An Open Letter to the UN Security Council

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Author: Perfecto Caparas

Started: September 6, 2005, 6:58:49 am

Target: United Nations Security Council

Category: Civil & Human Rights

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Goal:

100,000

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http://nanay.com/NANAY%20PHILIPPINES/NEWS%20UPDATES/UN%20Council.htm

URGENT: An Open Letter to the UN Security Council

September 5, 2005

Lauro L. Baja, Jr
Ambassador and Permanent Representative to UN
Security Council
Philippine Center Building
556 5th Avenue
New York, NY 10036

Dear Ambassador Baja:

In September 2005, Philippine President Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo will be presiding over a summit
meeting of the Security Council, and Foreign
Affairs Secretary Alberto G. Romulo is also
scheduled to preside over a thematic debate in
the Security Council on "The Role of Civil
Society in Conflict Prevention and the Pacific
Settlement of Dispute."

As a member of the Security Council
(http://www.un.int/philippines/security_council/),
the Philippines will focus its attention and
energy on the following objectives:

1. Strengthen the collective security
mechanism established under the U.N. Charter.
2. Emphasize the importance of the rule of law
in the maintenance of international peace and
security. (including, among others: the
prevention of impunity by violators of human
rights and international humanitarian law; and
protection of civilians, their rights and
freedoms
3. Provide a strong basis for a multilateral
consensus in pursuing the Security Council's
primary responsibility for the maintenance of
international peace and security.

This month's Summit provides a unique opportunity
to have an open, frank and constructive dialogue
with the members of UN Security Council, and to
address a number of critical issues that threaten
the international security and protection of
human rights.

We are referring to the CNN-ITN documentary aired
on August 9, 2005 entitled "UNICEF: Million Kids
In Prison". In the Philippines alone, the number
of small children as young as 8 years old in the
Philippines who are potential victims of sodomy,
rape and abuse for being imprisoned with adult
criminals has risen from 20,000 in 2003 to a
soaring 52,000 in 2004 ! Similar problems have
been documented in Pakistan, Albania, Brazil,
Burundi and Indonesia.

Global outrage in response to the CNN documentary
has resulted in the unified and intensified
effort among both Filipinos and non-Filipinos
throughout the world, to address this crucial
human rights issue that further aggravates the
already volatile political situation and conflict
in the Philippines. In less than two weeks, a
Petition to Save Philippine Children in Prison
which was posted online on August 22
(http://www.petitiononline.com/FilChild), has
elicited more than 4,000 signatures from around
the world, urging the United Nations to hold the
Philippine government responsible and accountable
for its failure to protect the rights of Children
in Conflict with the Law, as mandated by the
UNICEF-sponsored Convention on the Rights of the
Child (CRC). The United Nations Human Rights
Committee is also urged to take effective
measures for immediate implementation of the UN
Principles on the Effective Prevention and
Investigation of Extrajudicial, Arbitrary and
Summery Executions, for the Philippine government
to pass the Consolidated Juvenile Justice Act and
provide appropriate funding to protect the human
rights of Children in Conflict with the Law.

In his report entitled "In Larger freedom :
Towards Development, Security and Human Rights
for All" that was presented on March 21, 2005 in
preparation for the September Summit, the UN
Secretary General stressed that these words from
the UN Charter "convey the idea that development,
security and human rights go hand in hand". We
therefore urge the President to address, discuss
and resolve this crucial issue, among others,
with the other members of the UN Security
Council, for the sake of the millions of children
whose international basic human rights are
currently being violated.

As a corollary, we also would like to emphasize
that the United Nations Millennium Declaration,
adopted by over 150 Heads of State in September
2000, resolved to halve the world's poverty level
by the year 2015. We urge the world leaders
attending the United Nations Global Summit to
consider various initiatives, including
debt-for-equity proposals that would help to
improve the poverty level of the most heavily
indebted nations.

Sincerely,

Jocelyn H. Bruce, MD
Founding President & CEO, NANAY Inc
(On behalf of numerous national and international
organizations concerned about the human rights of
children in prison)

cc:

Ambassador Cesar F. Mayoral, Permanent
Representative of Argentina
(argentina@un.int)

UN Security Council Representative for Brazil (
administrator@delbrasonu.org)

Permanent Mission of Denmark to the UN
(nycmis@um.dk)

Mr. Jean-Marc de La Sabliere, Permanent French
Representative to UN Security Council - Press
Office

(
france@un.int)

Permanent Mission of Greece to the UN (
info@greeceun.org )

Ambassador Shinichi Kitaoka, Japan 's Deputy
Permanent Representative to the UN
(mission@un-japan.org)

Secretariat, Permanent Mission of Romania to the
United Nations (misiune@romaniaun.org;
romania@un.int)

Leonid Skotnikov, Permanent Representative of the
Russian Federation to the United Nations
(mission.russian@vtxnet.ch)

UK Mission to the United Nations (uk@un.int)

Ambassador John R. Bolton, Permanent U.S.
Representative to the United Nations
(usunpublicaffairs@state.gov)

Ambassador Abdallah Baali, The Permanent
Representative of Algeria to the United Nations
(mission@algeria-un.org)

Permanent Mission of Denmark to the UN
(nycmis@um.dk)