| Government reiterates commitment to promoting children's rights |
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The Government reiterated its commitment to promoting children's rights today (November 20) which marks the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. "In Hong Kong, the best interests of the child are one important consideration for the Government in formulating legislative proposals, policies and measures, and are taken into account as a matter of course," a spokesman for the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau said. "To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention, the Government has undertaken a series of programmes to promote the Convention and understanding of children's rights, including the publication of a comic booklet on the Convention, launching media promotion, allocating additional resources to fund community projects to promote the Convention, as well as sponsoring the production of educational kits for teachers, parents and students in enhancing their understanding of children's rights." The Government will continue its collaboration with non-governmental organisations to raise public awareness of and understanding of children's rights. "We appeal to all members of the public to respect children's rights, including their right to survival, right to development, right to protection and right to participation, which are the basic rights enshrined in the Convention," the spokesman said.?? The Convention was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on November 20, 1989. It was applied to Hong Kong in 1994. Its provisions continue to apply to Hong Kong after the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Ends/Friday, November 20, 2009 |