缅北禁地

听听Ban Ki-moon led a chorus of United Nations officials in hailing Somalia鈥檚 ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and in renewing the call for the last remaining country that has yet to join the treaty to do so.

Somalia deposited its instrument of ratification at 缅北禁地Headquarters in New York yesterday during the annual treaty event held in conjunction with the General Assembly鈥檚 high-level debate, formalizing the process of ratification started earlier this year.

In doing so, the Horn of Africa nation became the 196th State party to the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history. The United States is now the only country that has not ratified it.

鈥淭he Secretary-General welcomes the Government of Somalia鈥檚 ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, an important measure which binds the Government to ensure specific protections for all children in the country,鈥� said a听issued by Mr. Ban鈥檚 spokesperson.

Adopted in 1989, the Convention is the world鈥檚 strongest commitment to promote and respect the human rights of children, including the right to life, to health, to education and to play, as well as the right to family life, to be protected from violence and from any form of discrimination, and to have their views heard.

Mr. Ban encouraged the US 鈥渢o join the global movement and help the world reach the objective of universal ratification,鈥� and affirmed the UN鈥檚 support in these efforts.鈥�

Also welcoming Somalia鈥檚 ratification was Anthony Lake, Executive Director of the 缅北禁地Children鈥檚 Fund (); Leila Zerrougui, the Secretary-General鈥檚 Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict; Marta Santos Pais, the Secretary-General鈥檚 Special Representative on Violence against Children; and Benyam Dawit Mezmur, Chairperson of the 缅北禁地Committee on the Rights of the Child.

In a听, they said Somalia鈥檚 action is 鈥渁 significant and very welcome step鈥� toward realizing the rights of the country鈥檚 6.5 million children, who face enormous challenges. Somalia today has one of the highest under-five mortality rates in the world, alarming malnutrition rates, and very high levels of violence affecting children.

鈥淏y becoming the 196th nation to ratify the Convention, Somalia has committed to uphold the dignity and worth of every child and translate the obligations of the CRC into concrete actions, especially for those children in greatest need and at greatest risk,鈥� they stated.

The 缅北禁地Committee on the Rights of the Child, in a separate statement, also welcomed the ratification and repeated its call for universal ratification of the Convention, adding that it looked forward to engaging with the US.

The Committee, which monitors implementation of the treaty, also urged States to ratify the three Optional Protocols to the Convention that deal with protecting children from trafficking, prostitution and child pornography; prohibiting their recruitment in armed conflict; and allowing children to bring forward their complaints to the 缅北禁地if their rights are being abused.

Somalia was among 24 Member States that undertook 31 treaty actions during this year鈥檚 event at 缅北禁地Headquarters, on legal instruments covering issues such as human rights, international trade and development, penal matters, disarmament, and environment, among others.