Belfast Telegraph
15 JANUARY 2014
Children who believe their human rights have been infringed can take their case to the United Nations under a new legal move.
The optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child has received the required 10th ratification from Costa Rica and will come into force on April 14.
Marta Santos Pais, the UN special representative on violence against children, said the “historic” move would place “the rights and aspirations of children at the centre of the human rights agenda” by giving youngsters the right to seek redress for abuses of their rights for the first time.
Initially, only children from Costa Rica and the nine other countries: Albania; Bolivia; Gabon; Germany; Montenegro; Portugal; Spain; Thailand; and Slovakia, will be able to submit complaints. But Ms Santos Pais said the UN and other organisations would keep promoting ratification of the protocol by the 183 other member states.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.