III

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. RES. 70

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the need for the President

to seek the advice and consent of the Senate to the ratification of

the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 16 (legislative day, JANUARY 5), 1993

Mr. BRADLEY (for himself, Mr. LUGAR, Mr. LEAHY, and Mr. HATFIELD) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on

Foreign Relations

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the need for

the President to seek the advice and consent of the

Senate to the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Whereas the future peace and prosperity of all nations depend upon the good health and well-being of the world’s

children;

Whereas Congress has long recognized the vulnerability of

children and has enacted numerous laws that afford children special protections in the United States;

Whereas millions of children worldwide are threatened daily

by poverty, malnutrition, homelessness, exploitation, and
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•SR 70 IS

abuse, depriving both family and society of the productivity and potential of the children;

Whereas the Child Survival and Development Revolution,

launched in 1982 to attack the root causes of infant mortality and child ill-health through low-cost means such as

universal child immunization and oral rehydration therapy, is saving the lives of more than 3,000,000 children

each year and has demonstrated that the number of child

deaths can be reduced significantly if available resources

are used appropriately;

Whereas despite the gains in lives saved and an emerging

international consensus about the importance of protecting children, children both in the United States and

abroad will continue to face poverty, sickness, and illtreatment;

Whereas on November 20, 1989, the United States and other

members of the United Nations unanimously endorsed

the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the

Child and urged national governments to ratify the Convention and make possible the application of the Convention as international law;

Whereas the Convention, if implemented, will help establish

universal legal standards for the care and protection of

children against neglect, exploitation, and abuse;

Whereas the Federal Government, scores of private voluntary

organizations, and hundreds of American citizens were

actively involved in the drafting of the Convention;

Whereas as of January 1993, 128 countries have become parties to the Convention by ratification or accession, and 24

others have signed the Convention, indicating an intention to ratify the Convention in the future;
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•SR 70 IS

Whereas the United States is the only Western industrialized

nation that has neither signed nor ratified the Convention, and the United States stands with Iraq, and Libya

as one of fewer than 30 countries that neither is a party

to the Convention nor has signed the Convention; and

Whereas the United States must regain a leading role in the

implementation of the Convention to ensure that the

Convention remains a force for improving the lot of children, both in the United States and abroad: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that—

2 (1) the issue of children’s rights and well-being

3 is important both to the United States and the

4 world; and

5 (2) in consideration of the importance of the

6 issue, the President should promptly seek the advice

7 and consent of the Senate to the ratification of the

8 Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by

9 the United Nations with the support of the United

10 States on November 29, 1989.

11 SEC. 2. The Secretary of the Senate shall transmit

12 a copy of this resolution to the President.

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