The appointment by the United Nations of a world Ombudsman for the treatment of minors
Doc. 7483
9 February 1996WRITTEN DECLARATION No. 245
This written declaration commits only the members who have signed it
In European public opinion some very serious human rights violations have been noted in recent years. Most of these tragedies directly affect children, subjected to the horrors of war and poverty.
For these reasons the problem must be made a priority within institutions which, from the outset, have fought for human rights.
There are countries like China where, because of the cultural and political tradition, human rights violations and lack of democracy are so obvious that they must not and cannot be hushed up.
In that country pregnant women come under physical and psychological pressure for them to abort, especially if their unborn child is a girl.
That is why we feel that, alongside the official bodies from which the United Nations obtains information about the problem of the treatment of minors, the post of "Ombudsman for the treatment of minors" should be created. Such an ombudsman should enjoy worldwide powers and rely on the necessary structures in each continent (America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania) able, in their turn, to call upon similar institutions working at regional level.
Signed:
Latronico, Italy, LDR
Arata, Italy, EPP
Bugli, San Marino, EPP
Muehlemann, Switzerland, LDR
Parisi, Italy, EPP
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Total = 5
* EPP : Group of the European People's Party
LDR : Liberal, Democratic and Reformers Group