EU Explanation of Vote – UN General Assembly 3rd Committee: Amendments on the Rights of the Child resolution

Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

Once again this year, the European Union has had the honour to co-facilitate the resolution on the Rights of the Child together with Uruguay, on behalf of GRULAC. We would like to thank all delegations for their constructive engagement in this process. 

As co-facilitators, we have done our utmost to conduct timely, transparent, and inclusive negotiations. We are confident that the text as submitted strikes a fair balance between the views expressed by the delegations actively engaged in the negotiations. 

We therefore regret that one delegation decided to submit an amendment seeking to remove four references to “sexual and reproductive health” across the text. This terminology is the product of significant compromise and has long been agreed in the context of this resolution, as evidenced by the fact that the majority of these four references constitutes verbatim language from its last iteration. We also note that the regional group representing the delegation in question did not identify this terminology as a red line during the negotiations. 

We are equally disappointed to see that two other delegations submitted amendments aiming to delete preambular paragraph 15 of the draft resolution, which refers to the relationship between the rights of the child and the responsibilities, rights and duties of parents, and introduce a new preambular paragraph 14bis. PP15 was the subject of substantial discussions during the negotiations, which resulted in several adjustments to accommodate diverging views. We believe that the proposed deletion would remove elements that are highly relevant to the theme of the resolution and of key importance to many delegations. Moreover, the language in the proposed new PP14bis highlights only one provision from the Convention on the Rights of the Child over various others that are equally relevant in the context of early childhood development. We note that the language in the proposed new PP14bis was never introduced during the negotiations. The two proposed amendments thus risk undermining the delicate and carefully considered balance of the final text. 

We therefore believe that these amendments are harmful to both the substance and the negotiation process of this resolution, and respectfully call on all delegations to vote against draft amendments L.61, L.62 and L.64. 

Thank you.