[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 11813]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



    URGING RATIFICATION OF THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 25, 2001

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, on June 20, 2001 the House passed H. Res. 
124 recognizing the importance of children in the United States and 
supporting the goals and ideals of American Youth. This piece of 
legislation was adopted by a unanimous vote of 424-0. I commend the 
U.S. House of Representatives on passing the resolution and believe 
that we all share the desire to secure the safety and well being of all 
children in our great nation and abroad.
  More than a decade ago, the largest group of world leaders ever 
convened for the World Summit for Children to discuss their 
responsibility to children. At the end of the World Summit, 71 heads of 
state and other world leaders signed the World Declaration on Survival, 
Protection and Development of Children. The standards and obligations 
adopted place children center stage in the quest for a just, respectful 
and peaceful society.
  The leaders attending the summit also adopted a Plan of Action to 
achieve a set of precise, time-bound goals, including: Improving living 
conditions for children and their chances for survival by increasing 
access to health services; reducing the spread of preventable diseases; 
creating more opportunities for education; providing better sanitation 
and greater food supply; and protecting children in danger.
  To date, 192 states have ratified or signed the convention. The 
convention was ratified more quickly and by more countries than any 
previous human rights agreement. Unfortunately, the United States is 
not among the 192 nations that have joined in this historical 
convention, and no other industrialized nation has failed to make this 
legal commitment to children.
  As a Member of the United States Congress I am saddened and 
embarrassed that our great nation has not ratified this historical 
convention. Our nation's children are our future. The Convention on the 
Rights of the Child embodies the very principles our country was 
founded upon and only enforces the rights afforded to all children born 
in our great nation of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.
  Ratification clearly signals a state's commitment to uphold standards 
of the convention and to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of 
children around the world. The House of Representatives commitment to 
the well being of our nation's children is exemplified through the 
unanimous passage of H. Res. 124. I urge the United States Senate, 
which has the sole power to ratify treaties, to act soon on this 
important matter and stand up for the rights of children worldwide.

                          ____________________