Children – Third Cttee debate – Summary record (excerpts)

THIRD COMMITTEE

32nd meeting

held on

Monday, 11 November 1996

at 3 p.m.

New York

SUMMARY RECORD OF THE 32nd MEETING

Chairman:  Mrs. ESPINOZA  (Mexico)

CONTENTS

AGENDA ITEM 106:  PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN (continued)

The meeting was called to order at 3.05 p.m.

AGENDA ITEM 106:  PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN (continued) (A/51/41 (Supplement No. 41), A/51/90, 256, 306 and Add.1, 385, 424, 456 and 492)

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50. Ms. ZIMRIN (Israel) …

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53. Where immigrant families were concerned, it was often difficult to define child abuse since legitimate methods of child-rearing in one culture might be condemned as abusive in another.  Furthermore, parents of immigrant families faced particular pressures and the resulting sense of frustration could lead to aggression against their children.  Israel, where immigrants constituted 10 per cent of the population, had acquired considerable experience in those problems.  That experience had proved valuable in dealing not only with new immigrants, but also with families belonging to the Arab minority.  In addition, Israeli and Palestinian scholars were currently participating in a conference on human rights education for young children; on a more practical level, Israel's health authorities were immunizing Palestinian children and professional help was being offered in cases of domestic violence.  Israel had also become a haven for children from war-torn areas or in need of medical treatment, in particular victims of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.  Her delegation hoped that the international community's commitment to the protection of children, as reflected in the impressive number of ratifications of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, would lead to greater sharing of experience and knowledge for the benefit of children everywhere.

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The meeting rose at 6.20 p.m.

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