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)