EU welcomes unanimous UN adoption of Rights of the Child resolution on 20th Anniversary of Convention

On the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the European Union warmly welcomes the unanimous adoption of the resolution on the Rights of the child by the third committee of the United Nations General Assembly.

Gunilla Carlsson, Development Cooperation Minister of Sweden, which is holding the rotating EU-presidency, welcomed the news by saying that: "the adoption of the resolution on the Rights of the child by consensus in this anniversary year is an important sign of the international community's resolve to ensure that every child is free to fully enjoy all of his or her human rights."

Spontaneous applause broke out when the resolution - which is an annual initiative of the European Union and the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States and this year has a focus on the right of the child to be heard - was adopted by the third committee of the UN General Assembly on Friday with a record total of 138 co-sponsors.

"It is a particular pleasure for Sweden, as one of the nine initiators of the omnibus resolution on the Rights of the child fourteen years ago, to be introducing the resolution this year together with Uruguay, which was also part of this group", Carlsson added.

This is the first time since 2001 that the resolution is adopted by consensus. This year's resolution adopts a new, streamlined, format allowing for more transparency, a more prominent highlighting of new developments and a more in-depth treatment of the theme (this year the right of the child to be heard), while maintaining the omnibus approach. The record number of countries which expressed their support for the resolution by co-sponsoring it (including several countries which had not previously co-sponsored) is an indication that this approach was well received.

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• EU Presidency Statement – United Nations 3rd Committee: Rights of the Child (14/10/2009)
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