Round table on children's rights in the Republic of Congo
On February 8, our local partner in the Republic of the Congo, the REIPER (Réseau des Intervenants sur le Phénomène des Enfants en Rupture) organised a round table on its premises with several representatives of the Congolese government, journalists, and a representative of the European Union, in order to discuss the recommendations made at the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the Congo, which took place on November 4, at the United Nations. The main objectives of this round table were to address the recommendations on children's rights made by recommending States to Congo, convince the latter to accept them, and discuss their implementation.
Congo's 2018 UPR was a real success in terms of advocacy for children's rights: a total of 55 recommendations were issued directly targeting children's rights. In particular, they addressed, inter alia, the rights of children with disabilities, the rights of street children and the establishment of a monitoring mechanism for children's rights. These recommendations represent a considerable achievement for the Fondation Apprentis d'Auteuil, the Fondation Apprentis d'Auteuil International and the REIPER, since many are based on our requests communicated to UN Member States during the UPR pre-sessions in Geneva in October 2018.
On March 14, the Congolese government will officially adopt the Outcome report of the UPR during the Human Rights Council. The State will have to declare for every recommendation whether it supports it, thereby committing to their implementation, or merely notes it, creating no such obligation. Several representatives of the Fondation Apprentis d'Auteuil International will be present during the adoption of the Outcome report to communicate an oral statement on behalf of the REIPER, in order to share its own assessment of the review.