A/RES/64/142. Resolution of the United Nations General Assembly, 2009

• Resolution Number: A/RES/64/142
• Year: 2009
• Session: 64th
• Issuer: General Assembly of the United Nation

United Nations A/RES/64/142*

General Assembly Distr.: General

24 February 2010

Sixty-fourth session

Agenda item 64

09-47035*

*0947035*

Please rec cle

♲

Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 18 December 2009

[on the report of the Third Committee (A/64/434)]

64/142. Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children

The General Assembly

,

Reaffirming

the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

0F

1

and the Convention

on the Rights of the Child,

1F

2

and celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the

Convention in 2009,

Reaffirming also

all previous resolutions on the rights of the child of the

Human Rights Council, the Commission on Human Rights and the General

Assembly, the most recent being Council resolutions 7/29 of 28 March 2008,

2F

3

9/13

of 24 September 2008

3F

4

and 10/8 of 26 March 2009

4F

5

and Assembly resolution 63/241

of 24 December 2008,

Considering

that the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, the text

of which is annexed to the present resolution, set out desirable orientations for

policy and practice with the intention of enhancing the implementation of the

Convention on the Rights of the Child and of relevant provisions of other

international instruments regarding the protection and well-being of children

deprived of parental care or who are at risk of being so,

1.

Wel com e s

the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, as

contained in the annex to the present resolution, as a set of orientations to help to

inform policy and practice;

2.

Encourages

States to take the Guidelines into account and to bring them

to the attention of the relevant executive, legislative and judiciary bodies of

government, human rights defenders and lawyers, the media and the public in

general;

_______________

* Reissued for technical reasons on 13 April 2010.

1 Resolution 217 A (III).

2 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1577, No. 27531.

3 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-third Session, Supplement No. 53 (A/63/53), chap. II.

4 Ibid., Supplement No. 53A (A/63/53/Add.1), chap. I.

5 Ibid., Sixty-fourth Session, Supplement No. 53 (A/64/53), chap. II, sect. A.

A/RES/64/142

2

3.

Requests

the Secretary-General, within existing resources, to take steps

to disseminate the Guidelines in all the official languages of the United Nations,

including by transmitting them to all Member States, regional commissions and

relevant intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations.

65th plenary meeting

18 December 2009

Annex

Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children

I. Purpose

1. The present Guidelines are intended to enhance the implementation of the

Convention on the Rights of the Child

0H

2

and of relevant provisions of other

international instruments regarding the protection and well-being of children who

are deprived of parental care or who are at risk of being so.

2. Against the background of these international instruments and taking account

of the developing body of knowledge and experience in this sphere, the Guidelines

set out desirable orientations for policy and practice. They are designed for wide

dissemination among all sectors directly or indirectly concerned with issues relating

to alternative care, and seek in particular:

(

a

) To support efforts to keep children in, or return them to, the care of their

family or, failing this, to find another appropriate and permanent solution, including

adoption and

kafala

of Islamic law;

(

b

) To ensure that, while such permanent solutions are being sought, or in

cases where they are not possible or are not in the best interests of the child, the

most suitable forms of alternative care are identified and provided, under conditions

that promote the child’s full and harmonious development;

(

c

) To assist and encourage Governments to better implement their

responsibilities and obligations in these respects, bearing in mind the economic,

social and cultural conditions prevailing in each State; and

(

d

) To guide policies, decisions and activities of all concerned with social

protection and child welfare in both the public and the private sectors, including

civil society.

II. General principles and perspectives

A. The child and the family

3. The family being the fundamental group of society and the natural

environment for the growth, well-being and protection of children, efforts should

primarily be directed to enabling the child to remain in or return to the care of

his/her parents, or when appropriate, other close family members. The State should

ensure that families have access to forms of support in the caregiving role.

4. Every child and young person should live in a supportive, protective and

caring environment that promotes his/her full potential. Children with inadequate or

no parental care are at special risk of being denied such a nurturing environment.