Vol. 395 No. 4
14 Miss Flaherty asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will support the Convention of the Rights of the Child and the proposed world summit for children which is scheduled for September 1990 at the United Nations, in view of the critical condition of millions of the world's children.
I welcome the initiative to hold a summit for children scheduled for New York next autumn. The Taoiseach recently accepted the invitation of the Executive Director of UNICEF, Mr. James Grant, for Ireland to serve on the planning committee for the summit. He nominated the Permanent Representative of Ireland to the UN at New York as his personal representative on the planning committee. The Taoiseach also assured Mr. Grant of his personal interest in the success of the summit.
The adoption by consensus of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child at the UN General Assembly on 20 November 1989 is also welcome. The convention codifies and develops international norms applicable to children, and reflects a broad consensus on the obligations of families, society and the international community towards children. In accordance with normal procedure, the Government is now examining what legislative and other steps may be necessary to enable Ireland to become a party to the Convention.
