Nafsiah chosen to chair UN children's rights committee

Nafsiah chosen to chair UN children's rights committee

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's leading children's rights campaigner
Nafsiah Mboi has been elected to head the United Nations
Committee on the Rights of the Child, making her the only Asian
in the body's panel of 10 experts.

Nafsiah, a pediatrician who is also a prominent activist in
AIDS and women issues, was unanimously elected in May as the
first Asian member to chair the committee. She will serve a two-
year term.

Other committee members come from the United States and
various European countries.

Indonesia ratified in 1990 the United Nations Convention on
the Rights of the Child, which has been ratified by all
countries.

United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) representative for
Indonesia and Malaysia Stephen J. Woodhouse, addressing a media
briefing at his office, expressed pride over Nafsiah's election.

"We all know that Ibu Nafsiah is committed to fight for
children's rights," he said.

Nafsiah said the rights of the child -- including to live, to
grow, to develop, not to be discriminated against, and to have
their own opinion -- was one of the six instruments of human
rights.

In addition to the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
Indonesia has also ratified conventions against discrimination
against women, against racial discrimination, and against
torture.

"We hope Indonesia will soon ratify the other two
conventions," said Nafsiah, referring to conventions on Civil and
Political Freedom and Social, Economic and Cultural Rights.

Nafsiah acknowledged the 10 years following ratification of
the convention on the rights of the child had not been followed
by greater public understanding of the issue.

"The mass media should help disseminate the convention," she
said, referring to Article 17 of the convention which states that
state parties will "encourage the mass media to disseminate
information and material of social and cultural benefit to the
child".

Chairman of the National Commission for Child Protection Seto
Mulyadi, who was present at the media briefing, spoke of the
importance of disseminating concepts about the protection of
children's rights.

Nafsiah was 15 years ago involved in the drafting of a bill on
the protection of children's rights, but the document remained
untouched at the state secretary, Seto said. (05)