Vol. 457 No. 7
73 Mrs. Geoghegan-Quinn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs when the Government intends to report to the United Nations on its progress towards the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which was signed by the Irish Government in 1992; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16228/95]
Ireland signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child during the World Summit on Children in September 1990 and ratified it on 28 September 1992. The convention entered into force for this State on 28 October 1992.
Ireland's first report on implementation of the convention on the Rights of the Child became due two years after the entry into force of the convention. Because it is the first such report, preparation has involved entensive co-ordination work with all of those Departments which are concerned in any way with the welfare of children.
In all, 14 Government Departments and Offices have been contacted in relation to the report and have prepared material. I expect that the report will be finalised, brought before Government and submitted to the Committee on the Rights of the Child in the coming months.
A consequence of the ratification of a number of UN human rights instruments in recent years is that the State has undertaken a permanent and continuing obligation to submit, at regular intervals, comprehensive reports on the implementation of their provisions. In relation to the preparation and compilation of the present report, my Department has been in contact with the secretariat of the Committee on the Rights of the Child and has informed it of the progress being made in the matter.
The Committee on the Rights of the Child encourages Governments to consult non-governmental organisations active on behalf of the child. In this respect, my Departments, in association with other relevant Departments, has initiated a process of consultation with the NGO community to determine areas of concern to them regarding the implementation of the convention. The purpose throughout has been to ensure that the preparation of the report benefits from the widest possible range of views on this important topic.
