A/RES/57/190. Resolution of the United Nations General Assembly, 2002

• Resolution Number: A/RES/57/190
• Year: 2002
• Session: 57th
• Issuer: General Assembly of the United Nation

United Nations A/RES/57/190

General Assembly Distr.: General

19 February 2003

Fifty-seventh session

Agenda item 105

02 55082

Resolution adopted by the General Assembly

[on the report of the Third Committee (A/57/552)]

57/190. Rights of the child

The General Assembly

,

Reaffirming

all of its resolutions on the rights of the child, in particular

resolutions 55/78 and 55/79 of 4 December 2000, recalling resolution 56/138 of

19 December 2001, and taking note with appreciation of Commission on Human

Rights resolution 2002/92 of 26 April 2002,

1

Bearing in mind

the Convention on the Rights of the Child,

2

emphasizing that

the provisions of the Convention and other relevant human rights instruments must

constitute the standard in the promotion and protection of the rights of the child, and

reaffirming that the best interest of the child shall be the primary consideration in all

actions concerning children,

Welcoming

the entry into force of the Optional Protocols to the Convention on

the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and on the

sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography,

3

Reaffirming

the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and

Development of Children and the Plan of Action for Implementing the World

Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children in the 1990s

adopted by the World Summit for Children, held in New York on 29 and

30 September 1990,

4

and the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted

by the World Conference on Human Rights, held at Vienna from 14 to 25 June

1993,

5

which, inter alia, states that national and international mechanisms and

programmes for the defence and protection of children, in particular those in

especially difficult circumstances, should be strengthened, including through

effective measures to combat the exploitation and abuse of children, female

infanticide, harmful child labour, the sale of children and organs, child prostitution

_______________

1 See Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 2002, Supplement No. 3 (E/2002/23), chap. II,

sect. A.

2 Resolution 44/25, annex.

3 Resolution 54/263, annexes I and I I.

4 A/45/625, annex.

5 A/CONF.157/24 (Part I), chap . III.

A/RES/57/190

2

and child pornography, and which reaffirms that all human rights and fundamental

freedoms are universal,

Welcoming

the outcome of the special session of the General Assembly on

children

6

and the firm commitments contained therein to promote and protect the

rights of each child — every human being below the age of 18 years, including

adolescents,

Welcoming also

the Yokohama Global Commitment 2001 adopted at the

Second World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, held

at Yokohama, Japan, from 17 to 20 December 2001,

7

and calling upon States to

consider its outcome,

Welcoming further

the integration of issues of child rights in the outcome

documents of all major United Nations conferences, special sessions and summits,

Profoundly concerned

that the situation of girls and boys in many parts of the

world remains critical as a result of the persistence of poverty, social inequality,

inadequate social and economic conditions in an increasingly globalized world

economy, pandemics, in particular the human immunodeficiency virus/acquired

immunodeficiency syndrome, malaria and tuberculosis, natural disasters, armed

conflict, displacement, exploitation, violence, illiteracy, hunger, intolerance,

discrimination and inadequate legal protection, and convinced that urgent and

effective national and international action is called for,

Underlining

the need for mainstreaming a gender perspective in all policies

and programmes relating to children,

Recognizing

the need for the realization of a standard of living adequate for

the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development, the protection

of the child from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or

punishment, the provision of universal and equal access to primary education and

the implementation of the commitments on the education of children contained in

the United Nations Millennium Declaration,

8

Concerned

at the number of illegal adoptions, of children growing up without

parents and of child victims of different forms of violence, abuse, exploitation and

neglect within and outside the family,

Concerned also

by cases of international kidnapping of children by one of the

parents,

Recognizing

that partnership among Governments, international organizations

and all sectors of civil society, in particular non-governmental organizations and the

private sector, is important to realizing the rights of the child,

I

Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

1.

Once again urges

the States that have not yet done so to sign and ratify

or accede to the Convention on the Rights of the Child

2

as a matter of priority with a

view to reaching the goal of universal adherence as soon as possible;

_______________

6 Resolution S-27/2, annex.

7 See A/S-27/12, annex.

8 See resolution 55/2, para. 19 .