MESSAGE BY PRESIDENT MANDELA ON THE RATIFICATION OF THE UN CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
16 June 1995
Issued by: Office of the President
In January 1993 I signed the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, signifying our country's intention to ratify the Convention. At the opening session of South Africa's first democratically elected parliament in 1994 I accepted the principle of the First Call for Children, when I stressed that the needs of children must be paramount throughout the Government of National Unity's Reconstruction and Development Programme.
I am very proud to announce today that the Convention was ratified by both Houses of Parliament on 13 June 1995 and that the Instrument of Ratification will be deposited today the United Nations Headquarters in New York today.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child stands alone in international human rights law as the clearest and most comprehensive expression of what the world community wants for its children, its 54 articles endorse a unique spectrum of rights, guaranteeing for the first time social and economic as well as civil and political rights in one instrument.
The Convention recognises that children are individuals with the rights to develop physically, mentally and socially to their fullest potential, and to express opinions freely. But more than that the Convention is a template for the health, survival and progress of human society itself. It articulates the universal truth that a nation's future is only as
Ratification of the Convention by Parliament is an expression of political commitment by the government that it will engage in projects aimed at the improvement of the conditions of children in our country. We have already started with such programmes. Every government department responsible for the implementation of the provisions of the Convention will be taking the necessary steps to implement programmes aimed at improving the circumstances of children in our country. In this regard the following examples, already under way, need mentioning:
These programmes all form part of the mid-decade goals as defined at the World Summit for Children in 1990.
South Africa is obliged to report within two years after ratification, and thereafter every five years, on its efforts to meet the goals of the convention. Our reports will cover South Africa's compliance with general principles of the Convention in the areas of civil rights and freedoms; family environment and alternative care; basic health and welfare; education, leisure and cultural activities; and special protection for children.
In conclusion, I want to give the assurance that the Government of National Unity will make a planned and purposeful attempt to improve the conditions of South Africa's children, in line with the