Ireland's statement during the Interactive Dialogue with the Chair of the Committee on the Rights of the Child

71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly

Third Committee

Interactive Dialogue with the Chair of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, Mr. Benyam Dawit Mezmur

Statement by Ireland

13 October 2016

Thank you Mr. Chairperson

Ireland associates itself with the comments of the European Union.

Ireland welcomes the report of the Committee on the Rights of the Child and thanks its Chair, Mr Benyam Dawit Mezmur, for his comprehensive briefing.

We are pleased to note that, in the reporting period covered, the Committee considered the combined third and fourth periodic reports of Ireland and published its Concluding Observations. We welcome the publication of this detailed and wide ranging assessment of Ireland’s compliance with its obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which will assist the state in further developing and implementing policy in compliance with our international obligations.

Your report notes the negative impact of the worsening of the migration crisis on the rights of children. Ireland played a leadingrole at the UN this year in co-facilitating, alongside Jordan, agreement on the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants. As our collective focus now moves to the implementation of the Declaration and the commitment to protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all refugee and migrant children can you provide an update on the development of a Joint General Comment on the Human Rights of Children in the Context of International Migration?