News

QUESTIONS

Date: 28 September 2009

What are the issues that need to be addressed in our report to the UN?

This paper is concerned to address issues arising from the Government ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC). The text is available at
ttp://www.occ.org.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/3312/OCC_UNCROC_in_English_and_Te_Reo_Maori.pdf

The 3rd & 4th Periodic Report of the Government was sent to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in November 2008. The report gives a picture of the lives of children in New Zealand based on the Convention. Much is good, but many children need better protection and assistance. The government report is available at:
http://www.myd.govt.nz/Rights/uncrocinnewzealand.aspx
Where appropriate we quote the Government report page number after a heading as “Gpage.....”.

CRC sets out tight guidelines on the form in which we are to report. The Report must not exceed 30 pages and has to fit under specified headings, known as “Cluster Groups”. Whilst this structure may seem strange to us in NZ, the strength of our Report will lie in its succinct overview of conditions in New Zealand. This may mean we lose the depth of detail many of us might wish. However there is the opportunity for detailed submissions in the form of Working Papers which we will present as Appendices to the Report. The CRC Concluding Observations (CRC CO) with Recommendations to the Government issued in 2003 are available at:
http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/898586b1dc7b4043c1256a450044f331/73f172e77b12c842c1256df20033829f/$FILE/G0344655.pdf