bullying phenomenon.
Mr. Chairman,
Croatia welcomed the UN Study on Violence against Children by Professor Paulo Sergio Pinheiro that provides an in-depth picture of the prevalence, nature and root causes of violence against children. We hope that the whole international community will find the political will to implement its recommendations by taking the appropriate action, including effective remedies and preventive and rehabilitative measures.
The Republic of Croatia prepared the “Plus 5” – a review of the 2002 Special Session on Children and A World fit for Children Plan of Action. We are looking forward to the UN General Assembly Special Session in December this year when the UN Secretary General's Report will be presented.
Allow me to conclude by stressing that for Croatia promoting and protecting children's rights was and will remain high on the agenda. Children need to see concrete actions taken and commitments fulfilled by their respective governments if we are to make a real difference in their lives. We need actions to make this world a better place for them.
Thank you.
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