S. Sudan’s ratifies Convention on Rights of the Child, hailed

May 4, 2015 (GENEVA) – The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child welcomed South Sudan’s ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, calling for universal ratification of the Convention.

“We applaud South Sudan for ratifying the Convention on the Rights of the Child, thus becoming the 195th State to do so,” the UN said in a statement issued on Monday.

The Convention, which is the most widely ratified international human rights treaty, was adopted more than 25 years ago and the rights it sets out are as important today as in 1989. These reportedly include the children’s right to life, to health, to education and to play, as well as the right to family life, to be protected from violence, to not be discriminated against, and to have their views heard.

“We urge states that have ratified the Convention, now including South Sudan, to fulfill their obligations to respect, protect and fulfill the human rights of all children. Ratification is an important step that brings with it a commitment towards implementation,” said the UN.

“We also repeat our call for universal ratification of the Convention and call on the United States and Somalia that have yet to ratify the Convention, to do so. We also urge States to ratify the three legal instruments that address specific areas of children’s rights, namely the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; the involvement of children in armed conflict; and enabling children to bring complaints of serious violations of their rights to the Committee,” it further stressed.

The Committee also welcomed South Sudan’s recent ratification of its two other human rights conventions and their optional protocols, citing the Convention against Torture (CAT) and the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

(ST).