And a Little Child Will Lead Them

By Kristine Ward
National Survivor Advocates Coalition
January 15, 2014

http://nationalsurvivoradvocatescoalition.wordpress.com/

The  news broke out of Geneva yesterday.

It’s a victory.

There are too few of them.

It deserves a full measure of standing back and just knowing it happened.

A pause in the pain.

Children will have a voice.

How loud, how listened to, how effective?

All to be known in time’s true telling.

But for today. It’s a victory. It is to be savored.

Hip, Hip Hooray!

From the UN News Centre, the announcement:

A new legal instrument allowing children or their representatives to file a complaint with the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child is set to go into effect in April, following its final required ratification, the United Nations today announced.

This means, the UN News Centre announcement, goes on to say:

Starting in April, individual children or groups of children from the countries that have ratified the Optional Protocol will be able to submit complaints to the Committee on specific violations related to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The Convention is a universally agreed set of non-negotiable standards and obligations, providing protection and support for the rights of children. Its three Optional Protocols deal, respectively, with protecting children from trafficking, prostitution and child pornography; prohibiting their recruitment in armed conflict; and allowing them to bring their complaints to the UN if their rights are being abused.

Link to the  UN News Center announcement:

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=46922&Cr=child&Cr1=#.UtXVtJQo7IU

A second historic event takes place in Geneva Thursday.

Representatives of the Vatican will be before the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva on Thursday.

You can watch this event and a SNAP response livestream. 

Here’s links and information on how to watch and when: 

The UN review of the Vatican’s compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child – to which the Vatican is a signer — will take place on Thursday, January 16, 2014 from 10am-1pm CET, (4am-7am EST).

From 3pm-6pm CET (9am-12 noon EST) the Vatican will be reviewed on their compliance with the Optional Protocols on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.

This will be broadcast in English.

It will be broadcast by the UN.

Then two hours later at 8 pm CET (2 pm EST)  the reportback by Center for Constitutional Rights  and SNAP.  Tune in here .

You can  follow the conversation on Twitter and ask questions before or during the livestream by tweeting to the hashtag #HolySeeConfess or by emailing questions to askCCR@ccrjustice.org.

Quite a week!

Contact: Kristineward@hotmail.com