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1. education and advocacy on the rights of children and young people,
2. encouraging the Government to act on the recommendations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The text for the Convention can be found at http://www.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm

ACYA MADE A SUBMISSION TO THE COMMITTEE FOR CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS. 

Here is the Executive Summary: 

 In respect of Civil and Political Rights issues
If the purpose of the Covenant is the current and future wellbeing of a well ordered society then issues to be addressed in the New Zealand Government 5^th Periodic Report should include:
a)    An explanation of their current position towards acceptance of the Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples
b) The growth of criminal gangs in the last ten years and the extensive use of pure methamphetamine, known as “P” in society
c)The effects of climate change not only in New Zealand but also in those Pacific Island territories that have New Zealand citizens, together with environmental issues including the need to improved air and water quality.

In respect of the wellbeing of children
Across the Articles there are four issues that need to be addressed by Government to substantially improve the outcomes for current and future children, namely:
d) Address the issues of child poverty by establishing a number of key indicators and working within a set timetable to reduce them progressively
e) Identify the extent of child abuse, its causative factors and set out a programme to reduce it substantially in the next five years
f) Admit the disparity of outcomes for Maori and Pacific Island children in health and education, and work with local communities to reduce the differentials within five years
g) Create a comprehensive policy and plan for children by December 2009.

In respect of child rights
The Government needs to:
h) Complete the work necessary to remove the Reservation to Article 37(C) of UNCRC, age mixing in prisons /detention, and provide education and health facilities to children not legally in New Zealand by the end of 2009
i) Complete the adoption legislative changes so that the Optional Protocol to CRC Sale of Children  signed in 2000 can be ratified by 30^th June 2010
j)  Determine if it is committed to removing the Reservation to Article 32(2) of UNCRC, no minimum age for child work, by 30^th June 2010.

The full report is at Information, ACYA Submissions:
http://www.acya.org.nz/?t=28

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