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Summary:

On 28 February 2003, the terms of five members of the Committee on the Rights of the Child will expire. Elections for new members will be held during a meeting of States Parties on 10 February. The NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child recommends that national NGOs play a role in ensuring the creation of a well-balanced, effective and hard working Committee.

On 28 February 2003, the terms of five members of the Committee on the Rights of the Child will expire. These are Mr. Jacob Doek (Netherlands), Ms. Moushira Khattab (Egypt), Ms. Judith Karp (Israel), Ms. Awa Ouedraogo (Burkina Faso) and Ms. Elisabeth Tigerstedt-Tahtela (Finland). Elections for new members will be held during a meeting of States Parties on 10 February 2003. In accordance with the amendment to article 43 (2) increasing the number of Committee members from ten to eighteen, elections will be held for thirteen seats rather than for five provided that the last acceptance needed is received prior to the meeting of States Parties.

Nominations of candidates for members of the Committee have been submitted by States Parties to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The updated list is attached below. The CVs of the nominees should be available in the near future on the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights at http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/6/crc/ .

The NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child recommends that national non-governmental organizations play a role in ensuring the creation of a well-balanced, effective and hard working Committee. It is therefore requesting an indication of support for the candidate nominated by your country in terms of the following list of proposed criteria for potential members of the Committee.

 Nominees should have a demonstrated expertise in the field of human rights, particularly children’s rights, in the course of their work and other activities. An understanding of international United Nations mechanisms would also be useful.

 Nominees should be independent and impartial. Although members serve in a personal capacity, there is a need for Committee members to be independent in relation to their country of nationality as well as where their government takes strong positions on human rights in relation to its allies, neighbors and adversaries. It is for this reason that the nomination of senior government officials should be avoided whenever possible.

 Nominees should have the ability to devote sufficient time to the work of the Committee. Committee members are required to spend three intense four-week sessions in Geneva, Switzerland each year and are subject to additional demands on their time because of their position and expertise. In addition, there is a considerable amount of time needed to study the numerous documents in order to be prepared for the Committee sessions.

 Considering the wide range of rights guaranteed by the Convention, nominees should be from a variety of professional backgrounds. The Committee has adopted a holistic approach, which emphasizes the inter-relationship and interdependence of all articles of the Convention. Nominees should therefore have a well-rounded and wide-ranging background.  Nominees who have experience working with NGOs would be most welcome.

 Nominees should have an awareness and sensitivity to cultural differences.

 Nominees must be fluent in one of the three official working languages of the Committee, which are English, French and Spanish. It is desirable that French and Spanish speakers have a basic command of English in order to be able to examine documents that have not yet been translated into other working languages.

Any information that you could provide beyond the CV of the nominated person would be of use in lobbying States Parties to vote for the best candidates. The information provided will be summarized and circulated anonymously, in hopes of candid responses.

List of nominates (by chronological order of submission)

1. Mrs. Lois L. BRUTHUS (Liberia) 1 May 2002 2. Mr. Awich-POLLAR (Uganda) 18 July 2002 3. Mrs. Moushira KHATTAB (Egypt) 4 September 2002 4. Mr. Kamel FILALI (Algeria) 7 October 2002 5. Mr. Jakob Egbert DOEK (the Netherlands) 17 October 2002 6. Mrs. Lucy SMITH (Norway) 17 October 2002 7. Mr. Lothar Friedrich KRAPPMANN (Germany) 17 October 2002 8. Mrs. Judith KARP (Israel) 17 October 2002 9. Mr. Hatem KOTRANE (Tunisia) 21 October 2002 10. Mrs. Nevena VUCKOVIC-SAHOVIC (Yugoslavia) 23 October 2002 11. Mrs. Awa N’DEYE OUEDRAOGO (Burkina Faso) 25 October 2002 12. Ms. Yanghee LEE (Republic of Korea) 28 October 2002 13. Mr. Norberto LIWSKI (Argentina) 28 October 2002 14. Ms. Velina TODOROVA (Bulgaria) 28 October 2002 15. Ms. Silvia IZQUIERDO (Uruguay) 28 October 2002 16. Ms. Mazen KADRAH (Syrian Arab Republic) 29 October 2002 17. Ms. Joyce ALUOCH (Kenya) 29 October 2002 18. Mr. Nathan STIRLING (Australia) 30 October 2002 19. Ms. Attiat Mustafa Abdul HALIM (Sudan) 30 October 20. Ms. Rosa Maria ORTIZ (Paraguay) 30 October 21. Mr. Ertan KAHRAMANOGLU (Turkey) 31 October 22. Ms. Marjorie TAYLOR (Jamaica) 31 October 23. Ms. Thérèse-Françoise ENGAMBE (Congo) 31 October (to be confirmed) 24. Ms. Galina CHIRINCIUC (Moldova) 1 November 25. Mrs. Rusudan BERIDZE (Georgia) 1 November 26. Mr. Jean ZERMATTEN (Switzerland) 1 November 27. Mrs. Ewa Miroslawa KATNA (Poland) 1 November 28. Mrs. Ann Therese NDONG-JATTA (The Gambia) 1 November 29. Mrs. Gabriela COMAN (Romania) 8 November

Latest Update: 8 November 2002

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Contact Information:

Laura Theytaz-Bergman
CRC/NGO Liaison Officer,
NGO Group for the Convention on
the Rights of the Child
P.O. Box 88, 1211 Geneva 20,
Switzerland
Tel: 00-41-22-740-4730
Fax: 00-41-22-7401145
E-mail: ngo-crc@tiscalinet.ch

Last updated 13/11/2002 10:21:45

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Elections to the Committee on the Rights of the Child

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