Ombudsman for Children welcomes members UN Committee

The Ombudsman for Children, Emily Logan, today (Monday 17th April) said she is very pleased that two members of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child accepted her invitation to visit Ireland ahead of the UN Committee’s review of Ireland’s Second Periodic Report later this year. Mr Brent Parfitt and Ms Lucy Smith, the Committee’s Rapporteur for Ireland, are arriving tomorrow (Tuesday 18th April) at the Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) for a three-day long visit.

“Since Ireland ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1992, the Government has been obliged to submit progress reports to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child outlining how the State is fulfilling its commitments to children and young people, which it signed up to almost fifteen years ago. The State first reported to the UN Committee in 1998 and this will happen again in September this year.

“As Ombudsman for Children, since April 2004 I have been given statutory responsibility for monitoring how the State treats children and young people. My Office will be submitting an independent report to the UN Committee on our experiences thus far. We look forward to outlining these experiences to the Committee in Geneva in June.

“The Ombudsman for Children’s Act, 2002, states that ‘the Ombudsman must highlight issues relating to the rights and welfare of child that are of concern to children.’ I am delighted that, while they are here, the Committee members will meet several groups of children and young people, and will hear first hand their experiences of growing up in Ireland today.

“As part of the visit the Committee members will also meet with representatives from other human rights bodies and some of the key organisations dedicated to promoting children’s’ rights issues.

“I hope that the Committee members find the visit beneficial and will develop a good insight into children and young people’s experiences of growing up in Ireland today.”

Notes to Editors:

The purpose of the visit is to provide the Committee members with an understanding of the context in which the Ombudsman for Children’s Office is working to promote the rights and welfare of children. According to Article 44 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: ‘The report shall also contain sufficient information to provide the Committee with a comprehensive understanding of the implementation of the Convention in the country concerned.’

• 17 April 2007
• Type: Press Release